install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install cobalt

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#cobalt

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/co/cobalt/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S cobalt

Arch Linux sync databases · cobalt · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install main/cobalt

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/cobalt.json · source: api.github.com

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%

winget install --id cobalt-org.cobalt -e

Windows Package Manager source index · cobalt-org.cobalt · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

Static site generator written in Rust

Project links

Commands and aliases

cobalt

history

Project history and usage

Cobalt is a Rust static site generator distributed as the `cobalt` command, packaged for Homebrew and as the `cobalt-bin` crate on crates.io. Its package-nerd appeal is that it is an early Rust-era take on the Jekyll-style static site workflow: source files, front matter, Liquid-style templates, and a small native CLI.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in 2014, and the changelog records `0.2` as the initial release. The project later organized around the `cobalt-org/cobalt.rs` repository and publishes the binary crate as `cobalt-bin`.

Cobalt's changelog shows the tool growing into a fuller site generator through 2016 and 2017, adding `serve`, `watch`, `new`, custom paths, RSS improvements, draft support, syntax highlighting experiments, generated binaries for macOS, Windows, and Linux, and a move from getopt to clap.

Adoption history

Cobalt remains a niche but durable Rust CLI. crates.io lists `cobalt-bin` with tens of thousands of downloads, while Homebrew, Nix, Arch, Scoop, and WinGet packaging in the input show that the tool crossed beyond Cargo-only installation.

How it is used

Users create a site with Cobalt's directory conventions and configure site-wide behavior in `_cobalt.yml`. The official docs describe `_cobalt.yml` as the default config file for site options, source and destination directories, front matter defaults, syntax highlighting, pages, posts, and assets.

The day-to-day CLI shape is familiar for static site generators: initialize or create content, build static output, and use local serving/watch workflows while editing.

Why package nerds care

Cobalt is useful as a package-history marker for the period when Rust CLIs began replacing scripting-language developer tools. Its significance is not mass adoption; it is the way it packages a static-site workflow into a native binary and ships across Cargo and OS package managers.

The package is also a reminder that package names can be ambiguous: crates.io has an unrelated `cobalt` crate, while the static site generator's executable package is `cobalt-bin`.

Timeline

2014: `cobalt-org/cobalt.rs` GitHub repository created.
2016: `cobalt-bin` crate created on crates.io.
2017: Changelog records generated binaries for macOS, Windows, and Linux in the 0.5 era and a larger 0.7.0 feature release.
2022: 0.18.0 drops `cobalt import` and improves local serving behavior.
2025: 0.20.0 switches Sass support from libsass to grass.
2026: 0.20.4 release published.

Related projects

Cobalt sits in the static-site-generator family with Jekyll, Hugo, Zola, and mdBook, and it uses Rust ecosystem pieces such as Cargo distribution and Rust templating/parsing libraries.
Its own docs are built and maintained separately in `cobalt-org/cobalt-org.github.io`, which the official documentation links as the docs source.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: _cobalt.yml

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`cobalt`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version0.20.4

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv0.20.4

https://github.com/cobalt-org/cobalt.rs

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:cobalt
Version	0.20.4
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/cobalt
Homepage	https://cobalt-org.github.io/
Repository	https://github.com/cobalt-org/cobalt.rs
Upstream docs	https://cobalt-org.github.io/docs
License	Apache-2.0 OR MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/cobalt-org/cobalt.rs/archive/refs/tags/v0.20.4.tar.gz
Build dependencies	rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	cobalt
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

cobalt

nix profile install nixpkgs#cobalt

normalized package name match
Matched by: Cobalt

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/co/cobalt/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

pacman95%

cobalt 0.20.4-2

Static site generator written in Rust

https://cobalt-org.github.io/

sudo pacman -S cobalt

License: MIT
Architecture: x86_64
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cobalt

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: cobalt from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

Scoop95%

main/cobalt

scoop install main/cobalt

normalized package name match
Matched by: Cobalt

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/cobalt.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1

winget95%

cobalt-org.cobalt

winget install --id cobalt-org.cobalt -e

normalized package name match
Matched by: Cobalt

Windows Package Manager source index · cdn.winget.microsoft.com · Windows Package Manager source index: cobalt-org.cobalt from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/cobalt.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install cobalt with Homebrew, Nix, pacman, scoop, winget