# Install desk with Homebrew Lightweight workspace manager for the shell. Version 0.6.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:desk ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install desk ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:desk - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.6.0 - **Source summary:** Lightweight workspace manager for the shell - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - desk (cli) - desk (alias) ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on all ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.6.0 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/jamesob/desk - Upstream latest detected: v0.6.0 (current) - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. ## Project history and usage desk is a lightweight workspace manager for shells. It associates a named project context with a shell script, then starts a shell where that context has been loaded. ### Project history desk's first GitHub release was v0.1.0 in October 2015. The README frames it as deliberately simple: a shell script that sources another shell script in a new shell, but with enough structure to document aliases, functions, environment variables, and project directories. ### Adoption history The project documented Homebrew installation, direct curl installation, git installation, shell completions for bash, zsh, and fish, and zsh plugin-manager integration through tools such as oh-my-zsh, Antigen, and zgen. That made it easy to adopt in dotfile-heavy developer environments. ### How it is used Users create deskfiles under ~/.desk/desks or add a Deskfile to a project directory, then run desk commands to activate, list, edit, or run commands inside those environments. Deskfiles are normal shell scripts with comments used as descriptions and inline command documentation. ### Why package nerds care desk is package-nerd interesting because it is intentionally small shell infrastructure: it competes more with dotfiles, aliases, and shell plugin managers than with large workspace systems, and packages as a single command with no dependency beyond bash. ### Timeline - 2015: v0.1.0 initial release. - 2015: v0.4.0 added formatting and desk run work. - 2016: v0.5.0 added Deskfile work and fish fixes. - 2016: v0.6.0 changed shell startup to use exec. ### Related projects - The README names godesk as a related fuzzy-filtering launcher for desk. ### Sources - - - ## Security Notes generalized runtime or code generation signal. - **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium - generalized runtime or code generation signal ## 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 - Unix: ~/.desk, ~/.desk/desks/*.sh, ./Deskfile ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** desk - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [aliae](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aliae/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, shell. - [bar](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bar/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, shell. - [checkbashisms](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/checkbashisms/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, shell. - [fish](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fish/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, shell. - [fizsh](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fizsh/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, shell. - [gastown](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gastown/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, workspace-management, workspace-manager. - [mcfly](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mcfly/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, shell. - [ondir](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ondir/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, shell. - [try](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/try/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, management, manager. - [zplug](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/zplug/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, manager, shell. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/desk.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/desk.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - cross-ecosystem install command graph