install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install detach

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#detach

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

overview

Package summary

Execute given command in detached process

Project links

Commands and aliases

detach

history

Project history and usage

detach is a small Unix-style command for starting another process outside the control of the current terminal. Its official page frames it as a portable utility that forks, detaches from the terminal, and then executes the requested command.

Project history

Robbert Haarman's official detach page is dated 2010-12-11 and still presents the project as a minimalist command-line tool. The page offers an initial 0.1.0 source release and a later 0.2.3 release that added pidfiles, explicit stdin/stdout/stderr files, and a foreground mode.

Adoption history

detach occupies the old-school Unix packaging niche: tiny source tarball, Makefile installation, and availability through package managers for users who want a command rather than a shell built-in. Its official documentation emphasizes portability across OpenBSD, NetBSD, GNU/Linux, and Mac OS X rather than a large plugin ecosystem.

How it is used

The common use case is launching a command so it survives terminal exit without depending on shell job control. The official examples compare it with setsid, disown, and nohup, and show why a standalone executable can be useful from scripts or other programs.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, detach is interesting because it packages one precise process-control behavior as a tiny, portable C utility. It sits in the same mental drawer as nohup, setsid, daemon helpers, and shell job-control commands, but with a deliberately narrow interface.

Timeline

2010: Official detach page dated 2010-12-11 documents the tool and source releases.
2010: Initial 0.1.0 release provided the minimal command-running behavior.
2010: Release 0.2.3 added pidfiles, stream-file options, and foreground execution.

Related projects

The official documentation directly compares detach with util-linux setsid, shell disown built-ins, and POSIX-style nohup.

Sources

https://inglorion.net/software/detach/

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 13 platform targets.

Recommended review

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

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`detach`	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 version0.2.3

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://inglorion.net/software/detach/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://inglorion.net/software/detach/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:detach
Version	0.2.3
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/detach
Homepage	https://inglorion.net/software/detach/
Upstream docs	https://inglorion.net/software/detach
License	MIT
Source archive	https://inglorion.net/download/detach-0.2.3.tar.bz2
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, 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	detach
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%

detach

nix profile install nixpkgs#detach

normalized package name match
Matched by: Detach

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

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/detach.yml

Used sources

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

Install detach with Homebrew, Nix