Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install dmenu with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Dynamic menu for X11. Version 5.4 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install dmenu

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install dmenu

MacPorts ports tree · x11/dmenu/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add dmenu

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dmenu · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install dmenu

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dmenu · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#dmenu

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S dmenu

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

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install dmenu

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · dmenu · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Dynamic menu for X11

Commands and aliases

  • dmenu
  • dmenu_path
  • dmenu_run
  • stest

history

Project history and usage

dmenu is suckless.org's efficient dynamic menu for X, originally designed for dwm and commonly used as a keyboard-driven launcher or scriptable selector.

Project history

The official suckless page describes dmenu as a dynamic menu for X that was originally designed for dwm and manages large numbers of user-defined menu items efficiently. The official git refs show public tagged releases beginning at 0.1 in August 2006 and continuing through the 5.x series.

Adoption history

dmenu became a standard suckless tool because it composes through stdin and stdout: scripts can pass newline-separated choices in, and dmenu prints the selected item out. Its official manual also documents dmenu_run, the script used by dwm to list programs in PATH and run the selected command.

How it is used

In everyday package use, dmenu reads newline-separated items from stdin, narrows matches as the user types, and prints the chosen item on Return. Options cover bottom placement, case-insensitive matching, vertical lists, monitor selection, prompts, fonts, colors, and embedding into another X window.

Why package nerds care

dmenu is significant because it is tiny, source-customizable X11 infrastructure rather than a full desktop launcher. It appears in package managers as a small dependency-free-ish building block for window-manager users, shell scripts, and Unix workflows that prefer composition over integrated desktop services.

Timeline

  • 2006-08: dmenu 0.1 tag appeared in the official git refs.
  • 2009-02: dmenu 4.0 was tagged.
  • 2020-09: dmenu 5.0 was tagged.
  • 2025-08: dmenu 5.4 was released.

Related projects

  • The official page ties dmenu to dwm, and the man page cross-references dwm and stest.

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 8 platform targets.
  • Installs with 4 runtime dependencies.

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

CommandKindExposureNote
dmenucliglobal executable
dmenu_pathcliglobal executable
dmenu_runcliglobal executable
stestcliglobal 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 version5.4
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:dmenu
Version5.4
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/dmenu
Homepagehttps://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/
Repositoryhttps://git.suckless.org/dmenu
Upstream docshttps://tools.suckless.org/dmenu
LicenseMIT
Source archivehttps://dl.suckless.org/tools/dmenu-5.4.tar.gz
Dependenciesfontconfig, libx11, libxft, libxinerama
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namedmenu
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • head
  • 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%

dmenu

nix profile install nixpkgs#dmenu
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dmenu
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dm/dmenu/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
apk95%

dmenu 5.4-r0

Dynamic menu for X

https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/

sudo apk add dmenu
  • License: MIT
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: dmenu
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dmenu
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: dmenu from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

dmenu-doc 5.4-r0

Dynamic menu for X (documentation)

https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/

sudo apk add dmenu-doc
  • License: MIT
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: dmenu
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dmenu
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: dmenu-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

dmenu 5.4-3.fc44

Generic menu for X

http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu

sudo dnf install dmenu
  • License: MIT
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: dmenu
  • 7 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dmenu
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: dmenu from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

dmenu 5.4-1

Generic menu for X

https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/

sudo pacman -S dmenu
  • License: MIT
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 9 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dmenu
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: dmenu from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

dmenu 5.4-1.2

A generic and efficient menu for X

https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/

sudo zypper install dmenu
  • License: MIT
  • Category: System/GUI/Other
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: dmenu
  • 6 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dmenu
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: dmenu from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

dmenu

sudo port install dmenu
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dmenu
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: x11/dmenu/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/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.

Related tools

  • fontconfigRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • dwmPopular package that depends on this formula.

Same workflow

  • bazeliskShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, launcher.
  • imakeShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, x11.
  • python-launcherShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, launcher.
  • t1libShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, x11.
  • xtermShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, x11.
  • xtermcontrolShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, x11.

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.

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