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brew

Install envv with Homebrew

Shell-independent handling of environment variables. Version 1.7 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install envv

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Shell-independent handling of environment variables

Commands and aliases

  • envv

history

Project history and usage

envv is a small C utility for generating shell-specific commands that set environment variables and edit colon-separated paths. Its niche is old-school Unix software setup: one script can be sourced by users of csh, tcsh, bash, sh, ksh, and zsh without hard-coding separate initialization logic for each shell.

Project history

The README traces envv back to David F. Skoll of Roaring Penguin Software, with version 1.0 dated February 8, 1994. Early releases added zsh recognition, a `choose` directive, local variables, stdin directives, and fixes around path comparison and environment persistence.

The GitHub-hosted copy records a later 2011 license change to MIT and a segmentation fault fix, but otherwise presents envv as a deliberately small utility: build with `make`, copy the `envv` executable into a system directory, and consult the bundled `envv.1` manual page.

Adoption history

envv never became a broad ecosystem package, but its continued packaging in Homebrew keeps a 1990s Unix environment-management tool installable on modern developer machines. The README's example is aimed at commercial or site-local software that needs PATH entries and home variables set consistently for many user shells.

How it is used

A typical envv setup script evaluates commands such as `envv add PATH /usr/local/foobar/bin` and `envv set FOOHOME /usr/local/foobar`. Users source that script from their preferred shell, allowing system-wide software moves without each user editing `.cshrc`, `.profile`, or similar files by hand.

Why package nerds care

envv is interesting as a compact survivor from the era when Unix shops had to support several interactive shells at once. For package-manager history, it is a reminder that environment setup before modules, direnv, and modern shell frameworks often meant tiny C tools that printed shell code.

Timeline

  • 1994-02-08: Version 1.0 first released.
  • 1994-03-22: Version 1.1 added zsh recognition and the `choose` directive.
  • 1994-04-18: Version 1.2 added local variables, command-line options, and stdin directives.
  • 1995-07-11: Version 1.6 fixed path comparison behavior.
  • 2011-07-14: Version 1.7 changed the license to MIT and fixed a segmentation fault.

Related projects

  • envv overlaps conceptually with shell profile snippets, environment modules, and later per-directory environment tools, but it solves a narrower problem by emitting commands for multiple shells.

security posture

Risk level: yellow

generalized runtime or code generation signal.

Risk classifier

yellow risk · medium confidence · runtime

Why

  • generalized runtime or code generation signal

Signals

  • text:shell

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

CommandKindExposureNote
envvcliglobal 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 version1.7
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv1.7

https://github.com/jakewendt/envv

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:envv
Version1.7
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/envv
Homepagehttps://github.com/jakewendt/envv
Repositoryhttps://github.com/jakewendt/envv
Upstream docshttps://github.com/jakewendt/envv#readme
LicenseMIT
Source archivehttps://github.com/jakewendt/envv/archive/refs/tags/v1.7.tar.gz
Bottleavailable (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-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

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

package graph

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

Same workflow

  • dynaconfShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, environment-variables.
  • envelopeShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, environment-variables.
  • envioShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, environment-variables.
  • butaneShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools.
  • config-file-validatorShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools.
  • dhall-bashShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools.

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
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment