# Install envv with Homebrew Shell-independent handling of environment variables. Version 1.7 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:envv ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install envv ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:envv - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.7 - **Source summary:** Shell-independent handling of environment variables - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - envv (cli) - envv (alias) ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.7 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/jakewendt/envv - Upstream latest detected: v1.7 (current) - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. ## 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. ### Sources - - ## Security Notes generalized runtime or code generation signal. - **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium - generalized runtime or code generation signal ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** envv - **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. - [dynaconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dynaconf/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, environment-variables. - [envelope](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/envelope/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, environment-variables. - [envio](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/envio/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, environment-variables. - [butane](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/butane/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools. - [config-file-validator](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/config-file-validator/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools. - [dhall-bash](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dhall-bash/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools. - [dhall-json](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dhall-json/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools. - [editorconfig](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/editorconfig/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/envv.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/envv.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - cross-ecosystem install command graph