macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install expectlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install expectMacPorts ports tree · devel/expect/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install expect with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper, winget
Program that can automate interactive applications. Version 5.45.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-19.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add expectAlpine Linux edge package indexes · expect · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install expectDebian stable package indexes · expect · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install expectFedora Rawhide package metadata · expect · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#expectnixpkgs package indexes · expect · source: raw.githubusercontent.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S expectArch Linux sync databases · expect · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install expectopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · expect · source: download.opensuse.org
Windows
Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id FlorinZamfir.Weather -eWindows Package Manager source index · FlorinZamfir.Weather · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com
overview
Package summary
Program that can automate interactive applications
Project links
Commands and aliases
- autoexpect
- autopasswd
- cryptdir
- decryptdir
- dislocate
- expect
- ftp-rfc
- kibitz
- lpunlock
- mkpasswd
- multixterm
- passmass
- rftp
- rlogin-cwd
- timed-read
- timed-run
- tknewsbiff
- tkpasswd
- unbuffer
- weather
- xkibitz
- xpstat
history
Project history and usage
Expect is Don Libes' Tcl-based tool for automating interactive programs. Its package-manager significance comes from a stubbornly practical Unix problem: many tools were designed for humans at terminals, and Expect made those conversations scriptable.
Project history
The Expect homepage says Expect was conceived in September 1987, with the bulk of version 2 designed and written between January and April 1990. It was later rewritten substantially for Tcl 6.0 in October 1991, then advanced through Expect 4 and Expect 5 as Tcl and Tk evolved.
Expect's history is tightly tied to Tcl and Tk. Expect uses Tcl as its control language for procedures, loops, file I/O, arithmetic, and scripting, and Tk support arrived with the Expect 4 line. The project also includes libexpect for C or C++ programs, although the README argues that the standalone expect scripting tool is usually the easier path.
Adoption history
Expect spread through sysadmin and testing culture before today's automation stacks existed. The official site lists papers from USENIX 1990, LISA IV, Computing Systems, USENIX 1992, and other venues covering system administration, regression testing, conformance testing, and automating interactive network applications.
The README presents practical adoption signals from the era: users could get readings and transparencies, build Expect with or without Tcl and Tk, embed it in C programs, and buy commercial support or classes from companies such as ActiveState, Cygnus Support, and Computerized Processes Unlimited.
How it is used
Expect scripts spawn a program, send input, wait for expected output, and optionally hand control back to the user. The official introduction names telnet, ftp, passwd, fsck, rlogin, and tip as examples, and also calls out testing interactive applications.
The package includes helper programs such as autoexpect and unbuffer. In package-manager terms, Expect is often installed not because it is fashionable, but because some installer, test, login workflow, serial-console workflow, or legacy admin script needs to drive an interactive prompt reliably.
Why package nerds care
Expect is one of the canonical examples of a small Unix automation language that survived because the problem survived. SSH, CI, APIs, and configuration management reduced many uses, but they did not eliminate password prompts, REPLs, terminal programs, embedded consoles, or old scripts.
For packagers, Expect also brings the Tcl dependency relationship into focus: the executable is useful by itself, but its language runtime, optional Tk integration, examples, man pages, and legacy scripts shape how downstream packages split and test it.
Timeline
- 1987: Expect was conceived in September.
- 1990: The bulk of version 2 was designed and written between January and April.
- 1991: About half of Expect was rewritten for Tcl 6.0.
- 1993: Expect 4 alpha introduced Tk support; production Expect 4 followed in August.
- 1994: Production Expect 5 was released in March.
- 1995: The Exploring Expect book became available in January.
- 1999: Substantial rewriting added Tcl 8.2 support, an exp-channel driver, object support, and Unicode-related work.
Related projects
- Tcl is Expect's control language and runtime foundation.
- Tk is the GUI toolkit used by Expect variants such as expectk.
- DejaGnu is related through the regression and conformance testing use case mentioned in Expect's readings.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: blue
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
Risk classifier
blue risk · medium confidence · tool
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
Signals
- text:ftp,decrypt
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.
- Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 3 build 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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
autoexpect | cli | global executable | |
autopasswd | cli | global executable | |
cryptdir | cli | global executable | |
decryptdir | cli | global executable | |
dislocate | cli | global executable | |
expect | cli | global executable | |
ftp-rfc | cli | global executable | |
kibitz | cli | global executable | |
lpunlock | cli | global executable | |
mkpasswd | cli | global executable | |
multixterm | cli | global executable | |
passmass | cli | global executable | |
rftp | cli | global executable | |
rlogin-cwd | cli | global executable | |
timed-read | cli | global executable | |
timed-run | cli | global executable | |
tknewsbiff | cli | global executable | |
tkpasswd | cli | global executable | |
unbuffer | cli | global executable | |
weather | cli | global executable | |
xkibitz | cli | global executable | |
xpstat | 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 version5.45.4
manager updated2026-06-19
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/index
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/indexnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:expect |
|---|---|
| Version | 5.45.4 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/expect |
| Homepage | https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/index |
| Repository | https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect |
| Upstream docs | https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/dir |
| License | LicenseRef-Homebrew-public-domain |
| Source archive | https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/expect/Expect/5.45.4/expect5.45.4.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-19T12:30:06-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | tcl-tk@8 |
| Build dependencies | autoconf, automake, libtool |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, 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 | expect |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 3 |
| Conflicts With |
|
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
expect 5.45.4-4
Automates interactive applications
sudo apt install expect- Section: interpreters
- Architecture: amd64
- 4 dependencies
- 1 provides
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
Debian apt95%
tcl-expect 5.45.4-4
Automates interactive applications (Tcl package)
sudo apt install tcl-expect- Section: interpreters
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: expect
- 2 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
Debian apt95%
tcl-expect-dev 5.45.4-4
Automates interactive applications (development)
sudo apt install tcl-expect-dev- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: expect
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
Nix95%
expect
nix profile install nixpkgs#expect- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
Ubuntu apt95%
expect 5.45.4-3
Automates interactive applications
sudo apt install expect- Section: universe/interpreters
- Architecture: amd64
- 4 dependencies
- 1 provides
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
Ubuntu apt95%
tcl-expect 5.45.4-3
Automates interactive applications (Tcl package)
sudo apt install tcl-expect- Section: universe/interpreters
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: expect
- 2 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
Ubuntu apt95%
tcl-expect-dev 5.45.4-3
Automates interactive applications (development)
sudo apt install tcl-expect-dev- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: expect
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
apk95%
expect 5.45.4-r5
A tool for automating interactive applications
https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/index
sudo apk add expect- License: NIST-PD
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: expect
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
apk95%
expect-dev 5.45.4-r5
A tool for automating interactive applications (development files)
https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/index
sudo apk add expect-dev- License: NIST-PD
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: expect
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
apk95%
expect-doc 5.45.4-r5
A tool for automating interactive applications (documentation)
https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/index
sudo apk add expect-doc- License: NIST-PD
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: expect
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
dnf95%
expect 5.45.4-31.fc45
A program-script interaction and testing utility
https://core.tcl.tk/expect/index
sudo dnf install expect- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: expect
- 5 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
dnf95%
expect-devel 5.45.4-31.fc45
A program-script interaction and testing utility
https://core.tcl.tk/expect/index
sudo dnf install expect-devel- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: expect
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
dnf95%
expectk 5.45.4-31.fc45
A program-script interaction and testing utility
https://core.tcl.tk/expect/index
sudo dnf install expectk- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: expect
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
pacman95%
expect 5.45.4-5
A tool for automating interactive applications
https://www.nist.gov/el/msid/expect.cfm
sudo pacman -S expect- License: custom
- Architecture: x86_64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
zypper95%
expect 5.45.4-8.4
A Tool for Automating Interactive Programs
https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/
sudo zypper install expect- License: SUSE-Public-Domain
- Category: Development/Languages/Tcl
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: expect
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
zypper95%
expect-devel 5.45.4-8.4
Header Files and C API Documentation for expect
https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/
sudo zypper install expect-devel- License: SUSE-Public-Domain
- Category: Development/Libraries/Tcl
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: expect
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Expect
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.
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