install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install fancy-cat

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#fancy-cat

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/fa/fancy-cat/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

PDF reader for terminal emulators using the Kitty image protocol

Project links

Commands and aliases

fancy-cat

history

Project history and usage

fancy-cat is a terminal PDF viewer built around the Kitty image protocol. Its README describes a modal interface, runtime configuration, key mappings, command mode, hot reload, status bar, page navigation, and dark-mode colorization.

Project history

The repository was created in November 2024 and is implemented as a Zig project. Its README presents the project as a PDF viewer for terminals that can display pages through image-capable terminal emulators such as Kitty, Ghostty, and WezTerm.

Adoption history

Official adoption information is modest: the README points to packaging status across repositories and the package appears in Homebrew and Nix through the input facts. The project is still young and the official sources do not support a broad adoption claim.

How it is used

The primary command is `fancy-cat <path-to-pdf> <optional-page-number>`. Once running, users navigate through a modal interface similar to Neovim and can enter command mode with `:` by default.

Configuration is JSON and lives under the XDG config directory when available, with fallback and legacy locations documented by the README.

Why package nerds care

fancy-cat is interesting to terminal-tool users because it packages graphical PDF reading as a shell-native workflow. It belongs to the recent wave of CLI applications that rely on modern terminal image protocols instead of opening a separate GUI viewer.

Timeline

2024: Repository created.
2024: v0.1.0 tag published.
2026: v0.6.0 tag present.

Related projects

Kitty image protocol support is the key terminal capability.
Zig is the implementation and build toolchain.

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:image

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 1 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
`fancy-cat`	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 version0.6.0

manager updated2026-06-27

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv0.6.0

https://github.com/freref/fancy-cat

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:fancy-cat
Version	0.6.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/fancy-cat
Homepage	https://github.com/freref/fancy-cat
Repository	https://github.com/freref/fancy-cat
Upstream docs	https://github.com/freref/fancy-cat#readme
License	AGPL-3.0-or-later
Source archive	https://github.com/freref/fancy-cat/archive/refs/tags/v0.6.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-27T15:38:04Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	mujs, mupdf
Build dependencies	zig@0.15
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, 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	fancy-cat
Version Scheme	0
Revision	1
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%

fancy-cat

nix profile install nixpkgs#fancy-cat

normalized package name match
Matched by: Fancy Cat

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/fa/fancy-cat/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/fancy-cat.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 fancy-cat with Homebrew, Nix