macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install fortunelocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install fortuneMacPorts ports tree · games/fortune/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install fortune with Homebrew, apk, MacPorts, Nix, zypper
Infamous electronic fortune-cookie generator. Version 9708 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-27.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add fortuneAlpine Linux edge package indexes · fortune · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#fortunenixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/fo/fortune/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install fortuneopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · fortune · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Infamous electronic fortune-cookie generator
Project links
Commands and aliases
- fortune
- strfile
- unstr
history
Project history and usage
`fortune` is the Unix fortune-cookie command: a terminal program that prints a random quotation from local quote databases. The Homebrew package tracks fortune-mod, the Linux-oriented continuation of the older BSD fortune tradition.
Project history
The current upstream describes fortune-mod as a maintenance version of the Unix `fortune` command. Its README says fortune-mod was originally forked from NetBSD fortune and ported to Linux, then later maintained from a Git import of the 1.99.1 tarball sourced via a Mageia source RPM.
The ibiblio Linux archive preserves a 1997 `fortune-mod-9708.tar.gz` package described as bug fixes and enhancements to NetBSD fortune, strfile, and unstr. The same archive shows surrounding quote collections for different languages and desktop uses, capturing the way fortune files spread as data packages as much as programs.
Adoption history
fortune-mod became the common `fortune` implementation on Linux distributions. The upstream README documents installation via Fedora, Arch, Alpine, Debian-derived systems, and source builds, and the supplied package facts show package entries across Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, Alpine, and openSUSE.
How it is used
The common use is deliberately small: run `fortune` to print a random quote. The package also includes tools such as `strfile` and `unstr` for building and inspecting the indexed `.dat` files used by fortune databases.
Why package nerds care
fortune is package-manager folklore: a tiny CLI whose real payload is a corpus of text files, traditionally split into normal, offensive, localized, and site-specific databases. It is useful to package historians because it connects BSD games, Linux distribution patches, data packaging, and terminal culture.
Timeline
- 1979: The original BSD `fortune` program predates modern scripting-language reimplementations, according to the upstream README.
- 1997: ibiblio archived `fortune-mod-9708.tar.gz` for Linux fortune users.
- 2016: The current `shlomif/fortune-mod` GitHub repository was created.
- 2020: The upstream README credited Shlomi Fish with maintaining fortune-mod from version 2.0.0 onward.
- 2026: GitHub Releases listed fortune-mod 3.26.0.
Related projects
- The package is related to BSD games, NetBSD fortune, localized fortune collections, Shlomi Fish's fortune cookie files, XML-Grammar-Fortune, and reimplementations in Perl, Python, Go, and Rust that the upstream README lists as alternatives.
Sources
- https://api.github.com/repos/shlomif/fortune-mod
- https://api.github.com/repos/shlomif/fortune-mod/releases
- https://github.com/shlomif/fortune-mod
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shlomif/fortune-mod/master/CREDITS.asciidoc
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shlomif/fortune-mod/master/README.asciidoc
- https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/games/amusements/fortune/!INDEX.html
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 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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
fortune | cli | global executable | |
strfile | cli | global executable | |
unstr | 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 version9708
manager updated2026-06-27
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/games/amusements/fortune/!INDEX.html
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/games/amusements/fortune/!INDEX.htmlnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:fortune |
|---|---|
| Version | 9708 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/fortune |
| Homepage | https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/games/amusements/fortune/!INDEX.html |
| Repository | https://github.com/shlomif/fortune-mod |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/shlomif/fortune-mod#readme |
| License | BSD-4-Clause-UC |
| Source archive | https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/games/amusements/fortune/fortune-mod-9708.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-27T16:38:50-04:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | available (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-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | fortune |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| 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.
Nix95%
fortune
nix profile install nixpkgs#fortune- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fortune
apk95%
fortune 0.1-r4
Fortune cookie program ported from OpenBSD
https://github.com/ahills/fortune
sudo apk add fortune- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: fortune
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fortune
apk95%
fortune-doc 0.1-r4
Fortune cookie program ported from OpenBSD (documentation)
https://github.com/ahills/fortune
sudo apk add fortune-doc- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: fortune
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fortune
zypper95%
fortune 2.10.0-2.6
Random Saying
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/games/amusements/fortune/
sudo zypper install fortune- License: BSD-4-Clause
- Category: Amusements/Toys/Other
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: fortune
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fortune
MacPorts95%
fortune
sudo port install fortune- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fortune
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