# Install grc with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper Colorize logfiles and command output. Version 1.13 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:grc ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install grc ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install grc ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: textproc/grc/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install grc ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: grc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install grc ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: grc from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#grc ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gr/grc/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S grc ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: grc from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install grc ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: grc from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:grc - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.13 - **Source summary:** Colorize logfiles and command output - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - grc (cli) - grcat (cli) - grc (alias) - grcat (alias) ## Dependencies - python@3.14 ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on all ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.13 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/garabik/grc - Upstream latest detected: v1.13 (current) - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. ## Project history and usage grc, the Generic Colouriser, is a small Python command-line wrapper and filter for adding ANSI color to log files and command output. Its package-manager appeal is that it sits in front of ordinary Unix commands rather than replacing them: users keep tools such as ping, traceroute, netstat, ps, diff, and tail, while grc and grcat apply regular-expression based color rules. ### Project history Radovan Garabik describes grc as his response to the many separate logfile and command-output colorizers that existed around the late 1990s. The project split the work into two programs: grcat, the filter that reads standard input and applies color rules, and grc, the front end that runs another command and selects an appropriate grcat configuration. The upstream Debian-style changelog records version 0.1 as the initial release on 1999-10-14 and version 1.0 as the first stable version on 2001-02-23. Subsequent entries show the project accumulating the kind of practical terminal features package users notice: stderr handling, nested and overlapping regexes, multiline blocks, skip rules, diff coloring, Python 3 compatibility work, zsh alias compatibility, and additional command configurations. ### Adoption history grc fit naturally into Unix packaging because it is a wrapper around existing commands, ships as a small script-and-configuration package, and can be enabled per shell through bash, zsh, or fish snippets. The batch package facts list it across Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Ubuntu, and openSUSE ecosystems, which matches its role as a portable terminal enhancement rather than a platform-specific application. ### How it is used Typical use is interactive: run commands such as grc ping hostname, grc tail /var/log/syslog, or pipe data through grcat with a named configuration. grc chooses color rules from /etc/grc.conf or ~/.grc/grc.conf, then grcat searches user and system configuration directories for the referenced rule file. The configuration model is intentionally plain text. Rules are regular expressions with keywords such as regexp, colours, command, concat, skip, replace, and count, so package maintainers and users can add color rules without changing the program. ### Why package nerds care grc is a classic package-nerd utility because its value grows with distro integration: the useful part is not just the executable, but the curated set of color files, shell snippets, and install paths that make common commands nicer immediately after installation. It also illustrates the long tail of terminal polish packages: small, old, stable-enough tools that persist because they compose with everything else in the shell. ### Timeline - 1999: Version 0.1 initial release recorded in the upstream changelog. - 2001: Version 1.0 marked as the first stable version. - 2003: grcat gained an error path for missing configuration files. - 2013: Preliminary Python 3 support appeared in version 1.5. - 2017: Version 1.10 was marked Python 3 compatible and added many configurations. - 2018: Version 1.11.3 made --colour=auto the default. - 2021: Version 1.13 and 1.13.1 refined shell alias behavior and IP address coloring. ### Related projects - grcat is the filtering half of the grc project. - The upstream README explicitly frames grc among older command-output colorizers such as colortail, gccolor, and colormake. - Shell startup snippets for bash, zsh, and fish are part of the practical packaging surface. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: ~/.grc/grc.conf, /etc/grc.conf, ~/.grc/, /usr/local/share/grc/, /usr/share/grc/ ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** grc - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 1 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - grc - 1.13.1-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: grc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | generic colouriser for everything - Nix - grc: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gr/grc/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - grc - 1.13.1-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: grc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | generic colouriser for everything - dnf - grc - 1.13-11.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: grc from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Generic Colorizer | http://korpus.juls.savba.sk/~garabik/software/grc.html - pacman - grc - 1.13-2: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: grc from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Yet another colouriser for beautifying your logfiles or output of commands | https://github.com/garabik/grc - zypper - grc - 1.13-2.5: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: grc from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Generic colouriser for everything | http://kassiopeia.juls.savba.sk/~garabik/software/grc.html - MacPorts - grc: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: textproc/grc/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [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. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [python@3.14](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/python-3-14/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [termshot](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/termshot/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, command-output, developer-tools, terminal. - [aha](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aha/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal. - [amtterm](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/amtterm/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal. - [ansifilter](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ansifilter/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal. - [ccat](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ccat/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal. - [clive](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/clive/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal. - [colordiff](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/colordiff/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal. - [colormake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/colormake/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal. - [gptline](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gptline/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, python, python-3-14. - [tmuxp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/tmuxp/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, python, python-3-14. - [spacer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/spacer/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, command-output, developer, developer-tools, logs. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/grc.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/grc.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph