Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install gurk with Homebrew, pacman

Signal Messenger client for terminal. Version 0.9.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install gurk

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Signal Messenger client for terminal

Commands and aliases

  • gurk

history

Project history and usage

gurk is a terminal Signal Messenger client written in Rust. It provides a text UI for linked-device Signal use and stores its configuration in `gurk.toml` under XDG-style or home-directory paths.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in July 2020, and an early v0.2.0 release was published in July 2021. The README describes first-run linking through a QR code, after which the program creates a configuration file at the default config location.

The project cannot publish its binary through crates.io according to the README because it depends on official Signal libraries that are not available there, so distribution relies on release binaries, source installs, and OS package managers.

Adoption history

The README documents installation through GitHub release binaries, `cargo binstall`, `cargo install --git`, Arch Linux packages, Nix/NixOS, and FreeBSD packages or ports. Homebrew and Arch package metadata make it available as a named package for terminal and messaging users.

Its adoption is necessarily niche: it is useful to users who want Signal in a terminal workflow and are comfortable with linked-device semantics, local configuration, and terminal keybindings.

How it is used

Users run `gurk`, link it as a Signal device via QR code on first launch, and then interact through keyboard-driven channel, message, selection, file upload, URL, reaction, mute, and help commands.

Configuration supports custom keybindings and default-keybinding control in `gurk.toml`; the same config locations may contain sensitive linked-client settings, which is why credentials and configuration locations are the same for curation purposes.

Why package nerds care

gurk is notable as a package because it sits at an awkward boundary: a Rust TUI application with Signal protocol dependencies that cannot use the ordinary crates.io binary path. That pushes distributors toward GitHub releases, git-based Cargo installs, and OS package recipes.

For terminal users, it is an example of packaging a messaging client as a keyboard-first command rather than a desktop application.

Timeline

  • 2020: GitHub repository created.
  • 2021: v0.2.0 release published.

Related projects

  • Signal Messenger is the service and protocol ecosystem gurk connects to.
  • presage is referenced by the README as a related Signal client library.
  • libsignal-related libraries are part of the dependency reason the binary is not published on crates.io.

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:client

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 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.

local files

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

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gurk/gurk.toml$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gurk.toml~/.config/gurk/gurk.toml~/.gurk.toml

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gurk/gurk.toml$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gurk.toml~/.config/gurk/gurk.toml~/.gurk.toml

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
gurkcliglobal 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 version0.9.3
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv0.9.3

https://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs

  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:gurk
Version0.9.3
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/gurk
Homepagehttps://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs
Repositoryhttps://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs
Upstream docshttps://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs#readme
LicenseAGPL-3.0-only
Source archivehttps://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs/archive/refs/tags/v0.9.3.tar.gz
Last updated2026-06-22T14:03:41-07:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesopenssl@3
Build dependenciespkgconf, protobuf, rust
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namegurk
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
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.

pacman95%

gurk 0.9.3-1

Signal Messenger client for terminal

https://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs

sudo pacman -S gurk
  • License: AGPL-3.0-only
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 4 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Gurk
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: gurk from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • openssl@3Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • pkgconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • protobufBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • rustBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • gitter-cliShares av.db curated category or tags: chat, cli, messaging, productivity.
  • imessage-exporterShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, messaging, productivity.
  • gotifyShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, messaging, productivity.
  • iambShares av.db curated category or tags: chat, cli, productivity.
  • joshutoShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity, terminal-ui.
  • micasaShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity, terminal-ui.

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.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated configuration and credential file locations
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment