Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install install-nothing with Homebrew, Nix, winget

Simulates installing things but doesn't actually install anything. Version 0.5.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#install-nothing.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install install-nothing

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#install-nothing

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/in/install-nothing/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Windows

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id buyukakyuz.install-nothing -e

Windows Package Manager source index · buyukakyuz.install-nothing · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

Simulates installing things but doesn't actually install anything

Commands and aliases

  • install-nothing

history

Project history and usage

install-nothing is a Rust terminal application that simulates installing things while deliberately not installing anything. Its package history is short, but it fits a recognizable CLI culture niche: a package-manager joke that is still distributed as a real executable.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in 2025. The README describes a terminal program that simulates installing things, includes an asciinema demo, and documents binary, source, and Docker usage.

Tagged releases began with early 0.x versions and reached v0.5.0 in 2025. The README exposes small controls for selecting or excluding simulated installation stages, keeping the joke interactive rather than a static message.

Adoption history

The package crossed from a GitHub novelty into package-manager distribution. The input metadata records Homebrew, Nix, and Winget entries, and Homebrew packages the v0.5.0 source archive.

How it is used

Users either run the downloaded binary, run it from source with Cargo, or run it in Docker. The command accepts optional stage names and an exclusion flag, then prints simulated installation progress until interrupted or completed.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, install-nothing is mostly a meta-package joke: a real formula whose purpose is to parody installer progress, bootstrap rituals, and the emotional texture of watching dependencies install.

Its significance is in the contradiction between function and packaging. The package has install instructions, releases, binaries, Docker support, and package-manager entries for a tool whose documented job is to do no real installation work.

Timeline

  • 2025: GitHub repository created.
  • 2025: v0.3.0, v0.4.x, and v0.5.0 tags appear.
  • 2025: Homebrew packages v0.5.0 from the GitHub source archive.

Related projects

  • install-nothing is related more to terminal demos, installer parodies, Rust CLIs, Cargo-built novelty tools, Homebrew joke packages, Nix packaging, and Winget distribution than to a functional dependency manager.

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 6 platform targets.
  • 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

CommandKindExposureNote
install-nothingcliglobal 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 generated2026-07-26
manager version0.5.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv0.5.0

https://github.com/buyukakyuz/install-nothing

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:install-nothing
Version0.5.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/install-nothing
Homepagehttps://github.com/buyukakyuz/install-nothing
Repositoryhttps://github.com/buyukakyuz/install-nothing
Upstream docshttps://github.com/buyukakyuz/install-nothing#readme
LicenseMIT
Source archivehttps://github.com/buyukakyuz/install-nothing/archive/refs/tags/v0.5.0.tar.gz
Build dependenciesrust
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 Nameinstall-nothing
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • head
  • 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%

install-nothing

nix profile install nixpkgs#install-nothing
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Install Nothing
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/in/install-nothing/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
winget95%

buyukakyuz.install-nothing

winget install --id buyukakyuz.install-nothing -e
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Install Nothing
Windows Package Manager source index · cdn.winget.microsoft.com · Windows Package Manager source index: buyukakyuz.install-nothing from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

package graph

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

Related tools

  • rustBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • install-peerdepsPackage names and metadata indicate a similar tool family. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, install.

Same workflow

  • charsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rust, terminal.
  • code-minimapShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rust, terminal.
  • genactShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rust, terminal.
  • gituShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rust, terminal.
  • gituiShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rust, terminal.
  • halpShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rust, terminal.

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 package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment