macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install johnlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install johnMacPorts ports tree · sysutils/john/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install john with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Featureful UNIX password cracker. Version 1.9.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-19.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add johnAlpine Linux edge package indexes · john · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install johnDebian stable package indexes · john · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install johnFedora Rawhide package metadata · john · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#johnnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/jo/john/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S johnArch Linux sync databases · john · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install johnopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · john · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Featureful UNIX password cracker
Project links
Commands and aliases
- john
- unafs
- unique
- unshadow
history
Project history and usage
John the Ripper is a classic open-source password security auditing and recovery tool. Its core identity is a fast Unix password cracker, but the Openwall documentation also presents it as a cross-platform tool for many Unix-like systems, macOS, Windows, DOS, BeOS, and OpenVMS.
Project history
According to Solar Designer on the Openwall john-users list, John the Ripper 1.0 was released in 1996 as a DOS replacement for Cracker Jack, built with DJGPP and optimized for 486 and Pentium systems. The same account says the incremental-mode prototypes date to 1995, the project became open source in 1997, and the 1.5 rewrite in 1998 formed the basis of later releases.
Openwall's project page separates core John from Jumbo: the core release is the smaller, more conservative line, while Jumbo carries broader community functionality. The openwall/john GitHub repository was created in 2011 and serves the development source referenced from the official homepage.
Adoption history
John became part of Unix security practice because it automated weak-password detection against common crypt(3) hashes and later gained support for Kerberos/AFS, Windows LM, DES tripcodes, and many additional formats. Openwall notes that John is included in Owl, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, Mandriva, SUSE, and BSD ports or packages.
Homebrew keeps a separate john formula for the core package, conflicting with john-jumbo so users choose between the conservative package and the enhanced branch.
How it is used
The core workflow is to feed John password hashes, let it identify or be told a format, crack with wordlist, single, or incremental modes, and save cracked values to john.pot. Related tools such as unshadow and unique support the Unix password-auditing workflow around the main john executable.
Why package nerds care
John is one of the packages that makes Unix security tooling feel like a package-manager canon item: tiny command name, long history, distro ubiquity, and a split between core stability and Jumbo reach. For maintainers, it is also a reminder that packaging security tools means preserving documentation, wordlists, CPU optimizations, and legal/licensing details alongside the executable.
Timeline
- 1995: Incremental-mode prototypes were written on Unix-like systems.
- 1996: John the Ripper 1.0 was released for DOS.
- 1997: John the Ripper became open source.
- 1998: Version 1.5 rewrote the codebase used by later versions.
- 2002: The code was imported into CVS for further maintenance as part of Owl.
- 2011: The openwall/john GitHub repository was created.
- 2019: Openwall released John the Ripper 1.9.0 core.
Related projects
- Related projects include John the Ripper Jumbo, John the Ripper Pro, Openwall wordlists, yescrypt, crypt_blowfish, passwdqc, Hash Suite, Hash Suite Droid, and Johnny, the Openwall GUI frontend.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: red
credential attack tooling.
Risk classifier
red risk · high confidence · escape-surveillance-offensive
Why
- credential attack tooling
Signals
- override:john
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
john | cli | global executable | |
unafs | cli | global executable | |
unique | cli | global executable | |
unshadow | 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 version1.9.0
manager updated2026-06-19
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://www.openwall.com/john/
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.openwall.com/john/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:john |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.9.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/john |
| Homepage | https://www.openwall.com/john/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/openwall/john |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/openwall/john |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://www.openwall.com/john/k/john-1.9.0.tar.xz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-19T12:31:21-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Uses from macOS | libxcrypt |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, 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 | john |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 1 |
| Conflicts With |
|
| 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.
Debian apt95%
john 1.9.0-2
active password cracking tool
sudo apt install john- Section: admin
- Architecture: amd64
- 4 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
Debian apt95%
john-data 1.9.0-2
active password cracking tool - character sets
sudo apt install john-data- Section: admin
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: john
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
Nix95%
john
nix profile install nixpkgs#john- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
Ubuntu apt95%
john 1.9.0-2build1
active password cracking tool
sudo apt install john- Section: admin
- Architecture: amd64
- 4 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
Ubuntu apt95%
john-data 1.9.0-2build1
active password cracking tool - character sets
sudo apt install john-data- Section: admin
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: john
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
apk95%
john 1.9.0-r8
John the Ripper password cracker
sudo apk add john- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: john
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
apk95%
john-bash-completion 1.9.0-r8
Bash completions for john
sudo apk add john-bash-completion- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: john
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
apk95%
john-doc 1.9.0-r8
John the Ripper password cracker (documentation)
sudo apk add john-doc- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: john
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
apk95%
john-zsh-completion 1.9.0-r8
Zsh completions for john
sudo apk add john-zsh-completion- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: john
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
dnf95%
john 1.9.0-12.fc43
John the Ripper password cracker
sudo dnf install john- License: GPL-2.0-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: john
- 6 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
pacman95%
john 1.9.0.jumbo1-13
John the Ripper password cracker
sudo pacman -S john- License: GPL2 AND custom
- Architecture: x86_64
- 8 dependencies
- 5 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
zypper95%
john 1.9.0-9.12
Utility to detect weak passwords
https://www.openwall.com/john/
sudo zypper install john- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Productivity/Security
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: john
- 14 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
MacPorts95%
john
sudo port install john- normalized package name match
- Matched by: John
dnf92%
unique 1.1.6-37.fc44
Single instance support for applications
http://www.gnome.org/~ebassi/source/
sudo dnf install unique- License: LicenseRef-Callaway-LGPLv2+
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: unique
- 19 dependencies
- 2 provides
- installed executable or alias match
- Matched by: Unique
dnf92%
unique-devel 1.1.6-37.fc44
Libraries and headers for Unique
http://www.gnome.org/~ebassi/source/
sudo dnf install unique-devel- License: LicenseRef-Callaway-LGPLv2+
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: unique
- 6 dependencies
- 2 provides
- installed executable or alias match
- Matched by: Unique
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