Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install mcabber with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Console Jabber client. Version 1.1.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-11.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install mcabber

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install mcabber

MacPorts ports tree · net/mcabber/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add mcabber

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · mcabber · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install mcabber

Debian stable package indexes · mcabber · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install mcabber

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · mcabber · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#mcabber

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/mc/mcabber/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S mcabber

Arch Linux sync databases · mcabber · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install mcabber

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · mcabber · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Console Jabber client

Commands and aliases

  • mcabber

history

Project history and usage

MCabber is a console XMPP/Jabber client with a long Unix terminal pedigree. It combines ncurses-style chat, roster management, command completion, history logging, multi-user chat, TLS, OpenPGP, OTR, and scripting hooks in a single terminal client.

Project history

The official homepage records the first public mcabber release on 2005-06-08 and describes the program as a small XMPP console client tested on GNU/Linux, BSD, Mac OS X, and Cygwin. It grew during the classic Jabber era, when terminal users wanted a persistent chat client that behaved more like Mutt, Irssi, or centericq than a desktop messenger.

MCabber's 0.10.0 release in 2010 switched the client to the Loudmouth XMPP library and added dynamic modules. The 1.0.0 release in 2015 arrived on the project's tenth anniversary with Message Carbons, multi-language spellchecking, completion and scroll-lock improvements, and new SSL options when used with a recent Loudmouth.

Maintenance after 1.0 focused on protocol and security details important to XMPP users: Message Carbons, PGP, OTR, SSL/TLS handling, XDG configuration support, and fixes for roster-push and CVE-related issues. In 2018 the maintainer added an official GitHub mirror while keeping the Mercurial repository as the project repository.

Adoption history

MCabber is available across many package managers listed in the input metadata, including Alpine, Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, and openSUSE. That breadth is notable for a terminal chat client: it survived because it served a durable niche of shell-first XMPP users.

The upstream homepage also points users to known operating-system packages, reinforcing that distribution packaging has been part of the project's normal installation path rather than an afterthought.

How it is used

A typical MCabber setup stores connection and behavior settings in ~/.mcabber/mcabberrc. The official sample configuration shows JID, optional password or password_eval, server, TLS, certificate, fingerprint, and PGP options, which is why the config file can also be a credentials-bearing file.

Users run mcabber as a long-lived terminal client for one-to-one XMPP chats, group chats, history logging, command-driven roster navigation, and integrations through external action triggers or modules.

Why package nerds care

MCabber matters to package nerds because it is a surviving example of the console-chat-client lineage in Unix packaging. It sits beside tools such as Irssi, WeeChat, Mutt, and Finch in the category of network clients whose user interface is primarily a terminal command language.

Its packaging history also captures the old Jabber-to-XMPP ecosystem: Loudmouth as a client library, OTR and PGP integrations, XDG migration, and signed tarball releases from a long-running personal project site.

Timeline

  • 2005: First public mcabber release.
  • 2010: mcabber 0.10.0 switched to Loudmouth and added dynamic modules.
  • 2015: mcabber 1.0.0 was released on the project's tenth anniversary.
  • 2016: mcabber 1.0.1 added Message Carbons, PGP, OTR, SSL, and XDG improvements.
  • 2017: mcabber 1.0.5 fixed CVE-2017-5589 and improved large-roster performance.
  • 2018: An official GitHub mirror was created.
  • 2020: mcabber 1.1.2 was released as a maintenance release.

Related projects

  • Related projects include Loudmouth, Gajim, Profanity, Poezio, Finch, Pidgin, Irssi, WeeChat, and the broader XMPP/Jabber client ecosystem.

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 8 platform targets.
  • Installs with 8 runtime dependencies.
  • 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.

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
~/.mcabber/mcabberrc

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix
~/.mcabber/mcabberrc

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
mcabbercliglobal 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 version1.1.2
manager updated2026-05-11
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://mcabber.com/

  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://mcabber.com/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:mcabber
Version1.1.2
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mcabber
Homepagehttps://mcabber.com/
Repositoryhttps://hg.lilotux.net/mcabber
Upstream docshttps://mcabber.com/files/mcabber_guide.pdf
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://mcabber.com/files/mcabber-1.1.2.tar.bz2
Last updated2026-05-11T15:14:15-04:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesgettext, glib, gpgme, libassuan, libgpg-error, libidn, libotr, loudmouth
Build dependenciespkgconf
Uses from macOSncurses
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared
CaveatsA configuration file is necessary to start mcabber. The template is here: $HOMEBREW_PREFIX/opt/mcabber/share/mcabber/mcabberrc.example And there is a Getting Started Guide you will need to setup Mcabber: https://wiki.mcabber.com/#index2h1

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namemcabber
Version Scheme0
Revision2
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.

Debian apt95%

mcabber 1.1.2-2+b2

small Jabber (XMPP) console client

https://mcabber.com/

sudo apt install mcabber
  • Section: net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: mcabber
  • 8 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: mcabber from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

mcabber

nix profile install nixpkgs#mcabber
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/mc/mcabber/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

mcabber 1.1.2-2build2

small Jabber (XMPP) console client

https://mcabber.com/

sudo apt install mcabber
  • Section: universe/net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 8 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mcabber from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

mcabber 1.1.2-r6

Small Jabber console client

https://mcabber.com

sudo apk add mcabber
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mcabber
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mcabber from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

mcabber-dev 1.1.2-r6

Small Jabber console client (development files)

https://mcabber.com

sudo apk add mcabber-dev
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mcabber
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mcabber-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

mcabber-doc 1.1.2-r6

Small Jabber console client (documentation)

https://mcabber.com

sudo apk add mcabber-doc
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mcabber
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mcabber-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

mcabber 1.1.3-0.11.20211025git87964c3.fc44

Console Jabber instant messaging client

https://mcabber.com

sudo dnf install mcabber
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mcabber
  • 12 dependencies
  • 5 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mcabber from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

mcabber-devel 1.1.3-0.11.20211025git87964c3.fc44

Development files for mcabber

https://mcabber.com

sudo dnf install mcabber-devel
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: mcabber
  • 3 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mcabber-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

mcabber 1.1.2-3

A small Jabber console client, includes features: SSL, PGP, MUC, UTF8

https://www.lilotux.net/~mikael/mcabber/

sudo pacman -S mcabber
  • License: GPL
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 6 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: mcabber from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

mcabber 1.1.2-3.3

Modular XMPP client on ncurses

https://mcabber.com/

sudo zypper install mcabber
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Category: Productivity/Networking/Instant Messenger
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mcabber
  • 10 dependencies
  • 5 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: mcabber from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

mcabber-devel 1.1.2-3.3

Headers for modular XMPP client on ncurses

https://mcabber.com/

sudo zypper install mcabber-devel
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mcabber
  • 3 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: mcabber-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

mcabber

sudo port install mcabber
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mcabber
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: net/mcabber/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

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

Related tools

  • gettextRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • glibRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • gpgmeRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • libassuanRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • libgpg-errorRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • libidnRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • libotrRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • pkgconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • profanityShares av.db curated category or tags: chat-client, cli, messaging, ncurses, networking.
  • ejabberdShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, messaging, networking, xmpp.
  • activemqShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, messaging, networking.
  • center-imShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, messaging, networking.
  • czmqShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, messaging, networking.
  • emqxShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, messaging, networking.

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