install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install metals

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#metals

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

overview

Package summary

Scala language server

Project links

Commands and aliases

metals
metals-mcp

history

Project history and usage

Metals is the Scala language server from the Scalameta ecosystem. The name is explained by the project as Meta, from Scalameta, plus LS, from Language Server. Early public announcements credited work at the Scala Center with community contributors, and Ólafur Páll Geirsson announced Metals 0.3 and 0.4 releases during the 2018-2019 period as a work-in-progress language server for Scala editors.

Project history

Metals' technical role is to bring IDE features to editors that speak the Language Server Protocol. The 2019 Scala language blog described Metals 0.5 as supporting completions, type at point, goto definition, fuzzy symbol search, and other editing and navigation features in VS Code, Vim, Emacs, Atom, Sublime Text, and any compatible LSP client. The tool also connected the editor side of Scala tooling to build tools through Bloop and the Build Server Protocol, allowing support for sbt, Gradle, Maven, Mill, and any build tool implementing BSP.

Adoption history

Version 1.0.0, codenamed Silver, was announced in July 2023 as a culmination of work by the community and core Metals team, with support for important LSP features and IDE-like workflows in users' editors. Metals documentation names Scala Center and VirtusLab among the organizations developing Metals with community help.

How it is used

In practice, Metals is installed by editor plugins or as a standalone language-server binary, then launched by VS Code, Neovim, Emacs, Sublime Text, Zed, Helix, or another client. Homebrew and Nix packaging make the server available outside editor-specific installers, which matters for reproducible developer machines, CI checks around editor tooling, and users who prefer to manage language servers through the OS package manager.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for metals. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

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 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

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`metals`	cli	global executable
`metals-mcp`	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 version1.6.7

manager updated2026-06-22

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv1.6.7

https://github.com/scalameta/metals

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:metals
Version	1.6.7
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/metals
Homepage	https://scalameta.org/metals/
Repository	https://github.com/scalameta/metals
Upstream docs	https://scalameta.org/metals
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://github.com/scalameta/metals/archive/refs/tags/v1.6.7.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-22T14:05:28-07:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	openjdk@25
Build dependencies	sbt
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, 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	metals
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
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.

Nix95%

metals

nix profile install nixpkgs#metals

normalized package name match
Matched by: Metals

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/me/metals/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/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.

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.

combined/metals.yml

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

Install metals with Homebrew, Nix