Install neonctl with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• neon
• neonctl

Project history

The standalone `neondatabase/neonctl` repository was created on 2022-08-27 and was later archived after development moved to the `neondatabase/neon-pkgs` monorepo under `packages/cli`. The old README points users to the monorepo for issues and pull requests, so the package history is a migration story rather than a dead project story.

The npm package `neonctl` was created on 2022-08-17 and had 172 published versions by 2026-07-01, while the newer monorepo release tags use names such as `neonctl@2.29.2`. That release cadence fits a cloud-service CLI: frequent small updates track API, authentication, branch, and deployment-surface changes.

Adoption history

Homebrew's formula API listed `neonctl` stable 2.29.0 on 2026-07-01, with install analytics of 1,704 installs in 30 days, 2,502 in 90 days, and 9,571 in 365 days. That is modest compared with editor/toolchain packages, but meaningful for a vendor-specific database CLI.

Adoption is tied to Neon users rather than to a broad independent ecosystem. The package matters when teams use Neon branching, connection strings, API-key automation, or local project linking from shell scripts and CI.

How it is used

The documented install paths are npm, Homebrew, and direct binaries. Users authenticate with `neon auth` or `neonctl auth`, list and create projects or branches, fetch connection strings, open `psql`, and bind a working directory to a Neon project with `link`-style workflows.

Package-oriented users tend to install it globally through Homebrew or npm because it is an operational tool: it belongs on developer laptops and CI runners rather than inside an application dependency graph.

Why package nerds care

For av.db, `brew:neonctl` is best treated as a cloud database control-plane CLI with active upstream development in a moved repository. The Homebrew formula name preserves the older `neonctl` identity even as the command and npm package story shifts toward `neon`.

Timeline

• {'date': '2022-08-17', 'event': 'The `neonctl` npm package was created.'}
• {'date': '2022-08-27', 'event': 'The standalone `neondatabase/neonctl` GitHub repository was created.'}
• {'date': '2025-04-09', 'event': 'The `neondatabase/neon-pkgs` monorepo was created.'}
• {'date': '2026-07-01', 'event': 'The `neon-pkgs` releases page listed `neonctl@2.29.2`; Homebrew listed stable 2.29.0.'}

Related projects

• Neon Serverless Postgres
• neondatabase/neon-pkgs
• neondatabase/neonctl

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/neondatabase/neon-pkgs/releases?per_page=8
• https://api.github.com/repos/neondatabase/neonctl
• https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/neonctl.json
• https://github.com/neondatabase/neon-pkgs/tree/main/packages/cli
• https://github.com/neondatabase/neonctl
• https://neon.com/docs/reference/neon-cli
• https://registry.npmjs.org/neonctl