macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install ngslocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install ngsMacPorts ports tree · shells/ngs/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install ngs with Homebrew, apk, MacPorts
Powerful programming language and shell designed specifically for Ops. Version 0.2.17 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add ngsAlpine Linux edge package indexes · ngs · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
overview
Package summary
Powerful programming language and shell designed specifically for Ops
Project links
Commands and aliases
- ngs
history
Project history and usage
NGS, or Next Generation Shell, is a GPL-3.0 language and shell project aimed at operations and DevOps scripting. The project positions itself between traditional shells and general-purpose languages: keep convenient process execution, but add structured data handling, exceptions, multimethods, patterns, and libraries for automation tasks.
Project history
The public project is source-first and documentation-heavy rather than release-history-heavy. Its README states that the creator built NGS to reduce the pain of using Bash or Python for common Ops work, and the documentation set for version 0.2.17 includes language reference, tutorial, motivation, internals, style guide, CLI manual, and AWS command documentation.
The repository records roughly three thousand commits and a 0.2.x release line; Homebrew packaged version 0.2.17 from the upstream GitHub tag. NGS also carries installation paths through Homebrew, MacPorts, Snap, Docker, GitHub Actions, and helper projects for AWS Lambda and IPython/Jupyter.
Adoption history
Adoption evidence is visible but niche. The GitHub repository shows about 1.5k stars, while Homebrew analytics on July 1, 2026 reported 35 installs on request over 365 days. The package is also present in Alpine and MacPorts, which suggests packaging interest beyond Homebrew but not broad ecosystem pull.
The upstream README gives one concrete production-ish adoption note: NGS is used at Beame.io for miscellaneous scripting, CLI testing, performance-test orchestration, and cloud manipulation. That is stronger than a toy example, but there are few independent adoption writeups.
How it is used
Package nerds use NGS as an experiment in replacing shell scripts for automation with a language that treats JSON, tables, command exit codes, retries, logging, status output, and external-program pipelines as first-class Ops concerns. The practical workflow is to install `ngs`, run scripts with `ngs SCRIPT_NAME.ngs`, or use one-liners such as `ngs -pi 'sum(0..10)'`.
The interesting packaging detail is that NGS is not only a CLI binary; it is also distributed as a GitHub Action and has integrations for container and serverless runtimes. That makes it a small but coherent language-runtime package rather than just another shell helper.
Timeline
- {'date': '2026-07-01', 'event': 'Homebrew API listed stable version 0.2.17 and 35 install-on-request events over 365 days.'}
Related projects
- Bash
- Python
- Rash
- ngs-aws-lambda
- ngs-ipython-extension
Sources
security posture
Risk level: yellow
generalized runtime or code generation signal.
Risk classifier
yellow risk · medium confidence · runtime
Why
- generalized runtime or code generation signal
Signals
- text:programming language,shell
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.
- Installs with 5 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
ngs | 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 version0.2.17
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv0.2.17
https://github.com/ngs-lang/ngs
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:ngs |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.2.17 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ngs |
| Homepage | https://ngs-lang.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/ngs-lang/ngs |
| Upstream docs | https://ngs-lang.org/doc/latest/index.html |
| License | GPL-3.0-only |
| Source archive | https://github.com/ngs-lang/ngs/archive/refs/tags/v0.2.17.tar.gz |
| Dependencies | bdw-gc, gnu-sed, json-c, pcre, peg |
| Build dependencies | cmake, pandoc, pkgconf |
| Uses from macOS | libffi |
| 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 | ngs |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | yes |
| 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.
apk95%
ngs 0.2.14-r0
Next Generation Shell
sudo apk add ngs- License: GPL-3.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: ngs
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ngs
apk95%
ngs-aws 0.2.14-r0
Next Generation Shell - experimental AWS library
sudo apk add ngs-aws- License: GPL-3.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: ngs
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ngs
apk95%
ngs-vim 0.2.14-r0
Next Generation Shell (vim syntax)
sudo apk add ngs-vim- License: GPL-3.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: ngs
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ngs
MacPorts95%
ngs
sudo port install ngs- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ngs
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