macOS
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brew install niftlocal Homebrew formula metadata
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Install nift with Homebrew
Cross-platform open source framework for managing and generating websites. Version 3.0.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Cross-platform open source framework for managing and generating websites
Project links
Commands and aliases
- nift
- nsm
history
Project history and usage
Nift, formerly/also nsm for Nifty Site Manager, is a cross-platform website generator and site manager. Its own site calls it an unopinionated web development framework, while the GitHub README emphasizes managing and generating websites.
Project history
The Nift GitHub README credits Nicholas Ham and dates the project copyright from 2015 onward. The official site says it is open source under the MIT license and developed from the ground up in C++.
Nift's identity is unusual for the static-site-generator space: the Jamstack generator directory describes it as git-like and LaTeX-like, with the intent of creating a command-line site manager. The official site also emphasizes embedded Lua/LuaJIT and ExprTk, Git integration, incremental builds, a single executable, and multithreading.
Adoption history
Adoption is niche. GitHub showed 249 stars, 22 forks, and 60 releases when researched on July 1, 2026, with the latest GitHub release shown as Nift v3.0.3 on January 13, 2024. The Jamstack generator page listed 243 stars and 21 forks, consistent with small-project scale.
Homebrew's formula API reported 47 installs over 365 days, six over 90 days, and four over 30 days when queried on July 1, 2026. That makes the Homebrew package a convenience for curious users and existing Nift projects, not a broad ecosystem anchor.
How it is used
Users run nift or nsm commands to initialize and manage a site, track pages, build changed output, build all output, serve locally, clone/pull, and combine build/commit/push flows. The official basic usage tutorial walks through .nsm tracking metadata, content and template files, output generation, and incremental rebuilds.
Package nerds may notice that Nift exposes both nift and nsm names, ships as a single executable, embeds scripting/expression engines, and tries to cover site management workflow as well as generation. It competes more on personal workflow taste than on a large plugin/theme ecosystem.
Why package nerds care
Nift is significant mostly as a small, opinionated-by-implementation counterexample in the static site generator catalog: C++/C codebase, single binary, git-like commands, LaTeX-like templating ambitions, and a very small Homebrew footprint.
Timeline
- 2015: Nift copyright begins, according to the GitHub README and official site footer.
- January 13, 2024: GitHub showed Nift v3.0.3 as the latest release when researched on July 1, 2026.
- July 1, 2026: Homebrew formula API reported 47 installs over 365 days.
Related projects
- LuaJIT, Lua, ExprTk, Git, Netlify, GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages, Bitbucket
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 10 platform targets.
- Installs with 1 runtime 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
nift | cli | global executable | |
nsm | 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 generated2026-07-25
manager version3.0.3
manager updated2026-06-25
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv3.0.3
https://github.com/nifty-site-manager/nsm
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:nift |
|---|---|
| Version | 3.0.3 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nift |
| Homepage | https://nift.dev/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/nifty-site-manager/nsm |
| Upstream docs | https://nift.dev/docs/commands.html |
| License | MIT |
| Source archive | https://github.com/nifty-site-manager/nsm/archive/refs/tags/v3.0.3.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-25T13:37:57+02:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | luajit |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, monterey, 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 | nift |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
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
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment