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brew

Install nq with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix

Unix command-line queue utility. Version 1.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install nq.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install nq

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install nq

MacPorts ports tree · sysutils/nq/Portfile · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Unix command-line queue utility

Commands and aliases

  • nq
  • nqtail
  • nqterm

history

Project history and usage

nq is a tiny Unix command-line queue utility by Leah Neukirchen. Its GitHub repository was created on 2015-07-31, and its first listed tag, v0.1, points to a commit dated 2015-08-28.

Project history

The README positions nq as a set of small utilities for lightweight job queues with no setup, maintenance, supervision, or long-running daemon. It depends on POSIX.1-2008 behavior plus flock(2), and the README records testing across Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Mac OS X, and SmartOS.

The design is deliberately Unixy: jobs are represented by timestamp/PID log files, ordering is enforced with file locks, output is redirected to the job file, and environment variable NQDIR can move queues out of the current directory. The v1.0 tag points to a 2024-07-03 commit that renamed fq to nqtail and tq to nqterm because another fq project created packaging conflicts.

Adoption history

nq has more mindshare than its tiny code size suggests. The GitHub metadata consulted for this batch reported about 3.1k stars and 70 forks, and the input record shows packages across Alpine, Homebrew, Debian, Fedora/DNF, MacPorts, Nix, and Ubuntu.

Homebrew analytics reported only 52 installs over its 365-day window, so Homebrew is not the best measure of its audience. Its broader adoption signal is distro packaging and repeated mentions in command-line communities as a no-daemon alternative to heavier queue systems or ad hoc nohup chains.

How it is used

Practical use is simple: prefix a long-running command with nq, get a job id, and let it run in the background in queue order. Users inspect output with nqtail, wait with nq -w, test pending jobs with nq -t, kill by PID-like filename conventions, and set NQDIR when they want named queues.

Package nerds like nq because it solves a real shell annoyance without a service, config file, database, or scheduler. It is especially handy for serializing downloads, builds, benchmark runs, or one-off maintenance commands on machines where installing and supervising a queue daemon would be silly.

Why package nerds care

nq is significant as a minimal Unix tool: it uses filesystem locks and process semantics instead of owning an infrastructure layer. That makes it attractive to users who prefer composable command-line primitives.

Timeline

  • 2015-07-31: GitHub repository leahneukirchen/nq created.
  • 2015-08-28: v0.1 tag commit date.
  • 2024-07-03: v1.0 tag commit renames fq to nqtail and tq to nqterm to avoid packaging conflicts.

Related projects

  • task-spooler
  • nohup
  • flock
  • tmux
  • screen

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.

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

CommandKindExposureNote
nqcliglobal executable
nqtailcliglobal executable
nqtermcliglobal 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 generated2026-07-26
manager version1.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv1.0

https://github.com/leahneukirchen/nq

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:nq
Version1.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nq
Homepagehttps://github.com/leahneukirchen/nq
Repositoryhttps://github.com/leahneukirchen/nq
Upstream docshttps://github.com/leahneukirchen/nq#readme
LicenseCC0-1.0
Source archivehttps://github.com/leahneukirchen/nq/archive/refs/tags/v1.0.tar.gz
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namenq
Version Scheme0
Revision0
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%

nq 1.0-0.2

Lightweight queue system

https://git.vuxu.org/nq/about/

sudo apt install nq
  • Section: utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Nq
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: nq from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

nq

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

nq 0.3.1-4

Lightweight queue system

https://git.vuxu.org/nq/about/

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

nq 1.0-r2

Unix command line queue utility

https://github.com/leahneukirchen/nq

sudo apk add nq
  • License: CC0-1.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: nq
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Nq
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: nq from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

nq-doc 1.0-r2

Unix command line queue utility (documentation)

https://github.com/leahneukirchen/nq

sudo apk add nq-doc
  • License: CC0-1.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: nq
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Nq
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: nq-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

nq 1.0-5.fc44

Unix command line queue utility

https://github.com/leahneukirchen/nq

sudo dnf install nq
  • License: CC0-1.0
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: nq
  • 3 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Nq
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nq from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

nq

sudo port install nq
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Nq
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/nq/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.

Same workflow

  • bashShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, shell, system, unix.
  • dash-shellShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, shell, system, unix.
  • etshShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, shell, system, unix.
  • tcshShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, shell, system, unix.
  • yashShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, shell, system, unix.
  • ageduShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, unix.

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/nq.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