Install ohdear-cli with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• ohdear
• ohdear-cli

Project history

The package began as a Laravel Zero based PHP CLI. Its repository was created on 2018-02-16, and the project changelog records a 1.0.0 entry on 2018-01-18. Packagist records the early package under the `ohdearapp/ohdear-cli` name with the `ohdear-cli` binary and a Laravel Zero 5.6-era dependency set.

The tool evolved alongside the Oh Dear API. The 2.x releases in December 2020 and January 2021 added commands for status pages, performance records, maintenance periods, mixed content, broken links, certificate health, checks, uptime, downtime, and cron checks. The 3.x line moved to Laravel Zero 9, dropped PHP 7, and added DNS history, application health, Docker image support, and Lighthouse reports.

Version 4.0.0, released on 2023-05-25, renamed the binary from `ohdear-cli` to `ohdear` because the package had become the official CLI. Version 5.0.0, released on 2026-02-23, rewrote the tool around `spatie/laravel-openapi-cli`, replaced more than 30 manually written command classes with OpenAPI-generated commands, changed authentication to `ohdear login` with `~/.ohdear/config.json`, and added an `install-skill` command for AI coding assistants.

Adoption history

Oh Dear CLI's adoption is tied to Oh Dear customers and the PHP/Laravel ecosystem rather than broad general-purpose CLI usage. The official docs describe it as the CLI for every Oh Dear API endpoint, and Homebrew's 2026-07-01 formula API reported 281 installs over 365 days.

The binary rename in v4 shows the project moving from a community or companion tool into the service's official command-line interface. Owen Voke's 2023 v4 write-up describes the rename and notes a Homebrew symlink for backward compatibility.

How it is used

Operators authenticate with `ohdear login`, store the API token in `~/.ohdear/config.json`, and run commands such as `list-monitors`, `get-uptime`, `list-broken-links`, `get-certificate-health`, `start-maintenance`, `create-status-page-update`, `list-cron-checks`, and Lighthouse report commands. Commands default to human-readable output and can emit JSON with `--json`.

The v5 OpenAPI generation model is important operationally: new Oh Dear API endpoints can become CLI commands without hand-maintaining one command class per endpoint. The CLI also exposes `clear-cache` for cached OpenAPI specs and `install-skill` for AI agent integration.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, Oh Dear CLI is a tidy example of a SaaS product CLI that changed shape over time: hand-written Laravel Zero commands, official binary naming, PHAR distribution, then OpenAPI-generated command coverage. Its package metadata preserves that evolution through Packagist, Homebrew, and the changelog.

It also demonstrates the practical packaging effect of CLI naming. Homebrew exposes both `ohdear` and `ohdear-cli`, while the upstream project treats `ohdear` as the official executable after v4.

Timeline

• 2018-01-18: the changelog records the first release.
• 2018-02-16: the GitHub repository was created.
• 2020-12-08: version 2.0.0 added many service-management commands and rewrote the tool with Laravel Zero 8.
• 2022-03-15: version 3.0.0 moved to Laravel Zero 9, added DNS history commands, and dropped PHP 7.
• 2023-05-25: version 4.0.0 renamed the executable from `ohdear-cli` to `ohdear`.
• 2026-02-23: version 5.0.0 rewrote command generation around the Oh Dear OpenAPI spec.
• 2026-03-23: Packagist published v5.2.1.

Related projects

• The CLI is part of the Oh Dear tool family alongside the Oh Dear PHP SDK, Laravel Nova tooling, API documentation, and AI-agent skill support. Its implementation is also tied to Laravel Zero and Spatie's OpenAPI CLI generator.

Sources

• https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/ohdear-cli.json
• https://github.com/ohdearapp/ohdear-cli
• https://ohdear.app/docs/tools-and-sdks/our-cli-tool
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohdearapp/ohdear-cli/main/CHANGELOG.md
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohdearapp/ohdear-cli/main/README.md
• https://repo.packagist.org/p2/ohdearapp/ohdear-cli.json
• https://voke.dev/blog/whats-new-in-ohdear-cli-4