install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install swiftly

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Swift toolchain installer and manager

Project links

Commands and aliases

swiftly

history

Project history and usage

swiftly is the Swift project's official command-line installer and version manager for standalone Swift toolchains. It matters to package-manager culture because it gives Swift a first-party answer to language-version managers such as swiftenv, with project-level `.swift-version` files and support for stable and snapshot toolchains.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in June 2022. The README describes swiftly as a Swift-written CLI for installing, managing, and switching Swift toolchains on Linux and macOS.

Swift.org announced swiftly 1.0 on March 28, 2025 as the first stable release and said the tool had previously existed for years as a community-supported Linux tool. The announcement also credits Patrick Freed for creating swiftly and contributing it to the Swift organization.

Adoption history

The 1.0 announcement marked swiftly's move from community-supported tool to officially supported part of the core Swift toolchain, including hosting under the Swift GitHub organization and adding macOS support.

Swift.org installation pages use swiftly for standalone Swift installation outside Xcode. The documentation covers installing the latest release, installing older releases, using snapshots, and self-updating the tool.

How it is used

Common usage is `swiftly init`, `swiftly install`, `swiftly use`, `swiftly list-available`, and `swiftly self-update`. A repository can include `.swift-version` so contributors and CI select the same Swift toolchain.

swiftly is aimed at developers who need more than the Swift version bundled with Xcode: Linux services, command-line tools, CI jobs, nightly snapshots, and compatibility testing across older Swift releases.

Why package nerds care

swiftly is significant because language toolchain installation is usually where system packages, tarballs, shell scripts, and version managers collide. Swift.org moving this into an official CLI reduces the amount of bespoke bootstrap code Swift users need in project setup.

For package maintainers, `.swift-version` turns Swift itself into repository metadata, similar in spirit to `.ruby-version`, `.node-version`, or `rust-toolchain`, while retaining official Swift release and signature infrastructure.

Timeline

2022: GitHub repository created.
2025: Swift.org announces swiftly 1.0 as the first stable release.
2025: swiftly becomes officially supported as part of the core Swift toolchain.
2026: GitHub release metadata shows active 1.1.x maintenance.

Related projects

Related projects include Swift Package Manager, swiftenv, Xcode toolchains, Swift.org install infrastructure, and the Swift OpenAPI-based release APIs used by swiftly.

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 8 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.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: .swift-version

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`swiftly`	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 version1.1.3

manager updated2026-06-22

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/swiftlang/swiftly

infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/swiftlang/swiftlynone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:swiftly
Version	1.1.3
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/swiftly
Homepage	https://github.com/swiftlang/swiftly
Repository	https://github.com/swiftlang/swiftly
Upstream docs	https://www.swift.org/install/macos/swiftly
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://github.com/swiftlang/swiftly.git
Last updated	2026-06-22T14:06:25-07:00
Pulse	updated
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sequoia, sonoma, tahoe, 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	swiftly
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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/swiftly.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install swiftly with Homebrew