# Install the_silver_searcher with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, pacman, winget, chocolatey, scoop

Code-search similar to ack. Version 2.2.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:the_silver_searcher
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install the_silver_searcher
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install the_silver_searcher
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: textproc/the_silver_searcher/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add the_silver_searcher
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: the_silver_searcher from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install the_silver_searcher
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: the_silver_searcher from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S the_silver_searcher
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: the_silver_searcher from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

### Windows

- winget (92%):

```sh
winget install --id JFLarvoire.Ag -e
```

  Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: JFLarvoire.Ag from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

- Chocolatey (92%):

```sh
choco install ag
```

  Evidence: Chocolatey community package catalog: ag from http://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/Packages?$filter=IsLatestVersion&$select=Id&$top=1000&$skiptoken='11','adobedigitaleditions'

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install main/ag
```

  Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/ag.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:the_silver_searcher
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Package manager page:** <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/the_silver_searcher>
- **Version:** 2.2.0
- **Source summary:** Code-search similar to ack
- **Homepage:** <https://geoff.greer.fm/ag/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher>
- **Upstream docs:** <https://geoff.greer.fm/ag>
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Source archive:** <https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher/archive/refs/tags/2.2.0.tar.gz>
- **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00

## Executables

- ag (cli)
- ag (alias)

## Dependencies

- pcre2
- xz

## Build dependencies

- autoconf
- automake
- pkgconf

## Install behavior

- Post-install hook: not defined
- Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-07-08
- Package-manager version: 2.2.0
- Local data: ok
- Upstream repository: https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher
- Upstream latest detected: 2.2.0 (current)
- info: No package-manager update timestamp was available.
## Project history and usage

The Silver Searcher, usually invoked as `ag`, is a code-search command created by Geoff Greer. The official project page says it started as a clone of Ack and later diverged, while the README describes it as a code-searching tool similar to ack with a focus on speed.

### Project history

Ag belongs to the generation of developer tools that tried to replace recursive grep with project-aware, ignore-file-aware code search. Its README credits Ack as the predecessor and says that without Ack, Ag would not exist.

The project gained identity through performance work. The README reports benchmark results where Ag found the same results as Ack while searching far less data because it respected git, hg, and ignore files; it also documents implementation choices such as pthreads, mmap, Boyer-Moore literal search, and PCRE JIT support.

Greer's official page provides signed release tarballs and links to performance graphs across releases, which reflects the project's longstanding emphasis on measurable speed rather than only feature breadth.

### Adoption history

Ag became broadly packaged across Unix-like systems. The README documents Homebrew and MacPorts on macOS; apt, yum, dnf, emerge, pacman, zypper, Nix, and other Linux paths; BSD packages; and Windows package routes including winget, Chocolatey, MSYS2, and Cygwin.

The Homebrew input mirrors that broad adoption with packages recorded for Alpine, Homebrew, Chocolatey, Fedora/DNF, MacPorts, Arch, Scoop, and winget. That distribution spread is a strong signal that Ag became a common developer workstation dependency rather than a single-ecosystem utility.

### How it is used

Developers use `ag` to recursively search source trees while automatically respecting `.gitignore`, `.hgignore`, and project-specific `.ignore` files. The README also documents editor integrations for Vim, Emacs, and TextMate, showing its role as both a shell command and an editor backend.

Ag was commonly used as a faster ack replacement before ripgrep became dominant in many setups. Its attraction was a short command name, parallel search, ignore-file awareness, and easy installation through the package manager already used on the workstation.

### Why package nerds care

The Silver Searcher is a classic package-nerd tool because the package name, executable name, and cultural name differ: Homebrew installs `the_silver_searcher`, but users type `ag`, the chemical symbol for silver. That naming quirk is part of its lore.

It also marks an important step in the code-search lineage from grep to ack to ag to ripgrep. The README itself points users to Ack, git-grep, fzf, ripgrep, and Sack, making the project a hub in the modern command-line search ecosystem.

### Timeline

- 2012: README links document performance work such as benchmarking revisions and adding pthreads.
- 2014: README links to Greer's invitation for contributors to pair on Ag 1.0.
- 2010s: Official page publishes signed release tarballs through version 2.2.0.
- 2020: README notes winget as a Windows package-manager path while describing it as beta at that time.

### Related projects

- Ack is the direct predecessor named by the official page and README.
- The README lists ack.vim, Exuberant Ctags, git-grep, fzf, ripgrep, and Sack as related tools users might like.
- The Platinum Searcher is a later related code-search tool that explicitly compares itself to ag.

### Sources

- Official README: https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher#readme
- Official performance page linked from project page: https://geoff.greer.fm/ag/speed/
- Official project page: https://geoff.greer.fm/ag/
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## 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

- Unix: .ignore, .gitignore, .hgignore
## Source Database Details

- **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API
- **Tap:** homebrew/core
- **Full Name:** the_silver_searcher
- **Aliases:** ag
- **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

## Other Package-Manager Records

- apk - the_silver_searcher - 2.2.0-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: the_silver_searcher from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | A code searching tool similar to ack, with a focus on speed. | https://geoff.greer.fm/ag/
- apk - the_silver_searcher-bash-completion - 2.2.0-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: the_silver_searcher-bash-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Bash completions for the_silver_searcher | https://geoff.greer.fm/ag/
- apk - the_silver_searcher-doc - 2.2.0-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: the_silver_searcher-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | A code searching tool similar to ack, with a focus on speed. (documentation) | https://geoff.greer.fm/ag/
- apk - the_silver_searcher-zsh-completion - 2.2.0-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: the_silver_searcher-zsh-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Zsh completions for the_silver_searcher | https://geoff.greer.fm/ag/
- dnf - the_silver_searcher - 2.2.0^2020704.5a1c8d8-15.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: the_silver_searcher from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Super-fast text searching tool (ag) | https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher
- pacman - the_silver_searcher - 2.2.0-4: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: the_silver_searcher from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Code searching tool similar to Ack, but faster | https://github.com/aswild/the_silver_searcher
- MacPorts - the_silver_searcher: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: textproc/the_silver_searcher/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- winget - JFLarvoire.Ag: normalized package name match | Windows Package Manager source index: JFLarvoire.Ag from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix
- Chocolatey - ag: installed executable or alias match | Chocolatey community package catalog: ag from http://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/Packages?$filter=IsLatestVersion&$select=Id&$top=1000&$skiptoken='11','adobedigitaleditions'
- Scoop - main/ag: installed executable or alias match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/ag.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Related links

- [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata.
- [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata.
- [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata.
- [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata.
- [pcre2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pcre2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [xz](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xz/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [autoconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/autoconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [automake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/automake/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [cgrep](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cgrep/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, code-search, developer-tools, search.
- [cgvg](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cgvg/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, code-search, developer-tools, search.
- [comby](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/comby/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, code-search, developer-tools, search.
- [ddgr](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ddgr/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, search.
- [fzf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fzf/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, search.
- [grep](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/grep/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, search.
- [hgrep](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hgrep/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, search.
- [igrep](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/igrep/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, search.
- [ripgrep](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ripgrep/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, like, pcre2.
- [ugrep](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ugrep/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, pcre2, search.
- [ack](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ack/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: ack, cli, code, code-search, developer.

## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/the_silver_searcher.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/the_silver_searcher.yml)


## Sources

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