# Install tin with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, zypper Threaded, NNTP-, and spool-based UseNet newsreader. Version 2.6.5 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:tin ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install tin ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install tin ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: news/tin/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add tin ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: tin from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install tin ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: tin from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install tin ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: tin from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install tin ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: tin from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:tin - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 2.6.5 - **Source summary:** Threaded, NNTP-, and spool-based UseNet newsreader - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** BSD-3-Clause - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-22T14:06:28-07:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - metamutt (cli) - opt-case.pl (cli) - rtin (cli) - tin (cli) - tinews.pl (cli) - url_handler.pl (cli) - w2r.pl (cli) - metamutt (alias) - opt-case.pl (alias) - rtin (alias) - tin (alias) - tinews.pl (alias) - url_handler.pl (alias) - w2r.pl (alias) ## Dependencies - gettext - libunistring - pcre2 ## Uses from macOS - ncurses ## 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: 2.6.5 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-22 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: http://www.tin.org - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage tin is a long-running terminal Usenet newsreader for NNTP and spool-based news. In package-manager terms it is a classic Unix networking tool: text UI, local dotfiles, NNTP configuration, and decades of conservative releases. ### Project history The official tin history says tin was based on tass, Rich Skrenta's newsreader, and that tass was itself inspired by the public-domain Unix notesfiles implementation of PLATO Notes. The tin 1.0 PL0 release appeared on August 23, 1991, only months after tass 3.2 added NNTP support. The early release tree shows rapid patch-level development through 1991 and 1992, followed by long-lived stable and development branches. The tin.org site records pre-1.4 development, the 1.4 and 1.5 branches around 1999 and 2000, a 2.0.0 twentieth-anniversary release in 2011, 2.4.0 as the twenty-fifth-anniversary release in 2016, and 2.6.0 as the thirtieth-anniversary release in 2021. ### Adoption history tin belongs to the era when a newsreader was a normal Unix workstation and shell-account tool. Its homepage still describes it as a threaded NNTP and spool-based UseNet newsreader for a variety of platforms, and it maintains manpages, a stable branch code browser, FTP downloads, mailing-list archives, and translation-project integration. The supplied package-manager facts show tin packaged in Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora/dnf, Alpine, MacPorts, and zypper ecosystems. That spread matches its role as a portable terminal utility kept available for users who still read Usenet or maintain news infrastructure. ### How it is used tin is used interactively in a terminal to read and post Usenet articles, either from a local news spool or remotely through NNTP. Its package metadata and curated configuration paths show the expected Unix workflow: a global NNTP server file, per-user tinrc and newsrc files, attributes, filters, and a separate authentication file. For package nerds, tin is interesting because it is both historical and still maintained. Its release cadence and old-fashioned distribution surfaces show how pre-Git, pre-web Unix software survived into modern packaging systems without changing its core role. ### Why package nerds care tin is a preservation-grade package: a 1991 command-line network client that still has current stable releases and package-manager entries. It is the sort of tool package maintainers keep alive because it anchors old protocols, old workflows, and old user expectations. Its file layout is also archetypal Unix software: small executable, manpages, dotfiles, NNTP server configuration, and optional credentials. That makes it useful when comparing how package managers carry legacy network clients forward. ### Timeline - 1991: tass 3.2 added NNTP support on April 23, and tin 1.0 PL0 followed on August 23. - 1997: tin.org's web and FTP presence went online during pre-1.4 development. - 2011: tin 2.0.0 was released as the twentieth-anniversary edition. - 2016: tin 2.4.0 was released as the twenty-fifth-anniversary edition. - 2021: tin 2.6.0 was released as the thirtieth-anniversary edition. - 2025: tin.org announced TIN 2.6.5 stable on December 24. ### Related projects - tass is tin's direct ancestor according to the official history page. - notesfiles and PLATO Notes are part of the lineage described by tin.org. - Other terminal newsreaders such as trn and nn occupy the same Unix Usenet niche. ### Sources - - - - source_facts.package-manager: package availability across OS package managers. ## 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: /etc/nntpserver, ${TIN_HOMEDIR:-"$HOME"}/.tin/tinrc, ${TIN_HOMEDIR:-"$HOME"}/.newsrc, ${TIN_HOMEDIR:-"$HOME"}/.tin/attributes, ${TIN_HOMEDIR:-"$HOME"}/.filter ## Credential files - Unix: ${TIN_HOMEDIR:-"$HOME"}/.newsauth ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** tin - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Conflicts With:** mutt - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - tin - 1:2.6.5~20250409-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: tin from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Full-screen easy to use Usenet newsreader | http://www.tin.org/ - Ubuntu apt - tin - 1:2.6.4~20240224-1build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: tin from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Full-screen easy to use Usenet newsreader | http://www.tin.org/ - apk - tin - 2.6.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: tin from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Threaded NNTP and spool-based Usenet newsreader | http://www.tin.org/ - apk - tin-doc - 2.6.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: tin-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Threaded NNTP and spool-based Usenet newsreader (documentation) | http://www.tin.org/ - apk - tin-lang - 2.6.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: tin-lang from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Languages for package tin | http://www.tin.org/ - apk - tin-perl - 2.6.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: tin-perl from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Threaded NNTP and spool-based Usenet newsreader (perl helper scripts) | http://www.tin.org/ - dnf - tin - 2.6.5-4.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: tin from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Basic Internet news reader | http://www.tin.org/ - zypper - tin - 2.6.4-1.4: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: tin from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Threaded NNTP and spool-based UseNet news reader | http://www.tin.org/ - MacPorts - tin: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: news/tin/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Web development packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/web-dev-tools/) - Matched web development metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [gettext](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gettext/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pcre2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pcre2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pan](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pan/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, newsreader, nntp, usenet. - [nzbget](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/nzbget/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, usenet. - [amfora](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/amfora/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, terminal. - [arss](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/arss/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, terminal. - [bandwhich](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bandwhich/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, terminal. - [bitchx](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bitchx/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, terminal. - [brag](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/brag/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, usenet. - [c-kermit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/c-kermit/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, terminal. - [w3m](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/w3m/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: based, cli, gettext, networking, terminal. - [center-im](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/center-im/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, gettext, networking, terminal. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/tin.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/tin.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