install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install tio

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install tio

MacPorts ports tree · comms/tio/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add tio

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · tio · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install tio

Debian stable package indexes · tio · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install tio

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · tio · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#tio

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ti/tio/package.nix · source: api.github.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install tio

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · tio · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Simple TTY terminal I/O application

Project links

Commands and aliases

tio

history

Project history and usage

tio is a serial TTY terminal I/O tool built for straightforward interaction with serial devices. Its niche is embedded-development and hardware-hacking workflows where a user wants a small command-line serial console that behaves well inside terminal multiplexers.

Project history

The tio README states the motivation directly: it was created as a simpler serial-device tool with less focus on classic terminal or modem features and more focus on embedded developers and hackers. It was originally an alternative to GNU screen for connecting to serial devices while working inside tmux.

The GitHub repository was created in September 2014, and the project has grown from a simple serial connection utility into a featureful serial-console tool. The README now documents automatic serial-port detection and reconnect, topology IDs, non-standard baud rates, mark and space parity, XMODEM/YMODEM upload, RS-485 mode, line and hex modes, timestamping, logging, socket redirection, piping, shell-command redirection, Bash completion, and Lua scripting.

Adoption history

tio's adoption is visible through broad distro packaging. The input metadata lists packages for apk, Homebrew, Debian, Fedora/DNF, MacPorts, Nix, Ubuntu, and openSUSE/zypper, which matches its role as a small systems utility rather than a language-ecosystem package.

The project is especially attractive to package-manager users because it replaces ad hoc use of screen, minicom, picocom, or custom serial scripts with one documented binary and a man page. The README's examples focus on common package-nerd hardware tasks: connecting to /dev/ttyUSB0, listing serial devices, preferring /dev/serial/by-id paths, reconnecting after unplug/replug, and using TID values when stable by-id paths are unavailable.

How it is used

The common invocation is simply tio /dev/ttyUSB0, using defaults such as 115200 8n1. Users can add options for baud rate, parity, flow control, timestamping, logging, character mapping, or automatic connection behavior.

More advanced usage includes configuration profiles, include files for profile organization, line-mode history/editing, Lua automation, x/y-modem file transfers, and redirecting a serial session through a socket or shell command.

Why package nerds care

tio is a classic small-tool package: one binary, clear man page, no account or cloud service, and immediate usefulness after install. It is significant because serial consoles remain a daily need for embedded boards, dev kits, bootloaders, firmware bring-up, and hardware debugging, while modern terminals and tmux are otherwise inconvenient with older serial-console tools.

Timeline

2014-09-27: The tio GitHub repository was created.
2024-06-29: tio v3.5 added configuration include support and improved device listing behavior.
2024-08-31: tio v3.7 continued Lua API and timestamp work.
2025-04-13: tio v3.9 was released with timestamp parsing fixes and documentation updates.

Related projects

GNU screen is the comparison named by the README as tio's original alternative target.
tmux is part of the original usage motivation because tio was designed to pair well with terminal multiplexers.
minicom and picocom are adjacent serial-console tools in the same package-manager niche.

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 6 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 3 build dependencies.

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: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tio/config~/.config/tio/config~/.tioconfig

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`tio`	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 version3.9

manager updated2026-05-03

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/tio/tio

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

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:tio
Version	3.9
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/tio
Homepage	https://tio.github.io
Repository	https://github.com/tio/tio
Upstream docs	https://github.com/tio/tio#readme
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://github.com/tio/tio/releases/download/v3.9/tio-3.9.tar.xz
Last updated	2026-05-03T15:38:16+09:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	glib, lua
Build dependencies	meson, ninja, pkgconf
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, 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	tio
Version Scheme	0
Revision	1
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
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%

tio 3.9-1

simple TTY terminal I/O application

https://tio.github.io/

sudo apt install tio

Section: comm
Architecture: amd64
3 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: tio from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

tio

nix profile install nixpkgs#tio

normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ti/tio/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Ubuntu apt95%

tio 2.7-1

simple TTY terminal I/O application

https://tio.github.io/

sudo apt install tio

Section: universe/comm
Architecture: amd64
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: tio from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

apk95%

tio 3.9-r0

Simple TTY Terminal I/O Application

https://github.com/tio/tio

sudo apk add tio

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: tio
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

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

apk95%

tio-bash-completion 3.9-r0

Bash completions for tio

https://github.com/tio/tio

sudo apk add tio-bash-completion

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: tio
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: tio-bash-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

apk95%

tio-doc 3.9-r0

Simple TTY Terminal I/O Application (documentation)

https://github.com/tio/tio

sudo apk add tio-doc

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: tio
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

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

dnf95%

tio 3.9-5.fc45

Simple TTY terminal I/O application

https://tio.github.io/

sudo dnf install tio

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: tio
4 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

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

zypper95%

tio 3.9-1.3

Simple TTY terminal I/O application

https://tio.github.io/

sudo zypper install tio

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Category: Hardware/Modem
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: tio
3 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: tio from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

zypper95%

tio-bash-completion 3.9-1.3

Bash Completion for tio

https://tio.github.io/

sudo zypper install tio-bash-completion

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Category: Hardware/Modem
Architecture: noarch
Source Package: tio
2 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: tio-bash-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

tio

sudo port install tio

normalized package name match
Matched by: Tio

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: comms/tio/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.

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/tio.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
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install tio with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper

Additional install commands

macOS

Linux

Package summary

Project links

Commands and aliases

Project history and usage

Project history

Adoption history

How it is used

Why package nerds care

Timeline

Related projects

Sources

Risk level: green

Risk classifier

Why

Signals

Install behavior

Recommended review

Configuration and credential file locations

Configuration files

Installed executables

Version and freshness

Package metadata

Source database details

Other package-manager records

Internal package links

Topical hubs

Related tools

Same workflow

Agent security guides

Generated from repository data

Combined YAML source

Used sources