# Install tnftp with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, pacman, zypper NetBSD's FTP client. Version 20260211 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:tnftp ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install tnftp ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install tnftp ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: net/tnftp/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install ftp ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: ftp from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install tnftp ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: tnftp 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 tnftp ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: tnftp from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install tnftp ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: tnftp from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:tnftp - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 20260211 - **Source summary:** NetBSD's FTP client - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** BSD-2-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause AND ISC - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - tnftp (cli) - tnftp (alias) ## Uses from macOS - libedit - 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: 20260211 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/tnftp/ - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage tnftp is the portable packaging of NetBSD's enhanced `ftp` client. It carries the classic Berkeley FTP client lineage forward through NetBSD, while adding script-friendly URL fetching and portability outside NetBSD. ### Project history The NetBSD manual page shows both lineages: Berkeley Regents copyrights from the 1980s and early 1990s, and NetBSD Foundation work beginning in 1996 contributed by Luke Mewburn. The NetBSD source version header identifies the product as `NetBSD-ftp` and records a 20260208 version in current source. The portable distribution history is documented in NetBSD's tnftp archive. The directory message states that tnftp is a port of the enhanced NetBSD ftp client to other systems and that `lukemftp` was renamed to `tnftp`. Archived tarballs show `lukemftp` releases beginning in 1999, a `tnftp-2.0-beta1` tarball in 2003, date-stamped tnftp tarballs through the 2000s and 2010s, and a 2026 tarball. ### Adoption history tnftp's adoption comes from being a maintained, portable BSD ftp client at a time when base-system ftp clients were disappearing, diverging, or lacking HTTP/URL conveniences. The supplied package facts show it in Homebrew, Fedora/DNF, MacPorts, Arch, openSUSE/Zypper, and as `ftp` in Debian and Ubuntu. The man page's auto-fetching support is a key adoption detail: it can fetch FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, and file URLs directly into the current directory, which made it useful in scripts and package recipes that wanted a familiar `ftp` command with URL support. ### How it is used Users invoke `ftp` or `tnftp` interactively to transfer files to and from FTP servers, or non-interactively to fetch URLs. The manual page documents `.netrc` support through `-N`, anonymous mode, passive/active behavior, IPv4/IPv6 selection, retries, output naming, custom HTTP headers, and URL auto-fetching. In package-manager culture, tnftp often appears as a pragmatic replacement for a missing or weaker system ftp client. It gives bootstrap scripts and port recipes a small BSD-licensed network fetcher with predictable behavior across Unix-like systems. ### Why package nerds care For package nerds, tnftp matters because it is both historical userland and packaging glue. It preserves the Berkeley/NetBSD ftp interface while making that interface portable and useful for scripted downloads, including HTTP(S) URLs. It also illustrates why package managers sometimes carry tools that look obsolete by protocol name: even after FTP's decline, a compact, scriptable `ftp` command remained useful for compatibility, bootstrap, and reproducible build environments. ### Timeline - 1985-1994: Berkeley FTP client ancestry appears in the NetBSD manual page copyrights and SCCS marker. - 1996: NetBSD Foundation ftp work begins in the manual page copyright range. - 1999: `lukemftp-1.0.tar.gz` appears in the NetBSD tnftp archive. - 2003: `tnftp-2.0-beta1.tar.gz` appears after the rename from lukemftp to tnftp. - 2023: NetBSD archive publishes date-stamped tnftp tarballs for April and May 2023. - 2026: NetBSD current source identifies `FTP_VERSION` as `20260208`, and the archive contains `tnftp-20260211.tar.gz`. ### Related projects - Related to NetBSD's base-system `ftp` client in `usr.bin/ftp`. - Closely paired in the portable archive with tnftpd, the corresponding NetBSD FTP server port. ### Sources - - - - - - - input source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## 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. ## Credential files - Unix: ~/.netrc ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** tnftp - **Aliases:** lukemftp - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Conflicts With:** inetutils - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - ftp - 20230507-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ftp from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | dummy transitional package for tnftp | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tnftp - Debian apt - tnftp - 20230507-2+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: tnftp from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | enhanced ftp client | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tnftp - Ubuntu apt - ftp - 20230507-2build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ftp from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | dummy transitional package for tnftp | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tnftp - Ubuntu apt - tnftp - 20230507-2build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: tnftp from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | enhanced ftp client | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tnftp - dnf - tnftp - 20260211-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: tnftp from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client from NetBSD | http://www.NetBSD.org/ - pacman - tnftp - 20260211-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: tnftp from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | NetBSD FTP client with several advanced features | https://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/tnftp/ - zypper - tnftp - 20260211-2.2: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: tnftp from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Enhanced FTP Client | https://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/tnftp/ - MacPorts - tnftp: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: net/tnftp/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [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. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [tnftpd](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/tnftpd/) - Shares the same upstream homepage. - [ncftp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ncftp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, file-transfer, ftp, network-client, networking. - [duck](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/duck/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, file-transfer, ftp, networking. - [lftp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/lftp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, file-transfer, ftp, networking. - [yafc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/yafc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, file-transfer, ftp, networking. - [airshare](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/airshare/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, file-transfer, networking. - [bbftp-client](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bbftp-client/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, file-transfer, networking. - [croc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/croc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, file-transfer, networking. - [davix](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/davix/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, file-transfer, networking. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/tnftp.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/tnftp.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