Install twitch-cli with Homebrew, Nix, winget, chocolatey

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• twitch

Project history

Twitch announced the CLI on 2020-12-17 after Developer Day, alongside EventSub. The initial rationale was practical: developers needed a supported way to test webhook/EventSub migrations locally, generate tokens, and query Twitch APIs without building staging servers or relying on extra tunneling tools.

From the start, Twitch framed the CLI as a Twitch-supported open-source project on GitHub, intended to accept community contributions and grow into additional EventSub and developer-product support. The current official docs describe installation through Homebrew on macOS/Linux, Scoop on Windows, and manual release downloads.

Adoption history

The CLI's adoption is tied to Twitch's developer ecosystem rather than general-purpose programming. Twitch's own community resources list it as the official CLI, created by Twitch and contributors, for testing API calls, mock APIs, EventSub WebSocket servers, and mock EventSub payloads.

Package-manager adoption follows that developer support path: Homebrew and Scoop are documented by Twitch as installation methods, while the input facts also show availability through Nix and Windows package channels.

How it is used

Typical use starts with `twitch configure`, which stores a client ID and client secret in the default config file, then uses commands such as `twitch token`, `twitch api`, `twitch mock-api`, and `twitch event`.

For local development, users generate mock data with `twitch mock-api generate`, start a mock server on localhost, trigger webhook events, and test EventSub WebSocket client behavior including subscriptions, reconnects, close messages, and status changes.

Why package nerds care

Twitch CLI is significant to package nerds because it turns a vendor API platform into a locally scriptable test harness. It is not just a convenience wrapper around HTTP calls; it also packages mock state, OAuth token flows, webhook signing behavior, and EventSub simulations.

Its official Homebrew and Scoop instructions show the package-manager role clearly: Twitch wanted developers to install and update the tool through familiar package workflows instead of copying binaries by hand.

Timeline

• 2020-12-17: Twitch announces the official Twitch CLI in open beta.
• 2021: Official docs show mock API generation examples and local server workflows.
• 2020s: Official docs list Homebrew, Scoop, and manual releases as supported installation paths.
• 2020s: Twitch documents EventSub WebSocket simulation and mock subscription endpoints in the CLI.

Related projects

• Twitch EventSub is the main API product that motivated the CLI's event-testing features.
• Twitch Developer Day introduced the products around which the CLI was announced.
• Homebrew, Scoop, and the twitchdev GitHub organization are the main packaging and source distribution channels.

Sources

• Official Twitch CLI docs: https://dev.twitch.tv/docs/cli/
• Official WebSocket EventSub testing docs: https://dev.twitch.tv/docs/cli/websocket-event-command
• Official mock API docs: https://dev.twitch.tv/docs/cli/mock-api-command
• Twitch announcement blog: https://blog.twitch.tv/en/2020/12/17/introducing-the-twitch-command-line-interface-tool/
• Twitch community resources: https://dev.twitch.tv/code/