install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install urweb

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#urweb

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

overview

Package summary

Ur/Web programming language

Project links

Commands and aliases

urweb

history

Project history and usage

Ur/Web is a domain-specific, statically typed functional programming language and compiler for database-backed web applications. The official site presents Ur as an ML/Haskell-like pure, strict, statically typed language with row-type metaprogramming, and Ur/Web as Ur plus web-specific parsing, optimization, and a standard library for dynamic SQL-backed applications.

Project history

Adam Chlipala's 2010 PLDI paper introduced Ur as a language for statically typed metaprogramming with type-level record computation and described Ur/Web as a special standard library for modern web applications. The official resources page lists additional 2010 talks, a 2010 OSDI paper on security policies, and later Ur/Web research papers.

The 2015 POPL paper framed Ur/Web as a simpler model for modern web programming: one language compiled to the necessary web-standard languages, with modular encapsulation of web state and a concurrency model based on transactions and cooperative preemption. The same period also produced an ICFP 2015 compiler paper describing Ur/Web compilation to efficient native code without garbage collection.

The current GitHub README and official site emphasize type-level guarantees uncommon in mainstream web frameworks: well-typed programs should avoid code injection, invalid HTML, dead internal links, form-handler mismatches, invalid SQL queries, and marshaling mistakes between browser, server, and database.

Adoption history

The official site lists several production applications, including BazQux Reader, Bitcoin Merge Mining Pool, Ecosrv, Extensibl, and Oilprice, along with student projects and blog posts from 2010 onward. It also lists package/container availability in Arch AUR, Debian, Docker, Homebrew, Milis Linux, Nix, OpenBSD experimental ports, and Ubuntu, while this batch's input confirms Homebrew and Nix package-manager records.

How it is used

A typical package-manager user installs the compiler as urweb, writes .ur, .urs, and .urp project files, and invokes the urweb executable to compile applications. The GitHub README shows compiling and running a bundled hello demo, while the official resources page directs users to a tutorial, reference manual, demos, FAQ, mailing list, and GitHub issues.

Why package nerds care

Ur/Web is package-nerd significant because it is not just another library: it is a research language, compiler, runtime model, and web framework packaged as a Unix-style compiler tool. Its availability in Homebrew, Nix, Debian, Ubuntu, and other systems makes an academic language experiment installable through ordinary package workflows.

It also illustrates why package metadata can matter for niche languages. A formula or derivation gives users a reproducible compiler and dependencies, which is crucial for trying a language whose value comes from whole-program guarantees and compiler behavior rather than a single library API.

Timeline

2010-06: PLDI paper on Ur describes Ur/Web as a web-application layer on Ur.
2010: Official resources list Ur/Web talks and research around typed web programming.
2015-01: POPL paper presents Ur/Web as a simple model for programming the web.
2015-08: ICFP paper describes the optimizing Ur/Web compiler.
2015-12-20: GitHub repository metadata records repository creation.
2020-02-09: Official site and GitHub release metadata identify the 20200209 stable release.

Related projects

The official GitHub organization includes Ur/Web libraries and examples such as UPO, email, world, feed, and ajaxUpload. The official site also compares Ur/Web with broader web-framework practice and lists related demos and tutorials.

Sources

GitHub repository metadata: https://api.github.com/repos/urweb/urweb
Input source_facts.package-manager lists Homebrew and Nix packaging.
Official GitHub README: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/urweb/urweb/master/README.md
Official project site main page: http://www.impredicative.com/ur/main.html
Official resources page: http://www.impredicative.com/ur/resources.html
Official users page: http://www.impredicative.com/ur/users.html
Ur PLDI 2010 paper page: https://adam.chlipala.net/papers/UrPLDI10/
Ur/Web ICFP 2015 compiler paper page: https://adam.chlipala.net/papers/UrWebICFP15/
Ur/Web POPL 2015 paper page: https://adam.chlipala.net/papers/UrWebPOPL15/

security posture

Risk level: yellow

generalized runtime or code generation signal.

Risk classifier

yellow risk · medium confidence · runtime

Why

generalized runtime or code generation signal

Signals

text:programming language

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 3 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 4 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.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`urweb`	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 version20200209

manager updated2026-07-01

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/urweb/urweb

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

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:urweb
Version	20200209
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/urweb
Homepage	http://www.impredicative.com/ur/
Repository	https://github.com/urweb/urweb
Upstream docs	http://www.impredicative.com/ur
License	BSD-3-Clause
Source archive	https://github.com/urweb/urweb/releases/download/20200209/urweb-20200209.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-07-01T21:22:40Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	gmp, icu4c@78, openssl@4
Build dependencies	autoconf, automake, libtool, mlton
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	urweb
Version Scheme	0
Revision	13
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	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.

Nix95%

urweb

nix profile install nixpkgs#urweb

normalized package name match
Matched by: Urweb

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ur/urweb/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/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/urweb.yml

Used sources

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

Install urweb with Homebrew, Nix