install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install usage

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#usage

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S usage

Arch Linux sync databases · usage · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Tool for working with usage-spec CLIs

Project links

Commands and aliases

usage

history

Project history and usage

usage is both a specification and a CLI for describing command-line interfaces. The official README compares a Usage spec to OpenAPI for CLIs, covering arguments, flags, environment variables, and config files so downstream tools can generate completions, documentation, man pages, parsers, SDKs, and framework scaffolding.

Project history

The project grew out of the modern CLI tooling ecosystem around jdx's tools and the KDL document language. Public GitHub releases show early v0.1.x releases in 2024 and v3.x releases in 2026, while the docs describe an expanding scope from shell completions and man pages toward type-safe SDK generation.

Adoption history

The official CLI docs list installation through mise, Cargo, Homebrew, and Arch Linux. The input metadata also records Homebrew, Nix, and pacman package names, indicating adoption by users who want the same CLI-spec tool available across developer workstations and Linux distributions.

How it is used

A Usage spec is written in KDL and can describe a CLI's name, binary, about text, version, author, license, flags, arguments, subcommands, config files, environment variables, and defaults. The `usage` CLI then consumes that spec to generate shell completions, Markdown, man pages, JSON, and related artifacts.

Why package nerds care

Package nerds care about usage because it treats CLI metadata as a portable build artifact. Instead of each package separately hand-maintaining completions, man pages, and docs, maintainers can ship a spec and generate those outputs consistently.

Timeline

2024: Early v0.1.x GitHub releases published.
2026-06-23: GitHub release v3.5.3 published.

Related projects

The official docs relate Usage to OpenAPI for CLIs, KDL as the spec language, and integrations for CLI frameworks such as clap, Cobra, Click, Typer, yargs, oclif, and Commander.js.

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.
Build metadata lists 1 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
`usage`	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 version3.5.4

manager updated2026-07-06

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv3.5.4

https://github.com/jdx/usage

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:usage
Version	3.5.4
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/usage
Homepage	https://usage.jdx.dev/
Repository	https://github.com/jdx/usage
Upstream docs	https://usage.jdx.dev/
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/jdx/usage/archive/refs/tags/v3.5.4.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-07-06T22:21:19Z
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	rust
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	usage
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
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.

Nix95%

usage

nix profile install nixpkgs#usage

normalized package name match
Matched by: Usage

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

pacman95%

usage 3.2.0-1

A specification for CLIs

https://github.com/jdx/usage

sudo pacman -S usage

License: MIT
Architecture: x86_64
normalized package name match
Matched by: Usage

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: usage from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

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/usage.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 usage with Homebrew, Nix, pacman