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Install xorgrgb with Homebrew
X.Org: color names database. Version 1.1.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
X.Org: color names database
Project links
Commands and aliases
- showrgb
history
Project history and usage
X.Org rgb is the small X11 color-name database package associated with rgb.txt and the showrgb utility. It preserves the named-color vocabulary that lets X resources and applications refer to colors such as SteelBlue, papaya whip, or gray75 instead of raw numeric RGB triples.
Project history
The X(7) manual documents X support for abstract color names and says the text form of the color database is commonly stored as rgb.txt. The rgb application repository carries the standalone rgb.txt file and showrgb program in the modular X.Org app tree.
Historically, rgb.txt was part of the wider X distribution. As X.Org moved into modular releases, small utilities and data files like rgb became independently packaged modules rather than incidental files inside one monolithic X tree.
Adoption history
The database became familiar because X resource files, examples, and old GUI applications used named X11 colors directly. Even after modern toolkits and CSS-style color handling became more common, the X11 color-name list remained part of Unix GUI muscle memory.
The standalone package matters most on systems that still expose or inspect the old X color database separately from the server's built-in color handling.
How it is used
showrgb reads an RGB color-name database and prints it in source form. The raw rgb.txt file maps integer red, green, and blue values to one or more color names, including spaced and CamelCase aliases.
Practical use is mostly diagnostic and compatibility-oriented: checking the exact color names available to X applications, preserving legacy resource behavior, or comparing the X11 color list against web/SVG color-name sets.
Why package nerds care
xorgrgb is package-nerd archaeology in a tiny package: a data file and utility that explain why so many old X examples use poetic color names. It is not glamorous, but it is the sort of compatibility artifact that makes the X11 ecosystem feel continuous across decades.
It also demonstrates how modular X.Org packaging split even small data utilities into separate source modules, so distributions can keep legacy X behavior without dragging along unrelated applications.
Timeline
- 1980s: X color-name databases become part of the X Window System culture.
- X11R7 era: X.Org modularization separates small apps and data files such as rgb from the former monolithic tree.
- 2012: X11R7.7 documentation still lists rgb among display-server-related utilities in the core X.Org distribution.
- 2026: The X.Org app/rgb repository continues to publish rgb.txt as a standalone module.
Related projects
- X.Org Server consumes or embeds X11 color-name behavior for clients using named colors.
- xcolorsel and similar X utilities inspect or present rgb.txt-style color databases.
- CSS/SVG color keywords are a related but not identical descendant color-name ecosystem.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: blue
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
Risk classifier
blue risk · medium confidence · tool
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
Signals
- text:database
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- 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.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
showrgb | 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 version1.1.1
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.x.org/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:xorgrgb |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.1.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/xorgrgb |
| Homepage | https://www.x.org/ |
| Repository | https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/rgb |
| Upstream docs | https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/rgb |
| License | MIT |
| Source archive | https://xorg.freedesktop.org/archive/individual/app/rgb-1.1.1.tar.gz |
| Build dependencies | pkgconf, util-macros, xorgproto |
| 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 | xorgrgb |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
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.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment