# Install zshdb with Homebrew, MacPorts, pacman Debugger for zsh. Version 1.1.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-05. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:zshdb ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install zshdb ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install zshdb ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/zshdb/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S zshdb ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: zshdb from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:zshdb - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.1.4 - **Source summary:** Debugger for zsh - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later AND GPL-3.0-or-later AND HPND-sell-variant - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-05T00:14:30+09:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - zshdb (cli) - zshdb (alias) ## Dependencies - zsh ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on all ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.1.4 - Package-manager updated: 2026-07-05 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/Trepan-Debuggers/zshdb - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage zshdb is a gdb-like debugger for Zsh scripts. It is part of the Trepan debugger family and brings stepping, breakpoints, stack inspection, and debugger-style command interaction to shell code that is otherwise usually debugged with `set -x` and print statements. ### Project history The public GitHub repository was created on 2008-08-08. The README and Read the Docs site describe zshdb as a debugger for Zsh, aligned with Rocky Bernstein's broader Trepan debugger work and sibling shell debuggers. zshdb's premise is deliberately narrow: Zsh scripts deserve source-level debugging too. Rather than implementing a new shell, it wraps and instruments Zsh execution to provide debugger commands familiar from gdb-style workflows. ### Adoption history Adoption is specialized. Most shell users rely on tracing, but maintainers of larger shell scripts, shell libraries, or Zsh-specific tooling can benefit from real stepping and breakpoints. That niche is why zshdb appears in several package managers even without mainstream visibility. The package is also part of a debugger lineage: users who discover bashdb, pydb, or Trepan-style tools can recognize zshdb as the Zsh-specific member of that family. ### How it is used Developers run `zshdb` against a Zsh script to step through execution, inspect call frames and variables, set breakpoints, and diagnose control-flow problems. It is most useful when `set -x` output becomes too noisy or when a script uses Zsh-specific behavior that a POSIX-sh debugger would not understand. Because it is a command-line debugger, packaging matters: installing it from Homebrew, MacPorts, or Arch puts a repeatable debugger binary alongside the shell it targets. ### Why package nerds care zshdb matters because it packages observability for shell scripts, a corner of developer tooling that is often under-served. Shells are everywhere, but source-level shell debuggers remain niche enough that package-manager discovery is important. It is also a useful sibling entry for package databases: bashdb, zshdb, and Trepan-related debuggers show a family of small, language-specific debugging tools rather than one monolithic debugger package. ### Timeline - 2008-08-08: The Trepan-Debuggers/zshdb GitHub repository is created. - 2010s: zshdb is documented through README material and Read the Docs as part of the Trepan debugger ecosystem. - 2020s: zshdb remains packaged by Homebrew, MacPorts, and Arch-derived package metadata for users who need Zsh script debugging. ### Related projects - Related projects include Zsh, bashdb, Trepan debuggers, gdb, kshdb, shell tracing with `set -x`, and Zsh test/debugging workflows. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for zshdb. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** zshdb - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - pacman - zshdb - 1.1.4-2: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: zshdb from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | A debugger for zsh scripts | https://github.com/rocky/zshdb/ - MacPorts - zshdb: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: devel/zshdb/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [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 curated package taxonomy and local package facts. - [zsh](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/zsh/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [fizsh](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fizsh/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: zsh. - [delve](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/delve/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: debugger. - [geometry](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/geometry/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: zsh. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/zshdb.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/zshdb.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph