# whalebrew/whalebrew

Homebrew, but with Docker images

Repository: https://github.com/whalebrew/whalebrew
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/whalebrew
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: docker, package-manager, homebrew, whalebrew
Last push: 2025-02-05T21:07:30+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 25/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 5, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3510, "days_push": 574, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4244, forks 109 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:40.342394+00:00)

## What it is
Whalebrew is a package manager that installs Docker images as native command-line tools by creating aliases, like Homebrew but backed by Docker. It lets you run containerized CLI utilities (e.g. awscli, ffmpeg, wget) without installing their dependencies locally.

## Use cases
- install cli tools via docker images
- run awscli without polluting my machine with dependencies
- package a python tool with complex c library dependencies
- portable command-line tools across macos and linux
- homebrew but with docker
- try a cli tool without installing it natively

## When to choose
- you want cross-platform CLI tools with complex dependencies without cluttering your host
- you already use Docker and want Homebrew-like ergonomics
- you need isolated, reproducible tool installs on macOS or Linux

## When to avoid
- you need commands that start instantly, since Docker adds startup overhead
- you don't have or want Docker installed
- you need Windows support, which is not implemented

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: package-manager, cli, container-runtime, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: cli, go
- tags: docker-images, homebrew-like, cli-packaging, containerized-tools, command-line, containers, devops, macos, linux, docker

## Member repositories
- whalebrew/whalebrew (main) score 25

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:40.342394+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:22:13.739455+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/whalebrew/whalebrew (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:40.342394+00:00, sha 78651872dc06)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.