dash-shell ☆
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Description:
POSIX-compliant descendant of NetBSD's ash (the Almquist SHell)
Type: Formula  |  Latest Version: 0.5.13.1@0  |  Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: System utilities
Tags: shell posix command-line system-utility dash
Install: brew install dash-shell
About:
dash is a modern, POSIX-compliant shell designed to be a lightweight and fast alternative to larger shells like bash. It achieves its speed by providing a smaller feature set focused strictly on POSIX standards, making it ideal for system startup scripts and embedded environments where efficiency is critical.
Key Features:
  • Extremely fast startup and execution
  • Strict POSIX-compliant behavior
  • Small memory footprint
  • Advanced scripting features (arrays, built-in arithmetic)
Use Cases:
  • System initialization scripts (initramfs, rc scripts)
  • Embedded systems and containers requiring minimal dependencies
  • Writing portable shell scripts adhering to POSIX standards
Alternatives:
  • bash – Bash is feature-rich with interactive conveniences but is larger and slower to start.
  • zsh – Zsh offers extensive customization and plugins but is significantly heavier.
License: BSD-3-Clause
Bottles available for: arm64_tahoe, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, sonoma, arm64_linux, x86_64_linux
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Oct 13, 2025 4:57am 0 VERSION_BUMP 63c398da
Sep 29, 2025 9:16am 0 VERSION_BUMP 07f18428
Sep 15, 2025 5:36am 0 VERSION_BUMP fbdeb0b4
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