Get tern on macOS and Linux Now!
Tern is a software composition analysis tool and Python library that generates a Software Bill of Materials for container images and Dockerfiles. The SBOM that Tern generates will give you a layer-by-layer view of what's inside your container in a variety of formats including human-readable, JSON, H
Get tern with one command
Pick your system, reveal the step-by-step guide, copy the command, paste it into your terminal and press Enter. This command comes from the project's public source.
Not available for Windows yet.
tern doesn't publish an install command for Windows anywhere we can verify, so there's nothing for us to show you. We won't invent one. It does document one for macOS and Linux — switch to that tab.
Pastes into PowerShell and installs tern on your Windows machine in one step. Runs as your normal user account, and needs no administrator rights.
Not available for macOS yet.
tern doesn't publish an install command for macOS or Linux anywhere we can verify, so there's nothing for us to show you. We won't invent one.
Installs tern on your macOS or Linux machine and links it into your PATH — after this,
tern just works from any directory. Runs as your normal user account, and needs no administrator rights.
How to set up tern, step by step
Open Terminal. On a Mac it's in Applications ▸ Utilities, or press Cmd+Space and type Terminal. On Linux, press Ctrl+Alt+T. Paste the command and press Enter.
Run tern --help to see the available commands, and
tern --version to confirm the install worked. If your shell complains about
permissions, that project usually documents a corrected command on its own site.
This asks Homebrew to fetch tern and link it into /opt/homebrew/bin (Apple Silicon) or /usr/local/bin (Intel), so you can run it by name.
tern at a glance
- Installs with a single
command —
Homebrew. - Installs on macOS / Linux.
- Free and open source, with no paid tier and no account needed.
- 1.0k stars — an actively used project.
tern doesn't publish a feature list we can quote, so this is what we verified ourselves.
About tern
Tern is a software composition analysis tool and Python library that generates a Software Bill of Materials for container images and Dockerfiles. The SBOM that Tern generates will give you a layer-by-layer view of what's inside your container in a variety of formats including human-readable, JSON, H
| Category | Library / framework |
|---|---|
| Install method | Homebrew |
| Windows | no install command published |
| macOS / Linux | documented install command available |
| Price | Free and open source |
| Command verified | From project source |
| Popularity | 1.0k stars on the project's public repository |
On mobile
tern is a command-line tool, so there is no phone app for it — a phone has no shell to run it in. You'll need a desktop, or a remote shell into a machine that has one.
tern is developed by its own authors. This page is an independent reference; we are not affiliated with or sponsored by the project. The command shown here was reproduced from the project's public documentation — always check the project's own documentation before running anything.