Install and update gitrole

Gitrole needs Node.js 20 or newer. Choose Homebrew or npm, then check which executable your shell uses.

Install

With Homebrew:

brew install synthesiseng/tap/gitrole

Homebrew declares a Node dependency. With npm and an existing Node.js 20+ installation:

npm install -g gitrole

Both channels expose gitrole and gitrole-prompt. Installation does not configure identities, enable completion, or install hooks.

gitrole --version
command -v gitrole
command -v gitrole-prompt

Continue with Use the right Git identity for this repo.

Update the channel you installed

For Homebrew:

brew update
brew upgrade synthesiseng/tap/gitrole

For npm:

npm install -g gitrole@latest

Then rerun gitrole --version and command -v gitrole. If you have both installations, the first executable on PATH wins. Updating one does not update the other.

Source and published versions

A merge to the source repository does not establish that either channel has published that change. As checked on September 30, 2026, npm's latest and the Homebrew formula both targeted 0.10.5. These are metadata observations, not installation or release-recovery qualification. Check current channel metadata when choosing a version:

npm view gitrole version
brew info synthesiseng/tap/gitrole

The offline status flag and prompt helper require 0.9.0 or newer. This documentation describes source behavior at 0.10.5, including effective author/committer provenance and default push endpoint observation. An older installation may differ; confirm its version before comparing output.

Find optional assets

The npm package includes skills/gitrole/SKILL.md, hooks/pre-commit, and completions/, as well as the CLI and prompt helper. For a global npm installation, its package root is:

npm root -g

Append /gitrole to that directory. A project dependency uses node_modules/gitrole; a source checkout has the same asset directories at its root.

The Homebrew formula exposes the two commands. No supported Homebrew path for skills, hooks, or completion scripts is documented here. Homebrew users can use those assets from a checkout of the source repository; use an absolute checkout path in shell or agent configuration. You do not need a second CLI installation to use checkout assets.

For optional setup, read Show gitrole in your shell prompt, Enable shell tab completion, or Verify Git identity before an agent commits.

Copied hook files do not update with the CLI. The current source hook requires gitrole check commit; verify that capability in the hook's environment before adopting it. Keep a reviewed backup when migrating an older hook. See manual hook migration and rollback. A new source hook does not establish that a compatible CLI has been published.