Install advancecomp with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• advdef
• advmng
• advpng
• advzip

Project history

AdvanceCOMP came out of the Advance emulator tooling family. The official history shows the first AdvanceSCAN public release in 2002 carrying early `advzip` functionality, then `advpng` and `advmng`, before AdvanceCOMP 1.5 split from AdvanceSCAN in January 2003 and added `advdef`.

The official README describes AdvanceCOMP as utilities for recompressing ZIP archives, PNG snapshots, MNG video clips, and GZ files, especially for ROM, snapshot, and clip collections of emulated games. The GitHub README confirms broad platform support across Linux, Mac OS X, DOS, Windows, and other Unix-like platforms.

The project has kept its compression engine current over time. Its history records zopfli support and a GPLv3 change in 2013, libdeflate support becoming the default in 2016, libdeflate updates through 2023, and security fixes for multiple CVEs in 2022.

Adoption history

The provided package facts show AdvanceCOMP available through Homebrew, Alpine, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, and Ubuntu. That is wide adoption for a specialist recompressor and reflects its usefulness beyond the AdvanceMAME world, especially anywhere deterministic lossless size reduction is desirable.

AdvanceCOMP's adoption overlaps with PNG and archive optimization workflows. Its own documentation compares it with OptiPNG and pngcrush, while its utilities are also useful in emulator collections where many ZIPs and screenshots are stored for long periods.

How it is used

`advzip` recompresses and tests ZIP archives, using libdeflate by default and optionally trying slower 7z or zopfli modes. `advpng` recompresses PNG files, especially AdvanceMAME-generated snapshots, by stripping ancillary chunks, joining IDAT chunks, and recompressing deflate data. `advdef` recompresses compressed data inside PNG, MNG, GZ, TGZ, and SVGZ files without changing the surrounding file structure.

The package is usually run as a post-processing tool: apply it to archives or images when smaller files matter more than CPU time. Its `--shrink-insane`/iteration options are a clear signal that the package optimizes for enthusiasts willing to spend cycles for marginal byte savings.

Why package nerds care

AdvanceCOMP is significant because it packages compression obsession into stable, scriptable Unix commands. It is the kind of tool maintainers reach for in build pipelines, ROM set cleanup, reproducible archive experiments, and asset-shrinking tasks where a GUI optimizer would be awkward.

Its history also mirrors the evolution of deflate optimization culture: 7-Zip deflate, zopfli, and libdeflate each appear as the project chases better size/speed tradeoffs while keeping simple command-line tools.

Timeline

• 2002: Early AdvanceSCAN releases introduced AdvanceZIP, advpng, and advmng.
• 2003: AdvanceCOMP 1.5 split from AdvanceSCAN and added advdef.
• 2013: AdvanceCOMP 1.17 changed to GPLv3 and added zopfli support.
• 2016: AdvanceCOMP 1.21 added libdeflate support and made it the default.
• 2022: AdvanceCOMP 2.4 fixed multiple CVEs and updated libdeflate.
• 2023: AdvanceCOMP 2.6 updated libdeflate to 1.19.

Related projects

• AdvanceMAME and AdvanceSCAN are sibling projects in the Advance project family.
• OptiPNG, pngcrush, zopfli, libdeflate, and 7-Zip are adjacent compression tools or libraries referenced by the project documentation and history.

Sources

• https://github.com/amadvance/advancecomp#readme
• https://www.advancemame.it/comp-history
• https://www.advancemame.it/comp-readme.html
• https://www.advancemame.it/doc-advdef
• https://www.advancemame.it/doc-advpng
• https://www.advancemame.it/doc-advzip
• source_facts.package-manager