macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install austinlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install austin with Homebrew, apt, scoop, winget
Python frame stack sampler for CPython. Version 4.0.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install austinDebian stable package indexes · austin · source: deb.debian.org
Windows
Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/austinScoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/austin.json · source: api.github.com
Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id P403n1x87.austin -eWindows Package Manager source index · P403n1x87.austin · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com
overview
Package summary
Python frame stack sampler for CPython
Project links
Commands and aliases
- austin
history
Project history and usage
Austin is a CPython frame-stack sampler written in C. It sits in the package-manager sweet spot for profilers: a small native command, installable from several ecosystems, that can attach to a Python process without instrumentation and emit data for flame graphs, Speedscope, and other tooling.
Project history
The public GitHub repository was created in September 2018 and describes Austin as a pure-C sampler that reads the CPython interpreter's memory to recover executing frames and threads. Its own README emphasizes zero instrumentation, low overhead, wall-time and memory profiling, and multiprocess support.
Austin has tracked CPython internals over time. Recent official releases added CPython 3.12, 3.13, and 3.14 support, dropped older interpreter support, improved container and interpreter detection, and moved the default binary output format to MOJO in the 4.0.0 series.
Adoption history
Austin became more than a GitHub-only tool early in its life: the README notes acceptance into Debian repositories on March 30, 2019, and documents installation through PyPI, Snap, Debian/apt, Homebrew, Chocolatey, Scoop, and Conda Forge. Homebrew's formula currently packages Austin 4.0.0 from the upstream GitHub release tarball.
The repository metadata shows thousands of GitHub stars and ongoing releases, while Homebrew analytics in the formula API show modest but real package-manager use. For a native Python profiler, that breadth of packaging is part of the story: users can install it as a system command instead of treating it as a Python library dependency.
How it is used
Austin is typically used by running `austin` around or against a Python workload, then feeding its collapsed-stack or binary output into visualization tools. The README explicitly calls out use with the Austin VS Code extension, Brendan Gregg's FlameGraph tools, and Speedscope conversion through the related Austin Python tooling.
Its value is operational: no source-code instrumentation, low tracee impact, support for memory mode, and enough portability to cover Linux, macOS, and Windows packaging paths.
Why package nerds care
Package nerds care about Austin because it is a native executable wrapped by language and OS package managers at once. It is distributed as `austin-dist` on PyPI, as a Homebrew formula, as OS packages, and as release binaries, while still depending on CPython implementation details that require active maintenance.
It is also a good example of a CLI whose package identity is not quite the same as its library ecosystem identity: the Homebrew formula is `austin`, the PyPI install is `austin-dist`, and the output is meant to be composed with classic Unix-style profiler visualization tools.
Timeline
- 2018: Public GitHub repository created.
- 2019: Austin accepted into the official Debian repositories.
- 2023: Austin 3.6.0 added CPython 3.12 support and dropped Python 2 and older CPython 3 releases.
- 2024: Austin 3.7.0 added CPython 3.13 support and improved container support.
- 2025: Austin 4.0.0 added CPython 3.14 support and made MOJO binary output the default.
Related projects
- Austin commonly appears alongside FlameGraph, Speedscope, the Austin VS Code extension, and the `austin-python` tooling used for conversion and higher-level profiler workflows.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
austin | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version4.0.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv4.0.0
https://github.com/P403n1x87/austin
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:austin |
|---|---|
| Version | 4.0.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/austin |
| Homepage | https://github.com/P403n1x87/austin |
| Repository | https://github.com/P403n1x87/austin |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/P403n1x87/austin#readme |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/P403n1x87/austin/archive/refs/tags/v4.0.0.tar.gz |
| Build dependencies | autoconf, automake |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | austin |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
austin 3.7.0-4
Frame stack sampler for CPython
https://github.com/P403n1x87/austin
sudo apt install austin- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 6 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Austin
Ubuntu apt95%
austin 1.0.1-2
Frame stack sampler for CPython
https://github.com/P403n1x87/austin
sudo apt install austin- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Austin
Scoop95%
main/austin
scoop install main/austin- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Austin
winget95%
P403n1x87.austin
winget install --id P403n1x87.austin -e- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Austin
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment