macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install bcallocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install bcal with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix, zypper
Storage conversion and expression calculator. Version 2.5 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install bcalDebian stable package indexes · bcal · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install bcalFedora Rawhide package metadata · bcal · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#bcalnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/bc/bcal/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install bcalopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · bcal · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Storage conversion and expression calculator
Project links
Commands and aliases
- bcal
history
Project history and usage
bcal is a small C command-line calculator aimed at people who think in bytes, sectors, addresses, and binary prefixes.
Project history
The upstream GitHub repository was created in 2016. Its README describes bcal, the Byte CALculator, as a REPL and single-shot CLI for storage expressions, SI/IEC conversion, byte address calculation, base conversion, and CHS/LBA calculations.
The project keeps dependencies modest: standard libc plus GNU Readline or BSD Editline, with a no-readline build option that uses its own prompt and history-file support.
Adoption history
bcal is packaged beyond Homebrew, including Debian, Fedora, Nix, Ubuntu, and openSUSE-family package sets in the supplied package-manager facts. Its README points users to package-manager installation first and shows Repology packaging status.
How it is used
Users run bcal as an interactive storage calculator, pass quoted expressions for one-shot evaluation, convert between decimal, hexadecimal, binary, SI, and IEC units, or calculate disk CHS/LBA values.
When built without Readline, its history file is stored under $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/bcal/history or $HOME/.config/bcal/history.
Why package nerds care
bcal is the kind of niche CLI package that saves repeated mental arithmetic for storage engineers, filesystem debuggers, firmware people, and anyone reading sector offsets in hex.
Its significance is not ecosystem scale but fit: it packages a cluster of byte-addressing calculations that general calculators rarely make pleasant.
Timeline
- 2016: GitHub repository created.
- 2018: README-linked asciinema demo published.
- 2020s: Packaged in Homebrew and several Linux distributions.
Related projects
- bc and dc cover general arbitrary-precision calculation but not bcal's storage-unit and disk-addressing workflow.
- disk utilities, hex calculators, and filesystem debugging tools overlap with bcal's audience.
Sources
- https://github.com/jarun/bcal
- https://github.com/jarun/bcal#readme
- source_facts.package-manager
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
bcal | 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 version2.5
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv2.5
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:bcal |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.5 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/bcal |
| Homepage | https://github.com/jarun/bcal |
| Repository | https://github.com/jarun/bcal |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/jarun/bcal#readme |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/jarun/bcal/archive/refs/tags/v2.5.tar.gz |
| 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 | bcal |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| 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%
bcal 2.4-2+b1
Command-line utility for storage conversions and calculations
sudo apt install bcal- Section: misc
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bcal
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcal
Nix95%
bcal
nix profile install nixpkgs#bcal- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcal
Ubuntu apt95%
bcal 2.4-2
Command-line utility for storage conversions and calculations
sudo apt install bcal- Section: universe/misc
- Architecture: amd64
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcal
dnf95%
bcal 2.5-1.fc45
Storage conversion and expression calculator
sudo dnf install bcal- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: bcal
- 4 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcal
zypper95%
bcal 2.4-2.3
Command-line utility for storage conversions and calculations
http://www.github.com/jarun/bcal
sudo zypper install bcal- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Category: Productivity/Scientific/Math
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: bcal
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcal
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