macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install bcpplocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install bcppMacPorts ports tree · devel/bcpp/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install bcpp with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, zypper, winget
C(++) beautifier. Version 20250914 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install bcppDebian stable package indexes · bcpp · source: deb.debian.org
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install bcppopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · bcpp · source: download.opensuse.org
Windows
Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id Slackadays.Clipboard -eWindows Package Manager source index · Slackadays.Clipboard · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com
overview
Package summary
C(++) beautifier
Project links
Commands and aliases
- bcpp
- cb++
history
Project history and usage
bcpp is a C and C++ source-code beautifier that indents code and converts tabs and spaces without trying to wrap long statements.
Project history
The Invisible Island page says bcpp was written by Steven De Toni and that Thomas E. Dickey's maintained version was based on version 1.8 from December 1995.
Dickey's version kept the original design while improving the parser, marking character state, recognizing more indentation structures, and adding simple embedded-SQL indentation. The public changelog begins in 1996 and continues with portability and maintenance updates into the 2020s.
Adoption history
bcpp has the footprint of a long-lived Unix formatting utility: small, source-distributed, and packaged by Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, Ubuntu, and openSUSE-family package sets in the supplied package-manager facts.
Its 2012 changelog notes integration of Debian packaging patches, including searching for bcpp.cfg in a user's home directory and an optional compile-time directory.
How it is used
Users run bcpp or cb++ to reindent C/C++ source, tune behavior through command-line options or bcpp.cfg, and preserve long statements rather than using it as a full code reflow tool.
It is most relevant for legacy C/C++ style normalization, old trees, and users who want a formatter less ambitious than clang-format or GNU indent.
Why package nerds care
bcpp is a compact example of the pre-clang-format formatter era: a focused utility with decades of packaging inertia and maintenance for old compilers, old Unix systems, and distribution conventions.
For package nerds, its value is historical texture as much as raw popularity: it shows how source-formatting tools survived as tiny standalone packages before modern language-server and formatter ecosystems consolidated.
Timeline
- 1995: Steven De Toni's bcpp 1.8, the base for the maintained Invisible Island version.
- 1996: Invisible Island changelog begins with parser and indentation work.
- 2012: Debian-derived config-file search and packaging scripts integrated.
- 2020s: Changelog continues with configure-script, portability, and hardening updates.
Related projects
- GNU indent is the classic formatter bcpp explicitly contrasts with.
- clang-format is the modern C/C++ formatter that overlaps with many current use cases.
- Invisible Island hosts and maintains the current source release and changelog.
Sources
- https://invisible-island.net/bcpp/CHANGES.html
- https://invisible-island.net/bcpp/bcpp.html
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
bcpp | cli | global executable | |
cb++ | 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 version20250914
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://invisible-island.net/bcpp/
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://invisible-island.net/bcpp/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:bcpp |
|---|---|
| Version | 20250914 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/bcpp |
| Homepage | https://invisible-island.net/bcpp/ |
| Upstream docs | https://invisible-island.net/bcpp |
| License | MIT |
| Source archive | https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/bcpp/bcpp-20250914.tgz |
| 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 | bcpp |
| 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%
bcpp 0.0.20210108-1+b1
C(++) beautifier
http://www.invisible-island.net/bcpp/
sudo apt install bcpp- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bcpp
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcpp
Ubuntu apt95%
bcpp 0.0.20210108-1
C(++) beautifier
http://www.invisible-island.net/bcpp/
sudo apt install bcpp- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcpp
zypper95%
bcpp 20250914-1.3
Beautify C++ programs
https://invisible-island.net/bcpp/bcpp.html
sudo zypper install bcpp- License: MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: bcpp
- 3 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcpp
MacPorts95%
bcpp
sudo port install bcpp- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bcpp
winget92%
Slackadays.Clipboard
winget install --id Slackadays.Clipboard -e- installed executable or alias match
- Matched by: Cb
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