install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install bnd

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install bnd

Debian stable package indexes · bnd · source: deb.debian.org

overview

Package summary

Swiss Army Knife for OSGi bundles

Project links

Commands and aliases

bnd

history

Project history and usage

bnd is OSGi bundle tooling for Java: a command-line tool and library used to generate manifests, wrap JARs, resolve bundles, and support OSGi builds through Eclipse, Maven, and Gradle integrations.

Project history

bnd grew out of the OSGi tooling world around Peter Kriens and aQute. The Bndtools about page describes how Richard Hall, the Apache Felix developer, and Peter Kriens worked together on a Maven plugin with bnd for Apache Felix.

The project expanded from manifest generation into a broader toolchain: Bnd/Bndtools now advertises tooling for OSGi bundles including Eclipse, Maven, and Gradle plugins.

Adoption history

bnd became important because OSGi metadata is precise and tedious. Maven and Gradle users adopted bnd-derived plugins to turn ordinary Java artifacts into OSGi bundles without hand-writing every manifest header.

It also became the foundation for Bndtools, the Eclipse-based OSGi development environment, giving the same underlying model a GUI, workspace conventions, and repository tooling.

How it is used

Developers use bnd files such as bnd.bnd and cnf/build.bnd to describe bundle metadata, exports, imports, baselining, repositories, and launch/run configurations. The CLI is also used to inspect, build, wrap, and resolve bundles.

In build systems, bnd commonly appears indirectly through Maven Bundle Plugin, Gradle bnd plugins, or Bndtools projects rather than as a manually invoked command.

Why package nerds care

bnd is package-nerd-significant because it turns Java packaging metadata into a first-class build artifact. OSGi bundles are still JARs, but their manifests encode module boundaries, version ranges, capabilities, and wiring expectations.

For maintainers, bnd is the difference between a JAR that happens to load and a bundle that declares what it exports, imports, requires, and promises. That makes it a key tool in the long-running Java modularity story beside Maven, Gradle, Felix, Equinox, and later JPMS.

Timeline

2000s: bnd emerges in the OSGi ecosystem around Peter Kriens/aQute and Apache Felix-related tooling.
2000s: bnd is used in a Maven plugin for Apache Felix, helping make OSGi manifest generation easier for Maven users.
2010s: Bndtools builds an Eclipse OSGi development environment on top of bnd.
2020s: The GitHub project presents Bnd/Bndtools as OSGi bundle tooling with Eclipse, Maven, and Gradle plugins.

Related projects

Bndtools: Eclipse-based OSGi development tools built on bnd.
Apache Felix and Eclipse Equinox: OSGi framework implementations in the same ecosystem.
Maven Bundle Plugin and Gradle bnd plugins: build-system integrations that expose bnd functionality.
OSGi specifications: the modular Java component model whose metadata bnd generates and validates.

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 1 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: cnf/build.bndcnf/ext/*.bndbnd.bnd*.bnd

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`bnd`	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 version7.3.0

manager updated2026-06-03

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://bnd.bndtools.org/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://bnd.bndtools.org/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:bnd
Version	7.3.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/bnd
Homepage	https://bnd.bndtools.org/
Repository	https://github.com/bndtools/bnd
Upstream docs	https://bnd.bndtools.org/
License	Apache-2.0 OR EPL-2.0
Source archive	https://search.maven.org/remotecontent?filepath=biz/aQute/bnd/biz.aQute.bnd/7.3.0/biz.aQute.bnd-7.3.0.jar
Last updated	2026-06-03T09:56:14Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	openjdk
Bottle	available (on all)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	bnd
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

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%

bnd 5.0.1-5

tool to create and diagnose OSGi bundles

http://bnd.bndtools.org/

sudo apt install bnd

Section: java
Architecture: all
14 dependencies
1 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Bnd

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: bnd from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Ubuntu apt95%

bnd 5.0.1-5

tool to create and diagnose OSGi bundles

http://bnd.bndtools.org/

sudo apt install bnd

Section: universe/java
Architecture: all
14 dependencies
1 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Bnd

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: bnd from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/bnd.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install bnd with Homebrew, apt