# Install bold with Homebrew, Nix Drop-in replacement for Apple system linker ld. Version 0.2.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-14. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:bold ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install bold ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#bold ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bo/bold/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:bold - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.2.0 - **Source summary:** Drop-in replacement for Apple system linker ld - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-14T14:14:32-04:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - bold (cli) - bold (alias) ## Build dependencies - zig@0.14 ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.2.0 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-14 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://codeberg.org/kubkon/bold - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage bold is a Zig-written drop-in replacement for Apple's system linker `ld`, focused on Mach-O linking on Apple platforms. ### Project history The official README says bold used to be emerald, but the broader emerald driver effort was split off because of maintainer time constraints. The README positions bold as a direct competitor to LLVM lld and Apple's linker, with benchmark comparisons against Apple's rewritten linker, classic Apple ld, and lld. ### Adoption history bold is a young specialist developer tool. The input package facts show Homebrew and Nix packaging, which is the expected adoption path for an experimental linker aimed at macOS and Zig-adjacent systems developers. ### How it is used Typical usage is building with nightly Zig, then passing bold to C or C++ compilers with `-fuse-ld=bold` for clang or `-B/path/to/bold` for gcc-style toolchains. ### Why package nerds care bold is interesting to package nerds because linkers are rarely casual dependencies; packaging it means exposing an alternate toolchain component that must match platform object formats, compiler driver behavior, and system linker expectations. ### Timeline - 2026: The Codeberg repository metadata records the public bold repository creation. - 2026: The README describes bold as the focused successor to the earlier emerald effort. ### Related projects - Related projects include Apple ld, Apple's classic ld mode, LLVM lld, Zig, and the earlier emerald project. ### Sources - - - input.source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes generalized runtime or code generation signal. - **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium - generalized runtime or code generation signal ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** bold - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Requirements:** macos - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - bold: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bo/bold/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [lld](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/lld/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, linker. - [mold](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mold/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, linker. - [wasm-component-ld](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/wasm-component-ld/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, linker. - [aarch64-elf-binutils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aarch64-elf-binutils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, linker. - [binutils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/binutils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, linker. - [cc65](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cc65/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, linker. - [gputils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gputils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, linker. - [i686-elf-binutils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/i686-elf-binutils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, linker. - [smake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/smake/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, system. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/bold.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/bold.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph