macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install c-areslocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install c-aresMacPorts ports tree · net/c-ares/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install c-ares with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Asynchronous DNS library. Version 1.34.8 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-08.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add c-aresAlpine Linux edge package indexes · c-ares · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libc-ares-devDebian stable package indexes · libc-ares-dev · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install c-aresFedora Rawhide package metadata · c-ares · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#c-aresnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/c-/c-ares/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S c-aresArch Linux sync databases · c-ares · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install c-ares-developenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · c-ares-devel · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Asynchronous DNS library
Project links
Commands and aliases
- adig
- ahost
history
Project history and usage
c-ares is an MIT-licensed C library for asynchronous DNS resolution. It grew out of Daniel Stenberg's search for a non-blocking resolver suitable for libcurl and became a long-lived dependency for network software that cannot afford blocking name lookups.
Project history
The official `why` page explains that Daniel Stenberg looked for an asynchronous DNS resolver for libcurl, found the older ares library, began expanding it, and forked when the original author would not accept the needed changes. That fork became c-ares.
The project still acknowledges ares as the public API influence while noting that the code no longer closely resembles the original. Its README now describes c-ares as a modern DNS stub resolver written in C with asynchronous interfaces, portability across Unix, Windows, mobile, and other systems, and active maintenance after more than 20 years.
Recent project materials emphasize security practice as much as asynchronous lookup: safe parsers and builders, static and dynamic analysis, OSS-Fuzz coverage, signed releases, and SLSA provenance for release artifacts.
Adoption history
c-ares adoption started from libcurl's need for DNS lookups that could integrate with event-driven network code. From there it spread into software that needs many DNS queries in parallel or wants resolver behavior independent from a platform's blocking libc calls.
Its package-manager footprint is broad: Homebrew, Debian and Ubuntu development packages, Fedora, Alpine, Arch, MacPorts, Nix, and openSUSE all package it. That breadth reflects its status as a library dependency more than an end-user command, although tools such as `adig` and `ahost` are installed with some packages.
How it is used
Developers link against c-ares to issue asynchronous DNS queries through non-blocking sockets and integrate DNS work into event loops. The official docs include initialization APIs such as `ares_init_options` and resolver configuration behavior.
On Unix-like systems c-ares reads resolver environment from standard system files such as `/etc/resolv.conf` and `/etc/hosts`, matching the package's curated config-file locations.
Why package nerds care
c-ares is one of those packages users may never invoke directly but build systems constantly care about. It is a small C library whose ABI, headers, pkg-config metadata, and security updates affect curl-like networking stacks across distributions.
For package nerds, it is also a clean example of a library fork becoming infrastructure: born from a specific libcurl need, preserved for API/ABI stability, and now maintained with modern supply-chain signals such as signed releases and SLSA provenance.
Timeline
- Early 2000s: Daniel Stenberg searches for an asynchronous DNS resolver for libcurl and forks from ares to create c-ares.
- 2004: Early tags such as `c-ares-1_2_0` appear in the upstream repository history.
- 2010s: c-ares remains a common packaged dependency for asynchronous DNS in C networking software.
- 2024: The project site describes more than 20 years of active maintenance and modern DNS RFC support.
- 2025: The official site publishes c-ares 1.34.6 as a signed release with release provenance.
Related projects
- libcurl is the motivating user described by the official history page.
- ares is the older resolver library from which c-ares forked.
- ADNS, UDNS, FireDNS, Mozilla netlib, djbdns, and other resolver libraries are discussed by the c-ares project as alternatives or contemporaries.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: blue
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
Risk classifier
blue risk · medium confidence · tool
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
Signals
- text:sync
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Build metadata lists 1 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.
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
/etc/resolv.conf/etc/hosts
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
adig | cli | global executable | |
ahost | 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 version1.34.8
manager updated2026-07-08
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/c-ares/c-ares
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/c-ares/c-aresnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:c-ares |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.34.8 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/c-ares |
| Homepage | https://c-ares.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/c-ares/c-ares |
| Upstream docs | https://c-ares.org/docs.html |
| License | MIT |
| Source archive | https://github.com/c-ares/c-ares/releases/download/v1.34.8/c-ares-1.34.8.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-07-08T02:31:43Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Build dependencies | cmake |
| 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 | c-ares |
| 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%
libc-ares-dev 1.34.5-1+deb13u1
asynchronous name resolver - development files
sudo apt install libc-ares-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
Debian apt95%
libc-ares2 1.34.5-1+deb13u1
transitional package
sudo apt install libc-ares2- Section: oldlibs
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: c-ares
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
Debian apt95%
libcares2 1.34.5-1+deb13u1
asynchronous name resolver
sudo apt install libcares2- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
Nix95%
c-ares
nix profile install nixpkgs#c-ares- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
Ubuntu apt95%
libc-ares-dev 1.27.0-1.0ubuntu1
asynchronous name resolver - development files
sudo apt install libc-ares-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
Ubuntu apt95%
libcares2 1.27.0-1.0ubuntu1
asynchronous name resolver
sudo apt install libcares2- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
apk95%
c-ares 1.34.6-r0
Asynchronous DNS/names resolver library
sudo apk add c-ares- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
apk95%
c-ares-dev 1.34.6-r0
Asynchronous DNS/names resolver library (development files)
sudo apk add c-ares-dev- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
apk95%
c-ares-doc 1.34.6-r0
Asynchronous DNS/names resolver library (documentation)
sudo apk add c-ares-doc- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: c-ares
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
apk95%
c-ares-utils 1.34.6-r0
Asynchronous DNS/names resolver library
sudo apk add c-ares-utils- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
dnf95%
c-ares 1.34.6-3.fc44
A library that performs asynchronous DNS operations
sudo dnf install c-ares- License: MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: c-ares
- 2 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
dnf95%
c-ares-devel 1.34.6-3.fc44
Development files for c-ares
sudo dnf install c-ares-devel- License: MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: c-ares
- 4 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
pacman95%
c-ares 1.34.6-1
A C library for asynchronous DNS requests
sudo pacman -S c-ares- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
zypper95%
c-ares-devel 1.34.6-1.3
Development files for c-ares
sudo zypper install c-ares-devel- License: MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 3 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
zypper95%
c-ares-utils 1.34.6-1.3
Tools for asynchronous name resolves
sudo zypper install c-ares-utils- License: MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
zypper95%
libcares2 1.34.6-1.3
Library for asynchronous name resolves
sudo zypper install libcares2- License: MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: c-ares
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: C Ares
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 configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment