macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install cabextractlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install cabextractMacPorts ports tree · archivers/cabextract/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install cabextract with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Extract files from Microsoft cabinet files. Version 1.11 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add cabextractAlpine Linux edge package indexes · cabextract · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install cabextractDebian stable package indexes · cabextract · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install cabextractFedora Rawhide package metadata · cabextract · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#cabextractnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ca/cabextract/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S cabextractArch Linux sync databases · cabextract · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install cabextractopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · cabextract · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Extract files from Microsoft cabinet files
Project links
Commands and aliases
- cabextract
history
Project history and usage
cabextract is a small, long-lived Free Software command-line utility for extracting Microsoft Cabinet files. It is tightly associated with Stuart Caie's libmspack library and remains a standard Unix-side tool for unpacking .CAB archives.
Project history
cabextract's README credits Stuart Caie and gives a 2000-2023 copyright span. The project focuses on Microsoft Cabinet archives, the format Microsoft used for software distribution and Windows Font Packs, and it explicitly distinguishes those archives from InstallShield cabinet files.
Version 1.0 was a major architectural point: the NEWS file says cabextract moved the hard decompression work into libmspack, making extraction more robust and faster while keeping the cabextract CLI focused on archive discovery, listing, filtering, testing, and extraction.
The official site describes cabextract as based on the portable LGPL libmspack library. libmspack itself supports Microsoft compression formats including SZDD, KWAJ, CAB, CHM, and Exchange Offline Address Book LZX data.
Adoption history
cabextract's adoption comes from solving an unglamorous but persistent packaging problem: Unix, BSD, macOS, Cygwin, DOS, and Amiga users often need to unpack Microsoft cabinet archives without Windows tooling. The official download page links to Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Homebrew, MacPorts, Cygwin, DOS/FreeDOS, and Amiga packages.
It became part of the background infrastructure of packaging, reverse-engineering, and driver/font extraction workflows because it is scriptable, small, and available in many distribution repositories.
How it is used
Common usage is direct and Unix-like: cabextract file.cab extracts an archive, cabextract executable.exe searches for embedded cabinets, cabextract -d selects an output directory, cabextract -F filters filenames, cabextract -l lists contents, and cabextract -t tests extraction integrity.
The tool also handles multipart cabinet sets and Windows CE installation cabinets, and its documentation includes magic-file rules to help distinguish Microsoft cabinets from InstallShield files.
Why package nerds care
For package nerds, cabextract is classic plumbing: tiny surface, high leverage, and useful exactly when an upstream ships Windows-era cabinet payloads inside installers or self-extracting files. It is the sort of utility that quietly keeps cross-platform packaging and archival workflows sane.
Its libmspack relationship matters because it separates archive-format knowledge from CLI ergonomics, letting other software use the library while packagers keep a simple cabextract executable.
Timeline
- 2000: cabextract copyright history begins.
- Version 1.0: cabextract moved core decompression work to libmspack.
- 2013-2015: 1.5 fixed crashes and hangs found with afl fuzzing by Debian contributors.
- 2023-02-05: libmspack 0.11alpha was released.
- 2023-02-24: cabextract 1.11 was released.
Related projects
- libmspack is the library cabextract uses for Microsoft compression formats.
- Microsoft Cabinet is the archive format cabextract targets.
- InstallShield cabinet files are explicitly out of scope and detected separately.
- Windows CE cabinet tooling is included through cabextract's related scripts and documentation.
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 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
cabextract | 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 version1.11
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://www.cabextract.org.uk/
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.cabextract.org.uk/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:cabextract |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.11 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/cabextract |
| Homepage | https://www.cabextract.org.uk/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/kyz/libmspack/tree/master/cabextract |
| Upstream docs | https://www.cabextract.org.uk/ |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://www.cabextract.org.uk/cabextract-1.11.tar.gz |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, monterey, sonoma, ventura, 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 | cabextract |
| 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%
cabextract 1.11-2
Microsoft Cabinet file unpacker
sudo apt install cabextract- Section: utils
- Architecture: amd64
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
Nix95%
cabextract
nix profile install nixpkgs#cabextract- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
Ubuntu apt95%
cabextract 1.11-2
Microsoft Cabinet file unpacker
sudo apt install cabextract- Section: universe/utils
- Architecture: amd64
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
apk95%
cabextract 1.11-r2
Tool for extracting Microsoft cabinet files
https://www.cabextract.org.uk/
sudo apk add cabextract- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: cabextract
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
apk95%
cabextract-doc 1.11-r2
Tool for extracting Microsoft cabinet files (documentation)
https://www.cabextract.org.uk/
sudo apk add cabextract-doc- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: cabextract
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
dnf95%
cabextract 1.11-10.fc44
Utility for extracting cabinet (.cab) archives
https://www.cabextract.org.uk/
sudo dnf install cabextract- License: GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: cabextract
- 2 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
pacman95%
cabextract 1.11-2
A program to extract Microsoft cabinet (.CAB) files
https://www.cabextract.org.uk/
sudo pacman -S cabextract- License: GPL
- Architecture: x86_64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
zypper95%
cabextract 1.11-1.10
A Program to Extract Microsoft Cabinet Files
https://www.cabextract.org.uk/
sudo zypper install cabextract- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: System/Console
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: cabextract
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
MacPorts95%
cabextract
sudo port install cabextract- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cabextract
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