# Install cargo-about with Homebrew, Nix, pacman Cargo plugin to generate list of all licenses for a crate. Version 0.9.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-30. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:cargo-about ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install cargo-about ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#cargo-about ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/cargo-about/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S cargo-about ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: cargo-about from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:cargo-about - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.9.1 - **Source summary:** Cargo plugin to generate list of all licenses for a crate - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 OR MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-30T12:38:26Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - cargo-about (cli) - cargo-about (alias) ## Build dependencies - rust ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.9.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-30 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/EmbarkStudios/cargo-about - Upstream latest detected: 0.9.1 (current) ## Project history and usage cargo-about is an Embark Studios Cargo plugin for generating license listings for the full dependency graph of a Rust crate. It sits at the intersection of Cargo metadata, SPDX license data, and release compliance work. ### Project history Embark Studios created the public cargo-about repository in November 2019 and released it as one of its open-source Rust tools. The README states that Embark uses and likes the tool internally, while warning that it is not legal advice. The project provides both a command-line Cargo subcommand and an mdBook manual. Its normal workflow is to initialize an about.toml and template, then generate a license output such as an HTML notice file from dependency metadata. ### Adoption history cargo-about's adoption follows Rust projects that need repeatable license disclosure for dependency-heavy applications. The supplied package-manager facts list Homebrew, Nix, and Arch Linux packages, and the upstream README documents installation from crates.io and Arch Linux. The project also benefited from Embark's wider open-source Rust toolchain presence. Its repository topics include SPDX, license-checking, Cargo plugin, and Rust, which describe the niche it occupies among Cargo subcommands. ### How it is used The documented starting workflow is `cargo about init`, which creates about.toml and about.hbs in a Cargo project, followed by `cargo about generate about.hbs` to produce license information. The official book documents commands and configuration for generating, clarifying, and working around license metadata issues, making cargo-about more of a compliance-report generator than a general dependency-audit scanner. ### Why package nerds care cargo-about matters because open-source license obligations are one of the least glamorous but most important parts of shipping packaged software. Rust's transitive dependency graphs can be large, and cargo-about turns that graph into a reproducible artifact for release notes, installers, game bundles, and product distributions. For package nerds, its importance is also cultural: it is a Cargo subcommand that treats package metadata as operational data, using Cargo manifests and SPDX license identifiers to make dependency compliance automatable. ### Timeline - 2019: cargo-about repository created on GitHub. - 2019: GitHub releases show an initial 0.0.1 release in November. - 2026: Repository metadata shows continued maintenance, Rust implementation, and licensing/SPDX topics. ### Related projects - cargo-about is related to Cargo itself, SPDX license data, crates.io package metadata, and docs.rs API documentation. - It overlaps culturally with cargo-deny and cargo-audit: all three turn Cargo dependency metadata into release or security decisions, but cargo-about focuses on license listings rather than vulnerability or policy enforcement. ### Sources - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## 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 - Unix: /about.toml ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** cargo-about - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - cargo-about: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/cargo-about/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman - cargo-about - 0.8.4-2: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: cargo-about from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Cargo plugin to generate list of all licenses for a crate | https://github.com/EmbarkStudios/cargo-about ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Package publisher tools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/package-publishers/) - Belongs to a package publishing or registry command family. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Matched curated package taxonomy and local package facts. - [rust](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/rust/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [cargo-instruments](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cargo-instruments/) - Package names and metadata indicate a similar tool family. Shared terms: cargo, crate, generate. - [cargo-release](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cargo-release/) - Package names and metadata indicate a similar tool family. Shared terms: about, cargo, crate. - [cargo-all-features](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cargo-all-features/) - Package names and metadata indicate a similar tool family. Shared terms: all, cargo. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/cargo-about.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/cargo-about.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - 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