install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install cc65

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install cc65

MacPorts ports tree · lang/cc65/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add cc65

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · cc65 · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install cc65

Debian stable package indexes · cc65 · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install cc65

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · cc65 · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#cc65

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/cc/cc65/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install main/cc65

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/cc65.json · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

6502 C compiler

Project links

Commands and aliases

ar65
ca65
cc65
chrcvt65
cl65
co65
da65
grc65
ld65
od65
sim65
sp65

history

Project history and usage

cc65 is a complete cross-development toolchain for 65(C)02 systems, including a C compiler, macro assembler, linker, archiver, simulator, and supporting tools.

Project history

The official README traces cc65 to Ron Cain's Small C, enhanced by James E. Hendrix, then to John R. Dunning's Atari-hosted compiler/runtime implementation. Ullrich von Bassewitz moved the code to modern systems, rewrote most of the compiler, and rewrote the runtime library.

Adoption history

cc65 became a long-lived retrocomputing toolchain because it supports many 6502-family targets, including Apple II, Atari 8-bit systems, Commodore machines, NES, Oric, BBC, PC Engine, KIM-1, Commander X16, and others. The supplied package facts show it is packaged across Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Scoop, Ubuntu, and Alpine.

How it is used

Developers use cc65 to build C and assembly programs for old 6502-family machines and custom hardware. The official documentation covers each tool and shows that ld65 linker configuration files define output layout, memory areas, and segment placement.

Why package nerds care

cc65 is a classic package-manager fixture: a portable cross-compiler suite that lets modern hosts build software for many constrained historic targets. Its many small executables also make it a good test case for toolchain packaging, documentation paths, and target-library layout.

Related projects

Small C, ca65, ld65, cl65, sim65, and target ecosystems for Apple II, Atari, Commodore, NES, and other 65(C)02 machines.

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 13 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.

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: current directorydirectories passed with --cfg-path$LD65_CFG$CC65_HOME/cfg

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure
`ar65`	cli	global executable
`ca65`	cli	global executable
`cc65`	cli	global executable
`chrcvt65`	cli	global executable
`cl65`	cli	global executable
`co65`	cli	global executable
`da65`	cli	global executable
`grc65`	cli	global executable
`ld65`	cli	global executable
`od65`	cli	global executable
`sim65`	cli	global executable
`sp65`	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 version2.19

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/cc65/cc65

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/cc65/cc65none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:cc65
Version	2.19
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/cc65
Homepage	https://cc65.github.io/cc65/
Repository	https://github.com/cc65/cc65
Upstream docs	https://cc65.github.io/doc
License	Zlib
Source archive	https://github.com/cc65/cc65/archive/refs/tags/V2.19.tar.gz
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared
Caveats	Library files have been installed to: $HOMEBREW_CELLAR/cc65/2.19/share/cc65

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	cc65
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	head 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%

cc65 2.19-2

complete cross development package for 65(C)02 systems

https://cc65.github.io/cc65/

sudo apt install cc65

Section: otherosfs
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
1 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: cc65 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Debian apt95%

cc65-doc 2.19-2

cc65 documentation

https://cc65.github.io/cc65/

sudo apt install cc65-doc

Section: doc
Architecture: all
Source Package: cc65
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: cc65-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

cc65

nix profile install nixpkgs#cc65

normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/cc/cc65/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Ubuntu apt95%

cc65 2.19-1

complete cross development package for 65(C)02 systems

https://cc65.github.io/cc65/

sudo apt install cc65

Section: universe/otherosfs
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
1 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: cc65 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

Ubuntu apt95%

cc65-doc 2.19-1

cc65 documentation

https://cc65.github.io/cc65/

sudo apt install cc65-doc

Section: universe/doc
Architecture: all
Source Package: cc65
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: cc65-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

apk95%

cc65 2.19-r0

Compiler Suite for 6502 based processors

https://cc65.github.io/

sudo apk add cc65

License: Zlib
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: cc65
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: cc65 from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

dnf95%

cc65 2.19-15.fc44

A free C compiler for 6502 based systems

https://cc65.github.io

sudo dnf install cc65

License: zlib
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: cc65
4 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: cc65 from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

cc65-devel 2.19-15.fc44

Development files for cc65

https://cc65.github.io

sudo dnf install cc65-devel

License: zlib
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: noarch
Source Package: cc65
1 dependencies
2 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: cc65-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

cc65-doc 2.19-15.fc44

Documentation files for cc65

https://cc65.github.io

sudo dnf install cc65-doc

License: zlib
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: noarch
Source Package: cc65
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: cc65-doc from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

cc65-utils 2.19-15.fc44

Additional utilities for cc65

https://cc65.github.io

sudo dnf install cc65-utils

License: zlib
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: cc65
4 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: cc65-utils from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

cc65

sudo port install cc65

normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: lang/cc65/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Scoop95%

main/cc65

scoop install main/cc65

normalized package name match
Matched by: Cc65

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/cc65.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1

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/cc65.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 cc65 with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, scoop

Additional install commands

macOS

Linux

Windows

Package summary

Project links

Commands and aliases

Project history and usage

Project history

Adoption history

How it is used

Why package nerds care

Related projects

Sources

Risk level: green

Risk classifier

Why

Signals

Install behavior

Recommended review

Configuration and credential file locations

Configuration files

Installed executables

Version and freshness

Package metadata

Source database details

Other package-manager records

Internal package links

Topical hubs

Same workflow

Agent security guides

Generated from repository data

Combined YAML source

Used sources