install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install cryptol

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S cryptol

Arch Linux sync databases · cryptol · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

Ubuntu aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install cryptol

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · cryptol · source: archive.ubuntu.com

overview

Package summary

Domain-specific language for specifying cryptographic algorithms

Project links

Commands and aliases

check-exercises
cryptol
cryptol-html

history

Project history and usage

Cryptol is a domain-specific language and toolchain for specifying and checking cryptographic algorithms. It is packaged as a developer tool because its main value is an executable specification language, REPL-like interpreter, and solver-backed verification workflow rather than a conventional application.

Project history

The official README says Cryptol was designed by Galois for the NSA Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research as a public standard for specifying cryptographic algorithms. The current repository represents Cryptol version 3 and carries Galois copyright notices beginning in 2013, with the public GitHub repository created in 2014.

Adoption history

Cryptol is distributed through official GitHub release binaries for macOS, Linux, and Windows, and the README explicitly documents Homebrew installation for macOS. The supplied package metadata also lists Arch and Ubuntu packages, reflecting a tool that is niche but important enough for language, formal-methods, and cryptography users to want through normal package channels.

How it is used

Users write executable specifications of cryptographic algorithms in Cryptol, then use the interpreter's :check command for randomized testing and :prove or :sat commands through SMT solvers such as Z3. The README also points users toward examples, the standard library, and the related SAW tooling for checking implementations against specifications.

Why package nerds care

Cryptol is interesting to packagers because it bundles a language runtime, documentation, examples, and solver expectations into a CLI package. Its README notes that Homebrew installs the appropriate Z3 version automatically, which is the kind of dependency detail that determines whether a formal-methods package works out of the box.

Timeline

2013: The version 3 codebase carries Galois copyright notices beginning in this year.
2014: The official GitHub repository was created.
2026: The hosted reference manual shows active 3.x documentation and master-branch docs.

Related projects

Cryptol is closely related to Galois's SAW tools and to the cryptol-specs repository of example specifications. Its everyday operation also depends on SMT solvers such as Z3.

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 6 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 2 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.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure
`check-exercises`	cli	global executable
`cryptol`	cli	global executable
`cryptol-html`	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 version3.5.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://galoisinc.github.io/cryptol/master/RefMan.html

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://galoisinc.github.io/cryptol/master/RefMan.htmlnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:cryptol
Version	3.5.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/cryptol
Homepage	https://galoisinc.github.io/cryptol/master/RefMan.html
Repository	https://github.com/GaloisInc/cryptol
Upstream docs	https://galoisinc.github.io/cryptol/master/RefMan.html
License	BSD-3-Clause
Source archive	https://hackage.haskell.org/package/cryptol-3.5.0/cryptol-3.5.0.tar.gz
Dependencies	gmp, z3
Build dependencies	cabal-install, ghc@9.12
Uses from macOS	libffi, ncurses
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	cryptol
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.

Ubuntu apt95%

cryptol 3.0.0-1build1

domain-specific language of cryptography

http://www.cryptol.net/

sudo apt install cryptol

Section: universe/utils
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: haskell-cryptol
6 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cryptol

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

pacman95%

cryptol 3.3.0-88

The Language of Cryptography

https://tools.galois.com/cryptol

sudo pacman -S cryptol

License: BSD-3-Clause
Architecture: x86_64
32 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Cryptol

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: cryptol from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

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/cryptol.yml

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

Install cryptol with Homebrew, pacman, apt