# Install dwarfs with Homebrew, Nix, zypper Fast high compression read-only file system for Linux, Windows, and macOS. Version 0.15.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:dwarfs ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install dwarfs ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#dwarfs ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dw/dwarfs/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install dwarfs ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: dwarfs from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:dwarfs - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.15.3 - **Source summary:** Fast high compression read-only file system for Linux, Windows, and macOS - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-3.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - dwarfsck (cli) - dwarfsextract (cli) - mkdwarfs (cli) - dwarfsck (alias) - dwarfsextract (alias) - mkdwarfs (alias) ## Dependencies - boost - brotli - flac - fmt - howard-hinnant-date - libarchive - lz4 - nlohmann-json - openssl@3 - parallel-hashmap - range-v3 - utf8cpp - xxhash - xz - zstd ## Build dependencies - cmake - googletest - pkgconf ## 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: 0.15.3 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/mhx/dwarfs - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage DwarFS is a high-compression read-only filesystem for Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, and Windows. Its README frames it as a mountable archive optimized for fast random reads and strong space savings on redundant data. ### Project history Marcus Holland-Moritz writes in the README that he started working on DwarFS in 2013 because several hundred Perl installations were consuming about 30 GB, and existing compressed filesystems either did not compress well enough or were too slow and unstable for his use case. The public GitHub repository was created in November 2020, and GitHub release metadata records release-0.1.0 the same month. By 2026, the project had grown into a multi-platform filesystem with mkdwarfs for image creation, dwarfs for mounting, dwarfsextract for extraction, and dwarfsck for inspection and checksums. The README is unusually benchmark-heavy: it compares DwarFS with tar/gzip, 7-Zip, SquashFS, lrzip, zpaq, wimlib, Cromfs, EROFS, and fuse-archive across redundant Perl installations, CI artifacts, game audio assets, and other datasets. ### Adoption history DwarFS adoption is strongest among users with highly redundant trees: many software builds, versioned runtimes, large asset collections, backups, and archives where mountable access matters. The README includes package-maintainer notes, release-download badges, a Homebrew installs badge, a Repology packaging badge, related projects, and notable users. The input metadata lists Homebrew, Nix, and zypper packages. That package-manager footprint is important because DwarFS is a native filesystem/archive tool with FUSE and compression-library concerns; reproducible distribution builds make it easier to deploy than ad hoc source builds. ### How it is used The basic workflow is mkdwarfs -i /path/to/input/dir -o image.dwarfs, then dwarfs image.dwarfs /path/to/mountpoint to mount it. Users can extract with dwarfsextract and inspect or checksum images with dwarfsck. DwarFS is read-only when mounted, so it is used more like a compressed, mountable artifact store than a writable filesystem. Its tuning knobs cover compression level, block size, categorization, worker counts, memory limits, duplicate segment search, and related compression-performance tradeoffs. ### Why package nerds care DwarFS is package-nerd significant because it is a modern alternative in a class usually dominated by SquashFS, tarballs, zip files, and container/image formats. It is especially interesting when the package is not just a compressor but a filesystem image format plus FUSE driver plus inspection/extraction tools. It also illustrates why package managers matter for systems tools: users need compatible FUSE support, compression libraries, platform-specific builds, and command-line utilities installed together. ### Timeline - 2013: Work on DwarFS begins, according to the README history section. - 2020: The public GitHub repository is created and release-0.1.0 is published. - 2026: GitHub release metadata records v0.15.3. ### Related projects - The README compares DwarFS with SquashFS, Cromfs, EROFS, lrzip, zpaq, zpaqfranz, wimlib, fuse-archive, tar/gzip, and 7-Zip. - Related runtime/package-image projects named by the README include PELF and uruntime, which mention DwarFS support. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** dwarfs - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - dwarfs: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dw/dwarfs/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - zypper - dwarfs - 0.15.3-1.3: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: dwarfs from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Deduplicating compressed read-only file system | https://github.com/mhx/dwarfs - zypper - dwarfs-bash-completion - 0.15.3-1.3: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: dwarfs-bash-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Bash Completion for dwarfs | https://github.com/mhx/dwarfs - zypper - dwarfs-devel - 0.15.3-1.3: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: dwarfs-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | DwarFS development files | https://github.com/mhx/dwarfs - zypper - dwarfs-zsh-completion - 0.15.3-1.3: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: dwarfs-zsh-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | ZSH Completion for dwarfs | https://github.com/mhx/dwarfs - zypper - libdwarfs0_15_3 - 0.15.3-1.3: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libdwarfs0_15_3 from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | DwarFS dynamic library | https://github.com/mhx/dwarfs ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Archive and compression packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/archive-compression-tools/) - Matched archive or compression metadata. - [brotli](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/brotli/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [flac](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/flac/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [libarchive](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libarchive/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [lz4](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/lz4/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [cmake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cmake/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [squashfs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/squashfs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compression, filesystem, filesystems, system. - [ext4fuse](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ext4fuse/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, fuse, read-only. - [rofs-filtered](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/rofs-filtered/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, fuse, read-only. - [btfs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/btfs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, fuse, system. - [erofs-utils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/erofs-utils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, fuse, system. - [fuse-zip](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fuse-zip/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, fuse, system. - [libfuse](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libfuse/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, fuse, system. - [mp3fs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mp3fs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, fuse, system. - [squashfuse](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/squashfuse/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, filesystem, filesystems, fuse, lz4. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/dwarfs.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/dwarfs.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - 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