Install efl with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, pacman, zypper, MacPorts

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• diffeet
• ecore_evas_convert
• edje_cc
• edje_codegen
• edje_decc
• edje_external_inspector
• edje_inspector
• edje_pick
• edje_player
• edje_recc
• edje_watch
• eet
• eetpack
• efl_debug
• efl_debugd
• efreetd
• eina_btlog
• eina_modinfo
• eldbus-codegen
• elementary_codegen
• elementary_config
• elementary_perf
• elementary_quicklaunch
• elementary_run
• elementary_test
• elm_prefs_cc
• embryo_cc
• eo_debug
• eolian_cxx
• eolian_gen
• ethumb
• ethumbd

Project history

The Enlightenment project says Enlightenment began in the 1990s as an X11 window manager created by Carsten Haitzler and expanded into the C codebase that forms EFL plus related applications. EFL is therefore both a toolkit and the technical substrate of a long-running desktop project.

The official EFL README describes it as a collection of libraries for common developer tasks such as data structures, communication, rendering, widgets, shared libraries, loadable modules, and binary tools. The project packages many historically separate Enlightenment libraries together, including Eina, Evas, Ecore, Edje, Eet, Efreet, Eldbus, Embryo, Emotion, Ethumb, EIO, and Elementary.

The official About EFL page presents the stack as layered: low-level libraries remain accessible, while higher-level UI facilities build on top. It also notes the transition from the older stable module names toward a unified Efl namespace.

Adoption history

EFL adoption is tied to Enlightenment, Linux distributions, embedded systems, and Tizen-era consumer devices. The official About EFL page says it has powered systems ranging from phones and set-top boxes to desktops, laptops, game systems, Samsung watches, Samsung smart TVs, refrigerators, and GPS devices.

The project emphasizes efficiency, speed, and small memory footprint compared with GTK+ and Qt equivalents. That performance story explains why EFL has mattered outside conventional desktop packaging, especially in embedded and appliance-like environments.

How it is used

Developers use EFL as a C-first library stack. The README points to source under src/lib, binaries under src/bin, modules under src/modules, data under data, and pkg-config files under pc for building applications against installed libraries.

The stack covers normal GUI-toolkit needs through Elementary and Efl_Ui, but also lower-level pieces: Ecore for the main loop and events, Evas for scene graph rendering, Edje for themed layout and animation data, Eina for data structures, Eet for serialization, and network, IPC, input, and platform glue libraries.

Why package nerds care

EFL is package-nerd-significant because it is not just one library: it is a historically layered desktop and embedded application platform with many command-line tools and development artifacts hidden behind one short package name.

In package managers, efl is a clue that the system may be able to build Enlightenment-family applications, inspect or compile Edje theme files, generate Eolian code, use Elementary widgets, and run assorted EFL developer utilities.

Timeline

• 1990s: Enlightenment launched as an X11 window manager.
• 2010s: EFL presented as the one-million-line C library foundation beneath Enlightenment and related applications.
• 2014: GitHub mirror of the official EFL repository created.
• Present: EFL documentation describes an ongoing transition from named stable modules toward the unified Efl namespace.

Related projects

• Related Enlightenment projects include the Enlightenment desktop shell, Terminology, Rage, Ephoto, EDI, Evisum, and the E16 predecessor line. Related platform contexts include Tizen and embedded Linux systems.

Sources

• https://www.enlightenment.org/about
• https://www.enlightenment.org/about-efl
• https://www.enlightenment.org/_export/raw/about
• https://www.enlightenment.org/_export/raw/about-efl
• https://git.enlightenment.org/enlightenment/efl.git
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Enlightenment/efl/master/README.md
• https://api.github.com/repos/Enlightenment/efl