# Install esbuild with Homebrew, apk, apt, Nix, pacman, zypper Extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier. Version 0.28.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-12. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:esbuild ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install esbuild ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add esbuild ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: esbuild from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install esbuild ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: esbuild from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#esbuild ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/es/esbuild/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S esbuild ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: esbuild from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install esbuild ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: esbuild from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:esbuild - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.28.1 - **Source summary:** Extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-12T00:26:27Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - esbuild (cli) - esbuild (alias) ## Build dependencies - go ## 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: 0.28.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-12 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/evanw/esbuild - Upstream latest detected: v0.28.1 (current) ## Project history and usage esbuild is a JavaScript and CSS bundler and minifier whose package identity is built around speed: its upstream README describes the project goal as making web build tools far faster while still providing a modern, easy-to-use bundler. ### Project history The project is developed in the evanw/esbuild repository and is documented on esbuild.github.io. Its public npm release history shows 0.1.0 published in April 2020, followed by rapid 0.x releases as the tool accumulated bundling, minification, TypeScript, JSX, CSS, source-map, watch, serve, and plugin capabilities. esbuild's design is deliberately different from traditional JavaScript build tools: it ships as native code, exposes CLI, JavaScript, and Go APIs, and emphasizes doing parsing, printing, bundling, and minification without a cache. The upstream README frames this as a response to existing web build tools being much slower than necessary. ### Adoption history The package became important in JavaScript tooling because it offered a fast native binary through ordinary package-manager workflows. The npm package is the primary JavaScript distribution, while Homebrew and multiple Unix package managers carry command-line builds for system-level installation. Its adoption pattern differs from older bundlers such as webpack and Rollup: many projects use esbuild directly for fast bundling or minification, while others use it as an embedded transform/minify engine behind higher-level developer tools. ### How it is used Common use is direct CLI invocation for bundling, minifying, transforming, or serving web assets, or calling the JavaScript API from build scripts. The official docs also document a Go API, loaders for JavaScript, TypeScript, JSX, CSS, JSON, text, and binary assets, and a plugin system for custom resolution and loading. For package-manager users, esbuild is notable because installation has to land the correct platform-specific executable. The official getting-started documentation discusses npm installation details and additional npm flags, while Homebrew exposes a single `esbuild` command for local use. ### Why package nerds care esbuild changed expectations for JavaScript package tooling latency. Package nerds care because it made native, single-purpose build executables feel normal in frontend toolchains, and because its versioned binary distribution model sits at the intersection of npm packages, system packages, and reproducible builds. It is also a useful comparison point for later tools: when a new bundler, transpiler, or dev server advertises speed, esbuild is one of the baseline projects people instinctively measure against. ### Timeline - 2020: esbuild 0.1.0 published to npm. - 2020: 0.8.0-era releases show the project already moving quickly through bundler and transform features. - 2021: 0.14.x releases continue the long-running pre-1.0 cadence. - 2026: 0.28.x releases still ship active fixes and platform/package integrity work. ### Related projects - Related tools in the same package-manager conversation include webpack, Rollup, SWC, Babel, Terser, and Vite. esbuild overlaps with several of them but is commonly valued for fast transform, bundle, and minify paths rather than as an all-purpose application framework. ### Sources - - - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** esbuild - **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 - Debian apt - esbuild - 0.25.5-1+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: esbuild from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier (program) | https://github.com/evanw/esbuild - Nix - esbuild: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/es/esbuild/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - esbuild - 0.20.1-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: esbuild from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier (program) | https://github.com/evanw/esbuild - apk - esbuild - 0.27.1-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: esbuild from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier | https://esbuild.github.io/ - apk - esbuild-doc - 0.27.1-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: esbuild-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier (documentation) | https://esbuild.github.io/ - pacman - esbuild - 0.28.0-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: esbuild from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | An extremely fast JavaScript and CSS bundler and minifier. | https://esbuild.github.io/ - zypper - esbuild - 0.28.0-1.1: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: esbuild from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | A JavaScript bundler written for speed | https://esbuild.github.io ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [go](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/go/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [docmd](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/docmd/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [neonctl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/neonctl/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [yuicompressor](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/yuicompressor/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: build-tools, cli, css, developer-tools, javascript. - [mako](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mako/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: build-tools, cli, developer-tools, javascript, typescript. - [ncc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ncc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: build-tools, bundler, cli, developer-tools, javascript. - [nx](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/nx/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: build-tools, cli, developer-tools, javascript, typescript. - [rollup](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/rollup/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: build-tools, bundler, cli, developer-tools, javascript. - [vite](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/vite/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: build-tools, cli, developer-tools, javascript, typescript. - [webpack](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/webpack/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: build-tools, bundler, cli, developer-tools, javascript. - [grunt-cli](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/grunt-cli/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: build-tools, cli, developer-tools, javascript. - [esbuild](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/esbuild/) - Same normalized package name appears in another local ecosystem. Shared terms: bundler, css, esbuild, extremely, fast. - [esbuild](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/esbuild/) - Same normalized package name in another local ecosystem. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/esbuild.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/esbuild.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