brew

Install fatsort with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Sorts FAT16 and FAT32 partitions. Version 1.7.679 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install fatsort

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install fatsort

MacPorts ports tree · sysutils/fatsort/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install fatsort

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

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install fatsort

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#fatsort

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S fatsort

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

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install fatsort

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · fatsort · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Sorts FAT16 and FAT32 partitions

Project links

Commands and aliases

fatsort

history

Project history and usage

FATSort is a small C utility for sorting directory entries on FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, and exFAT filesystems. Its niche is practical rather than fashionable: it fixes the ordering seen by devices that read FAT directories in on-disk order instead of presenting their own sorted view.

Project history

The official homepage says FATSort was originally written for a hardware MP3 player that did not sort MP3 files automatically, because no suitable utility existed at the time. That origin explains both the tool's narrow scope and its long maintenance life: it operates directly on filesystem directory structures rather than acting as a general file organizer.

The changelog shows a steady hardening cycle around filesystem correctness. FAT12 support appeared with the 1.0 release in 2013, exFAT support arrived in 1.6.0 in 2019, and later releases focused on endianness, locale, long-filename, multi-byte-character, and consistency checks.

Adoption history

FATSort has remained a packaged Unix utility because its problem still appears on embedded devices, car stereos, cameras, and music players that expose FAT media. The official homepage notes inclusion in Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, and Gentoo, which is unusually broad distribution for such a specialized filesystem tool.

How it is used

Typical use is direct and low-level: run `fatsort [OPTIONS] DEVICE` against an unmounted FAT filesystem or block device, choosing sort order, reverse order, random order, modification-time order, locale handling, and directory inclusion or exclusion as needed. The man page emphasizes that it sorts the filesystem directory structure itself.

Why package nerds care

For package-manager users, FATSort is the sort of tool that justifies a formula or distro package despite a tiny feature surface. It preserves a hardware-era workaround in a reproducible command-line form, with enough filesystem checks and portability fixes to be safer than one-off scripts.

Timeline

2009: Changelog shows active 0.9.x maintenance by September 2009.
2013: FATSort 1.0 adds FAT12 support and stronger filesystem integrity checks.
2019: FATSort 1.6.0 adds exFAT support.
2025: FATSort 1.7 improves exFAT directory entry handling and string comparison performance.
2026: FATSort 1.7.1 ships bug fixes for string termination and version tests.

Related projects

FATSort sits beside FAT filesystem utilities rather than replacing them; it is concerned with directory-entry ordering, not formatting, checking, or repairing whole filesystems.

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 1 runtime 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	Note
`fatsort`	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 version1.7.679

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://fatsort.sourceforge.io/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://fatsort.sourceforge.io/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:fatsort
Version	1.7.679
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/fatsort
Homepage	https://fatsort.sourceforge.io/
Repository	https://sourceforge.net/p/fatsort/code
Upstream docs	https://fatsort.sourceforge.io/
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/fatsort/fatsort-1.7.679.tar.xz
Dependencies	help2man
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	fatsort
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	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%

fatsort 1.6.5.640-1

utility for sorting FAT directory structures

https://fatsort.sourceforge.net

sudo apt install fatsort

Section: otherosfs
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Fatsort

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

Nix95%

fatsort

nix profile install nixpkgs#fatsort

normalized package name match
Matched by: Fatsort

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

Ubuntu apt95%

fatsort 1.6.4.625-0.1

utility for sorting FAT directory structures

http://fatsort.sourceforge.net

sudo apt install fatsort

Section: universe/utils
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Fatsort

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

dnf95%

fatsort 1.6.5.640-4.fc44

FAT sorter for FAT16 and FAT32 filesystems

https://fatsort.sourceforge.net/

sudo dnf install fatsort

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: fatsort
3 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Fatsort

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

pacman95%

fatsort 1.7.679-1

Sorts directory structures of FAT16 and FAT32 file systems

http://fatsort.sourceforge.net

sudo pacman -S fatsort

License: GPL
Architecture: x86_64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Fatsort

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

zypper95%

fatsort 1.7.679-1.3

FAT Filesystem Sorting Utility

https://fatsort.sourceforge.io/

sudo zypper install fatsort

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Category: System/Filesystems
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: fatsort
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Fatsort

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: fatsort from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

fatsort

sudo port install fatsort

normalized package name match
Matched by: Fatsort

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

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/fatsort.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