macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install fcrackziplocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install fcrackzipMacPorts ports tree · security/fcrackzip/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install fcrackzip with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix, pacman
Zip password cracker. Version 1.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install fcrackzipDebian stable package indexes · fcrackzip · source: deb.debian.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#fcrackzipnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/fc/fcrackzip/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S fcrackzipArch Linux sync databases · fcrackzip · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
overview
Package summary
Zip password cracker
Project links
Commands and aliases
- fcrackzip
- fcrackzipinfo
history
Project history and usage
fcrackzip is an older free software ZIP password recovery tool focused on brute-force and dictionary attacks against encrypted ZIP files.
Project history
Marc Lehmann's project page says fcrackzip was written because the ZIP crackers he found were slow, limited, lacked brute-force behavior he needed, or did not provide source. The author explicitly framed it as a portable, free, fast ZIP password cracker rather than only a speed contest.
The bundled NEWS text on the official page traces the project from 0.0.1 through 1.0. Version 0.0.5 is dated August 1998, version 0.3 is dated January 2004, and version 1.0 is dated August 2008.
Adoption history
The official page offered source tarballs, a Windows binary built under Cygwin, and a mailing list for discussion, support, and development. The supplied package-manager metadata shows it later became a small but durable package in Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, and similar repositories.
How it is used
The manpage reproduced on the official site describes scanning encrypted ZIP files and trying to guess the password. Its main modes are brute force with selectable character sets and lengths, dictionary mode from a password file, optional unzip validation to reduce false positives, and benchmarking or validation modes.
It is primarily a recovery and audit utility for legacy ZIP encryption, not a general archive manager. Common package-manager use is direct CLI invocation such as brute-forcing a known-length password or testing a wordlist against a ZIP archive.
Why package nerds care
fcrackzip is package-nerd-relevant because it is one of the long-lived small security tools that persists in Unix package collections long after upstream development slows. Its official history captures the late-1990s free-software motivation: portable C source, performance close to assembler tools, and user-modifiable cracking modes.
Timeline
- 1998: 0.0.5 NEWS entry dated August 12.
- 2004: Version 0.3 released with compatibility fixes and build-system updates.
- 2008: Version 1.0 released with crash fixes and autoconf/automake updates.
Related projects
- The official page compares fcrackzip with fzc, zipcrack, and other ZIP crackers, emphasizing source availability and portability as differentiators.
- The tool also includes a cpmask method for brute-forcing CP-masked images, a feature the author described as unusual among comparable crackers.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: red
escape, surveillance, or offensive capability signal.
Risk classifier
red risk · medium confidence · escape-surveillance-offensive
Why
- escape, surveillance, or offensive capability signal
Signals
- text:password cracker
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
fcrackzip | cli | global executable | |
fcrackzipinfo | 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 version1.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://oldhome.schmorp.de/marc/fcrackzip.html
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://oldhome.schmorp.de/marc/fcrackzip.htmlnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:fcrackzip |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/fcrackzip |
| Homepage | https://oldhome.schmorp.de/marc/fcrackzip.html |
| Upstream docs | https://oldhome.schmorp.de/marc/fcrackzip.html |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://oldhome.schmorp.de/marc/data/fcrackzip-1.0.tar.gz |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, 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 | fcrackzip |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
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%
fcrackzip 1.0-12
password cracker for zip archives
http://oldhome.schmorp.de/marc/fcrackzip.html
sudo apt install fcrackzip- Section: utils
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fcrackzip
Nix95%
fcrackzip
nix profile install nixpkgs#fcrackzip- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fcrackzip
Ubuntu apt95%
fcrackzip 1.0-11
password cracker for zip archives
http://oldhome.schmorp.de/marc/fcrackzip.html
sudo apt install fcrackzip- Section: universe/utils
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fcrackzip
pacman95%
fcrackzip 1.0-6
Zip file password cracker
http://oldhome.schmorp.de/marc/fcrackzip.html
sudo pacman -S fcrackzip- License: GPL
- Architecture: x86_64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fcrackzip
MacPorts95%
fcrackzip
sudo port install fcrackzip- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Fcrackzip
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.
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