Install flac with Homebrew, apk, chocolatey, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, winget, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• flac
• metaflac

Project history

The FLAC project dates its specification document to 2000 and its long-running official pages carry Josh Coalson's early copyright followed by Xiph.Org Foundation stewardship. The project supplies both the format and the reference implementation: command-line tools, libFLAC, libFLAC++, metadata tooling, API documentation, and the formal bitstream specification.

Development moved from SourceForge to Xiph.org in 2012. A 2013 1.3.0 release was described by the project as the first release in more than six years from the new Xiph.Org maintainer team, starting the modern maintenance era.

The format was formally published as RFC 9639 in December 2024. The FLAC project describes this as codifying a format that already had a specification and reference implementation, making independent decoder implementations and long-term archival confidence easier. FLAC 1.5.0 followed in February 2025 with multithreaded encoding in libFLAC and the flac command-line tool.

Adoption history

The official site emphasizes FLAC's combination of open specification, patent-unencumbered design, open-source reference implementation, documented format and API, and independent implementations. It also lists support across common operating systems and notes many programs and devices that support the format.

Official news items show FLAC moving from enthusiast and archival circles into broad consumer playback: Android native FLAC playback in 2011, hardware and receiver support through the early 2010s, high-resolution music stores and streaming services using FLAC in 2014, and continuing support from players, devices, and audio software.

How it is used

The Homebrew package exposes the official flac encoder/decoder and metaflac metadata editor. Typical package-manager usage is installing these tools for lossless CD ripping, audio verification, transcoding to or from WAV/AIFF-style sources, metadata inspection and editing, and scripts that need a stable codec utility.

Developers use libFLAC and libFLAC++ when embedding FLAC support in applications, while format implementers use the specification, API docs, Ogg FLAC mapping, and conformance material.

Why package nerds care

FLAC is one of the packages that turns a Unix system into a serious media workstation: small command-line tools, stable libraries, strong archival semantics, and a file format that can be decoded independently decades later.

For package maintainers, FLAC matters because many other media packages link against libFLAC or shell out to flac/metaflac. Its release notes track ABI versions, build-system changes, fuzzing, Windows and Unix portability, and security-hardening details that ripple across audio stacks.

Timeline

• 2000: FLAC specification document existed alongside the open-source reference implementation.
• 2011: Android 3.1 added native FLAC playback.
• 2012: FLAC development moved from SourceForge to Xiph.org.
• 2013: FLAC 1.3.0 released by the new Xiph.Org maintainer team.
• 2014: FLAC 1.3.1 released after security-triggered maintenance; FLAC also appeared in high-resolution stores and streaming announcements.
• 2024: RFC 9639 formally specified the FLAC format.
• 2025: FLAC 1.5.0 added multithreaded encoding in libFLAC and the flac CLI.

Related projects

• Xiph.Org, libFLAC, libFLAC++, metaflac, Ogg FLAC, RFC 9639, Hydrogenaudio, Vorbis.

Sources

• https://xiph.org/flac/index.html
• https://xiph.org/flac/features.html
• https://xiph.org/flac/documentation.html
• https://xiph.org/flac/documentation_tools.html
• https://xiph.org/flac/news.html
• https://xiph.org/flac/changelog.html
• https://xiph.org/flac/2024/12/19/rfc-9639-published.html
• https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9639
• https://github.com/xiph/flac