install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install flip-link

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#flip-link

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/fl/flip-link/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S flip-link

Arch Linux sync databases · flip-link · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Adds zero-cost stack overflow protection to your embedded programs

Project links

Commands and aliases

flip-link

history

Project history and usage

flip-link is a Rust linker wrapper from the Knurling embedded tooling project. It adds zero-cost stack overflow protection to bare-metal embedded Rust programs by flipping the memory layout used for ARM Cortex-M targets.

Project history

The README explains the motivating bug class: stack overflows in bare-metal Cortex-M Rust programs can collide with .bss and .data static variables, causing undefined behavior even in code without unsafe blocks.

flip-link changes the link layout so the stack grows toward the physical RAM boundary instead of into static data. A stack overflow then becomes a hardware exception handled through the Cortex-M runtime rather than silent memory corruption.

Adoption history

The README documents installation from crates.io with cargo install flip-link and configuration through .cargo/config.toml, making it a drop-in build-tool package for embedded Rust projects.

The input package metadata records packaging in Homebrew, Nix, and Arch, showing adoption outside Cargo for users who install embedded toolchain helpers through system package managers.

How it is used

Users set the target linker to flip-link for bare-metal ARM targets, replacing rust-lld in Cargo configuration. flip-link invokes the Rust toolchain linker after adjusting the memory layout.

The official docs note support for ARM Cortex-M programs using cortex-m-rt 0.6.x and 0.7.x with LLD, with other architectures and runtime crates outside the tested scope.

Why package nerds care

flip-link is significant because it packages a linker-level safety trick as a small CLI rather than requiring every embedded project to maintain custom linker scripts.

For Rust package maintainers, it is also a clear example of tooling that belongs in the build environment: the binary is tiny, target-specific, and wired through Cargo configuration rather than imported as a normal runtime library.

Timeline

2020: v0.1.0 was released.
2021: v0.1.3 improved documentation and project checks around the stack overflow problem and solution.
2022: v0.1.6 updated the project to Rust 2021 and improved memory.x handling.
2024: v0.1.9 recommended target linker configuration for recent Cargo versions.
2025: v0.1.10 added help behavior and a fuller parser for ORIGIN and LENGTH expressions.

Related projects

flip-link is part of Knurling, Ferrous Systems' embedded Rust tooling effort.
It is closely related to cortex-m-rt, rust-lld, Cargo target configuration, and ARM Cortex-M bare-metal Rust applications.

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.
Build metadata lists 1 build 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
`flip-link`	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 version0.1.12

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv0.1.12

https://github.com/knurling-rs/flip-link

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:flip-link
Version	0.1.12
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/flip-link
Homepage	https://github.com/knurling-rs/flip-link
Repository	https://github.com/knurling-rs/flip-link
Upstream docs	https://github.com/knurling-rs/flip-link#readme
License	Apache-2.0 OR MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/knurling-rs/flip-link/archive/refs/tags/v0.1.12.tar.gz
Build dependencies	rust
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	flip-link
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.

Nix95%

flip-link

nix profile install nixpkgs#flip-link

normalized package name match
Matched by: Flip Link

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

pacman95%

flip-link 0.1.12-2

Flips the memory layout of embedded programs to protect against stack overflows

https://github.com/knurling-rs/flip-link

sudo pacman -S flip-link

License: MIT AND Apache-2.0
Architecture: x86_64
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Flip Link

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

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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/flip-link.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

Install flip-link with Homebrew, Nix, pacman