brew

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

Free and Open Source empire-building strategy game. Version 3.2.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-18.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install freeciv

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install freeciv

MacPorts ports tree · games/freeciv/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add freeciv

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · freeciv · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install freeciv

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

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install freeciv-common

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · freeciv-common · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#freeciv

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S freeciv-gtk3

Arch Linux sync databases · freeciv-gtk3 · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install freeciv

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

Windows

Chocolateyverified · 92%

choco install freeciv

Chocolatey community package catalog · freeciv · source: community.chocolatey.org

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%

winget install --id FreeCiv.FreeCiv -e

Windows Package Manager source index · FreeCiv.FreeCiv · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

Free and Open Source empire-building strategy game

Project links

Commands and aliases

freeciv-gtk4
freeciv-manual
freeciv-mp-gtk4
freeciv-ruleup
freeciv-server

history

Project history and usage

Freeciv is a free and open source empire-building strategy game inspired by the history of human civilization. It is both a playable game and a long-running packaged desktop/server program, with graphical clients, a standalone server, ruleset tooling, and documentation utilities shipped by Unix package managers.

Project history

The project presents itself as a Free Software strategy game in the tradition of turn-based civilization building. Its official site and repository emphasize the client-server architecture, community development, and a release line that has continued through modern 3.x releases.

Adoption history

Freeciv became a standard open source strategy-game package across Unix-like systems because it bundles visible applications and command-line/server components. The supplied package facts list it in Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Alpine, Arch, MacPorts, Nix, openSUSE, Chocolatey, and winget, reflecting broad cross-platform packaging.

How it is used

Users run graphical clients such as freeciv-gtk4 to play, freeciv-server to host games, and helper tools such as freeciv-ruleup for ruleset maintenance. Package users often care about data files, client toolkit variants, and compatibility between client and server versions.

Why package nerds care

Freeciv is a useful package-manager specimen because it combines a large game data tree, GUI clients, networked server behavior, translations, rulesets, and command-line maintenance tools in one formula. It also shows the classic packaging split between desktop launchability and server/admin executables.

Timeline

1990s: Freeciv emerged as a free software implementation of civilization-style empire building.
2024: Freeciv 3.1.0 was released as a new stable series.
2025: Freeciv 3.2.0 was released as a new stable series.
2026: Freeciv 3.2.4 was announced on the official site as the current stable release.

Related projects

Related official surfaces include the Freeciv wiki, forum, metaserver, Redmine tracker, and GitHub organization. In packaging terms it sits near open source strategy games that ship both graphical clients and network servers.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:server

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 14 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 3 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.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ${FREECIV_STORAGE_DIR}/freeciv-client-rc-<major>.<minor>

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure
`freeciv-gtk4`	cli	global executable
`freeciv-manual`	cli	global executable
`freeciv-mp-gtk4`	cli	global executable
`freeciv-ruleup`	cli	global executable
`freeciv-server`	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 version3.2.4

manager updated2026-06-18

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://freeciv.org/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://freeciv.org/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:freeciv
Version	3.2.4
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/freeciv
Homepage	https://freeciv.org/
Repository	https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv
Upstream docs	https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv#readme
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/freeciv/Freeciv%203.2/3.2.4/freeciv-3.2.4.tar.xz
Last updated	2026-06-18T02:28:57-04:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	adwaita-icon-theme, cairo, gdk-pixbuf, gettext, glib, gtk4, icu4c@78, lua, pango, readline, sdl2-compat, sdl2_mixer, xz, zstd
Build dependencies	meson, ninja, pkgconf
Uses from macOS	bzip2, curl, sqlite
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	freeciv
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head 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%

freeciv 3.1.4+ds-2+deb13u1

Civilization turn based strategy game