macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install freeswitchlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install freeswitch with Homebrew, apk, Nix
Telephony platform to route various communication protocols. Version 1.11.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-19.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add freeswitchAlpine Linux edge package indexes · freeswitch · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#freeswitchnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/fr/freeswitch/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Telephony platform to route various communication protocols
Project links
Commands and aliases
- freeswitch
- fs_cli
- fs_encode
- fs_ivrd
- fs_tts
- fsxs
- gentls_cert
- switch_eavesdrop
- tone2wav
history
Project history and usage
FreeSWITCH is an open source software-defined telecom stack and softswitch for routing voice, video, messaging, and real-time communications protocols. For package users it is both a daemon and a toolkit: the install brings a large module ecosystem, fs_cli, media tools, and configuration rooted around freeswitch.xml.
Project history
The official README describes FreeSWITCH as a move from proprietary telecom switches to a software implementation that runs on commodity hardware, from small boards to multi-core servers. The source tree identifies SignalWire as the primary sponsor, founded by the original FreeSWITCH developers.
Official repository history shows long-lived release lines, and the project changelog records substantial 1.2-era work across SIP, media, databases, WebRTC-related modules, conferencing, event sockets, and packaging scripts.
Adoption history
FreeSWITCH adoption follows the broader shift from appliance telephony to software PBX, SIP, and RTC infrastructure. Its official documentation is operator-oriented and covers configuration, SIP profiles, dialplans, codecs, WebRTC, applications, and integration interfaces.
The README documents both source builds and packaged installation paths, and points users to Debian, Raspberry Pi, and CentOS/RHEL instructions. That makes FreeSWITCH a system package as much as a developer package, usually installed as a service with a full configuration tree.
How it is used
Operators use FreeSWITCH to run SIP endpoints, route calls, provide voicemail and conferencing, bridge protocols, control calls through fs_cli and event socket interfaces, and integrate with hosted or external telecom services.
Package consumers need to track module selection, default XML configuration, database backends, media codec dependencies, and service layout. The official manual emphasizes that paths are relative to the configuration root containing freeswitch.xml, commonly /etc/freeswitch or /usr/local/freeswitch/conf.
Why package nerds care
FreeSWITCH is significant because it turns telecom infrastructure into a packageable open source stack with many optional modules. It stresses packaging systems in ways small CLIs do not: init/service integration, default configs, codecs, sound packages, embedded libraries, scripting modules, and ABI-sensitive plugins all matter.
Its relationship with SignalWire also matters historically: the open source stack remains available, while commercial support and hosted services grew around the same core developer lineage.
Timeline
- 2005-2006: Official FreeSWITCH source headers identify the original code period and Anthony Minessale as initial developer.
- v1.0.0: Official repository includes a 1.0 release tag.
- 2012: The 1.2 changelog records packaging, configuration, WebRTC-related, codec, event socket, and module expansion work.
- Current: SignalWire-hosted documentation presents FreeSWITCH as an open source Users Manual with commercially supported Enterprise services available.
Related projects
- SignalWire is the primary sponsor and provides hosted services and commercial support around FreeSWITCH.
- mod_signalwire is distributed in the source tree to pair FreeSWITCH with SignalWire services.
- FreeSWITCH Sounds is published separately for sound packages used by installations.
Sources
- https://developer.signalwire.com/freeswitch/
- https://github.com/signalwire/freeswitch
- https://github.com/signalwire/freeswitch-docs
- https://lists.freeswitch.org/pipermail/freeswitch-svn/2009-February/009740.html
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/signalwire/freeswitch/master/README.md
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/signalwire/freeswitch/master/docs/ChangeLog
security posture
Risk level: orange
formula declares a Homebrew service.
Risk classifier
orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure
Why
- formula declares a Homebrew service
Signals
- metadata:service
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Formula metadata declares a service or daemon block.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 18 runtime dependencies.
- 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.
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
/etc/freeswitch/freeswitch.xml/usr/local/freeswitch/conf/freeswitch.xml
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
freeswitch | cli | global executable | |
fs_cli | cli | global executable | |
fs_encode | cli | global executable | |
fs_ivrd | cli | global executable | |
fs_tts | cli | global executable | |
fsxs | cli | global executable | |
gentls_cert | cli | global executable | |
switch_eavesdrop | cli | global executable | |
tone2wav | 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 version1.11.1
manager updated2026-06-19
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://freeswitch.orgnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:freeswitch |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.11.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/freeswitch |
| Homepage | https://freeswitch.org |
| Repository | https://github.com/signalwire/freeswitch |
| Upstream docs | https://developer.signalwire.com/freeswitch |
| License | MPL-1.1 AND LGPL-2.1-only |
| Source archive | https://files.freeswitch.org/releases/freeswitch/freeswitch-1.11.1.-release.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-19T12:30:41-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | freetype, jpeg-turbo, ldns, libks, libpng, libpq, libsndfile, libtiff, lua, opencore-amr, openssl@3, opus, pcre2, signalwire-client-c, sofia-sip, speex, speexdsp, sqlite |
| Build dependencies | pkgconf |
| Uses from macOS | curl, libedit |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | freeswitch |
| 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 |
|
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%
freeswitch
nix profile install nixpkgs#freeswitch- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch 1.10.12-r5
A communications platform written in C from the ground up
sudo apk add freeswitch- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-dbg 1.10.12-r5
A communications platform written in C from the ground up (debug symbols)
sudo apk add freeswitch-dbg- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-dev 1.10.12-r5
A communications platform written in C from the ground up (development files)
sudo apk add freeswitch-dev- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-flite 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch Text To Speech Module
sudo apk add freeswitch-flite- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-mariadb 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch MariaDB Module
sudo apk add freeswitch-mariadb- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-openrc 1.10.12-r5
A communications platform written in C from the ground up (OpenRC init scripts)
sudo apk add freeswitch-openrc- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-perl 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch Perl module
sudo apk add freeswitch-perl- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-perlesl 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch Perl ESL module
sudo apk add freeswitch-perlesl- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-pgsql 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch PostgreSQL Module
sudo apk add freeswitch-pgsql- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-python3 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch Python3 module
sudo apk add freeswitch-python3- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-sample-config 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch sample configuration
sudo apk add freeswitch-sample-config- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-sangoma 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch Sangoma Media Transcode Codec Module
sudo apk add freeswitch-sangoma- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-snmp 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch SNMP module
sudo apk add freeswitch-snmp- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
apk95%
freeswitch-timezones 1.10.12-r5
Freeswitch timezone configuration
sudo apk add freeswitch-timezones- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: freeswitch
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Freeswitch
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 configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment