# Install harfbuzz with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, zypper OpenType text shaping engine. Version 14.2.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-02. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:harfbuzz ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install harfbuzz ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install harfbuzz ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: graphics/harfbuzz/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add harfbuzz ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: harfbuzz from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install gir1.2-harfbuzz-0.0 ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: gir1.2-harfbuzz-0.0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install harfbuzz ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: harfbuzz from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#harfbuzz ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ha/harfbuzz/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S harfbuzz ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: harfbuzz from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install harfbuzz-devel ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: harfbuzz-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ### Windows - Scoop (92%): ```sh scoop install main/harfbuzz ``` Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/harfbuzz.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:harfbuzz - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 14.2.1 - **Source summary:** OpenType text shaping engine - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-02T20:38:26Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - hb-info (cli) - hb-raster (cli) - hb-shape (cli) - hb-subset (cli) - hb-vector (cli) - hb-view (cli) - hb-info (alias) - hb-raster (alias) - hb-shape (alias) - hb-subset (alias) - hb-vector (alias) - hb-view (alias) ## Dependencies - cairo - freetype - glib - graphite2 - icu4c@78 - libpng ## Build dependencies - gobject-introspection - meson - ninja - pkgconf - python@3.14 ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 14.2.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-02 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/harfbuzz/harfbuzz - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage HarfBuzz is an open source text shaping engine and font platform. It converts Unicode text plus font data into positioned glyphs, which makes it a quiet but critical dependency for readable Arabic, Indic, Southeast Asian, and many other complex-script layouts. For package users, HarfBuzz is the kind of library that disappears when it works and becomes instantly visible when it regresses: browsers, GUI toolkits, document editors, terminals, and font tools depend on consistent shaping behavior. ### Project history The HarfBuzz manual says the project began as text-shaping code inside FreeType and was extracted into its own project. Behdad Esfahbod's text-rendering history explains that FreeType's OpenType Layout code was removed from FreeType's rasterization scope, then carried separately by Pango and Qt developers. Around 2006, Pango and Qt developers cooperated to reunify the layout engine as a freedesktop.org project named HarfBuzz. The same history notes that HarfBuzz was relicensed to the old MIT license and that the plan became a unified shaping engine rather than only a merged copy of existing code. The project's own README says HarfBuzz started as a text shaping engine and grew into a broader font platform supporting OpenType and Apple Advanced Typography. Its component map includes core shaping, subsetting, font-function integrations with FreeType/CoreText/Uniscribe/DirectWrite/GDI/GLib/Graphite2, and CLI tools such as `hb-shape`, `hb-view`, and `hb-subset`. ### Adoption history HarfBuzz adoption followed the need for shared, correct complex-script shaping across open source desktops, browsers, toolkits, and document stacks. The README states that HarfBuzz shapes the majority of text on modern screens, which reflects its position below many user-facing applications. Because shaping quality depends on Unicode, OpenType, AAT, Graphite, script-specific rules, and font quirks, HarfBuzz became a shared place for correctness and robustness work that individual applications would struggle to maintain independently. Its wide package-manager presence in the supplied input facts reflects this dependency role: HarfBuzz is not just a command-line tool package, it is a library package that other packages build against. ### How it is used Most users consume HarfBuzz indirectly through libraries and applications. Direct users call its C API or C++ implementation to feed buffers, fonts, features, scripts, languages, and directions, then receive glyph IDs and positions for rendering. The package also ships command-line utilities useful to font engineers and package maintainers. Tools such as `hb-shape`, `hb-view`, `hb-info`, and `hb-subset` help reproduce shaping behavior, inspect font support, render examples, and create smaller font subsets. ### Why package nerds care HarfBuzz is package-nerd significant because it sits in the dependency graph of text rendering. A version bump can change glyph placement, script behavior, subset output, sanitizer strictness, ABI exposure, or optional backend integration. It is also a classic example of a small-looking package with enormous blast radius. Packaging choices around FreeType, Graphite2, GLib, CoreText, DirectWrite, ICU-like Unicode data, build flags, and command-line utilities affect everything from web browsers to PDF producers. The project's release history shows why maintainers track it closely: HarfBuzz 1.0 implemented the Universal Shaping Engine, 2.0 added AAT shaping support, 3.0 stabilized the subset API and ABI, and 8.0 introduced an experimental WebAssembly shaper. ### Timeline - Pre-2006: OpenType layout code originates in FreeType and is carried by Pango and Qt after extraction from FreeType's rasterizer scope. - 2006: Pango and Qt developers cooperate to reunify the layout engine as HarfBuzz under freedesktop.org. - 2008: Behdad Esfahbod describes rewrite work aimed at robustness and efficient mmap-based font use. - 2015-07-26: HarfBuzz 1.0.0 release notes list Universal Shaping Engine implementation. - 2018-10-18: HarfBuzz 2.0.0 release notes list AAT shaping support. - 2021-09-17: HarfBuzz 3.0.0 release notes declare the subset API and harfbuzz-subset ABI stable. - 2023-07-09: HarfBuzz 8.0.0 release notes introduce an experimental WebAssembly shaper. ### Related projects - Closely related projects include FreeType, Pango, Qt, Cairo, Skia, Graphite2, CoreText, Uniscribe, DirectWrite, fontconfig, and the OpenType and Unicode specifications. - HarfBuzz also relates to browser engines, PDF and office suites, TeX engines, font subsetting pipelines, and font engineering tools that need reproducible shaping. ### Sources - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** harfbuzz - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - gir1.2-harfbuzz-0.0 - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: gir1.2-harfbuzz-0.0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | OpenType text shaping engine (GObject introspection data) | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Debian apt - libharfbuzz-bin - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libharfbuzz-bin from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | OpenType text shaping engine (utility) | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Debian apt - libharfbuzz-cairo0 - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libharfbuzz-cairo0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | OpenType text shaping engine Cairo backend | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Debian apt - libharfbuzz-dev - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libharfbuzz-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Development files for OpenType text shaping engine | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Debian apt - libharfbuzz-doc - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libharfbuzz-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Documentation files for the HarfBuzz library | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Debian apt - libharfbuzz-gobject0 - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libharfbuzz-gobject0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | OpenType text shaping engine ICU backend (GObject library) | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Debian apt - libharfbuzz-icu0 - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libharfbuzz-icu0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | OpenType text shaping engine ICU backend | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Debian apt - libharfbuzz-subset0 - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libharfbuzz-subset0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | OpenType text shaping engine (subset library) | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Debian apt - libharfbuzz0b - 10.2.0-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libharfbuzz0b from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | OpenType text shaping engine (shared library) | https://harfbuzz.github.io/ - Nix - harfbuzz: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ha/harfbuzz/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - gir1.2-harfbuzz-0.0 - 8.3.0-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: gir1.2-harfbuzz-0.0 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | OpenType text shaping engine (GObject introspection data) | https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/HarfBuzz - Ubuntu apt - libharfbuzz-bin - 8.3.0-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libharfbuzz-bin from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | OpenType text shaping engine (utility) | https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/HarfBuzz - Ubuntu apt - libharfbuzz-cairo0 - 8.3.0-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libharfbuzz-cairo0 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | OpenType text shaping engine Cairo backend | https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/HarfBuzz - Ubuntu apt - libharfbuzz-dev - 8.3.0-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libharfbuzz-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Development files for OpenType text shaping engine | https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/HarfBuzz - Ubuntu apt - libharfbuzz-doc - 8.3.0-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libharfbuzz-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Documentation files for the HarfBuzz library | https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/HarfBuzz - Ubuntu apt - libharfbuzz-gobject0 - 8.3.0-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libharfbuzz-gobject0 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | OpenType text shaping engine ICU backend (GObject library) | https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/HarfBuzz ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [cairo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cairo/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [freetype](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/freetype/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [glib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/glib/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [graphite2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/graphite2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [libpng](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libpng/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [gobject-introspection](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gobject-introspection/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [meson](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/meson/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [ninja](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ninja/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [cherrytree](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cherrytree/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [claws-mail](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/claws-mail/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [clip](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/clip/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [czkawka](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/czkawka/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [dissent](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dissent/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [duc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/duc/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [easy-tag](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/easy-tag/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [easyrpg-player](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/easyrpg-player/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [pango](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pango/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, fonts, library, text-rendering. - [fonttools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fonttools/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, fonts, library. - [libiconv](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libiconv/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, library, unicode. - [libunicode](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libunicode/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, library, unicode. - [ada-url](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ada-url/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, library. - [ancient](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ancient/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, library. - [apr](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/apr/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, library. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/harfbuzz.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/harfbuzz.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph