Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

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

Network logon cracker which supports many services. Version 9.6 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install hydra

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install hydra

MacPorts ports tree · security/hydra/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add hydra

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

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install hydra

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

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install hydra

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · hydra · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#hydra

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S hydra

Arch Linux sync databases · hydra · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install hydra

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

Windows

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id HydraLauncher.Hydra -e

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

overview

Package summary

Network logon cracker which supports many services

Commands and aliases

  • dpl4hydra.sh
  • hydra
  • hydra-wizard.sh
  • pw-inspector

history

Project history and usage

THC Hydra is a parallelized network login auditing tool. Its README and manpage describe it as a fast, flexible login cracker for many protocols, intended for legal security research and consulting demonstrations of weak remote authentication.

Project history

The upstream README carries a 2001-2023 copyright line for van Hauser / THC, credits many modules to David Maciejak, and notes BFG code by Jan Dlabal. It also states that Hydra was created because existing login tools did not support multiple protocols or parallelized connects.

The GitHub repository was created in April 2014, but the README copyright makes clear the project predates that hosting era. The changelog shows a long-running 7.x, 8.x, and 9.x line with continued module work, protocol fixes, output changes, dependency updates, and hardening.

Adoption history

Hydra is widely packaged for security-oriented and general-purpose Unix ecosystems. Package metadata lists Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora-family, Alpine, Arch, Nix, MacPorts, openSUSE, and other package channels, while Kali documents it as a password-attack tool with hydra and xhydra packages.

How it is used

Authorized users supply login and password sources, select a protocol module, tune parallel task counts, use SSL or IPv6 options when needed, restore interrupted sessions, and write results in text or JSON formats. The manpage and README emphasize module-specific options and list many supported services, from FTP, SSH, HTTP forms, IMAP, LDAP, SMB, RDP, Redis, MongoDB, and VNC to less common network services.

Why package nerds care

Hydra is package-nerd-significant because it is a classic example of a specialist security CLI whose value depends on optional protocol libraries and distro build choices. The same formula/package name can expose different module coverage depending on linked dependencies such as libssh, FreeRDP, PCRE2, database clients, and SSL libraries.

Timeline

  • 2001: Upstream README copyright begins for van Hauser / THC.
  • 2014: GitHub repository created for the public development history on GitHub.
  • 2020: 9.0 changelog added memcached and MongoDB modules and changed JSON output behavior.
  • 2022: 9.4 changelog switched from PCRE/PCRE3 to PCRE2 for Debian compatibility.
  • 2023: 9.5 changelog focused on module behavior and HTTP-form fixes.
  • 2025: 9.6 release notes mention FreeRDP v3, compiler fixes, and protocol/module fixes.
  • 2026: 9.7 and 9.8-dev notes show GTK3 support for xhydra, Mongo v2 support, and security hardening work.

Related projects

  • Hydra is related to xhydra, pw-inspector, THC security tooling, Kali packaging, libssh, FreeRDP, PCRE2, OpenSSL, and the many protocol libraries used to build optional modules.

Sources

  • Project README, changelog, manpage, GitHub release page, Kali tool metadata, repository metadata, and Homebrew package metadata were used.

security posture

Risk level: red

credential attack tooling.

Risk classifier

red risk · high confidence · escape-surveillance-offensive

Why

  • credential attack tooling

Signals

  • override:hydra

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.
  • Installs with 4 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.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
dpl4hydra.shcliglobal executable
hydracliglobal executable
hydra-wizard.shcliglobal executable
pw-inspectorcliglobal 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 version9.6
manager updated2026-06-25
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv9.6

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:hydra
Version9.6
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/hydra
Homepagehttps://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra
Repositoryhttps://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra
Upstream docshttps://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra#readme
LicenseAGPL-3.0-only
Source archivehttps://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra/archive/refs/tags/v9.6.tar.gz
Last updated2026-06-25T13:37:45+02:00
Pulseupdated
Dependencieslibssh, mariadb-connector-c, openssl@3, pcre2
Build dependenciespkgconf
Uses from macOSncurses
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namehydra
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Conflicts With
  • ory-hydra
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
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%

hydra 9.5-3

very fast network logon cracker

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo apt install hydra
  • Section: net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 18 dependencies
  • 2 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: hydra from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

hydra

nix profile install nixpkgs#hydra
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/hy/hydra/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

hydra 9.5-1build3

very fast network logon cracker

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo apt install hydra
  • Section: universe/net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 18 dependencies
  • 3 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: hydra from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

hydra-gtk 9.5-1build3

very fast network logon cracker - GTK+ based GUI

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo apt install hydra-gtk
  • Section: universe/net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: hydra
  • 4 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: hydra-gtk from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

hydra 9.6-r1

fast network logon cracker with support for many different services

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo apk add hydra
  • License: AGPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: hydra
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: hydra from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

hydra-doc 9.6-r1

fast network logon cracker with support for many different services (documentation)

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo apk add hydra-doc
  • License: AGPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: hydra
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: hydra-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

hydra 9.7-3.fc45

Very fast network log-on cracker

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo dnf install hydra
  • License: AGPL-3.0-only
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: hydra
  • 25 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: hydra from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

hydra-frontend 9.7-3.fc45

The GTK+ front end for hydra

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo dnf install hydra-frontend
  • License: AGPL-3.0-only
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: hydra
  • 6 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: hydra-frontend from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

hydra 9.7-1

Very fast network logon cracker which support many different services

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo pacman -S hydra
  • License: AGPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 24 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: hydra from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

hydra 9.7-1.1

A network logon cracker with support for many different services

https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra

sudo zypper install hydra
  • License: AGPL-3.0-only
  • Category: Productivity/Networking/Diagnostic
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: hydra
  • 25 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: hydra from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

hydra

sudo port install hydra
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: security/hydra/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
winget95%

HydraLauncher.Hydra

winget install --id HydraLauncher.Hydra -e
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Hydra
Windows Package Manager source index · cdn.winget.microsoft.com · Windows Package Manager source index: HydraLauncher.Hydra from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

package graph

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

Related tools

Same workflow

  • ncrackShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, password-auditing, security.
  • johnShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, password-auditing, security.
  • sshtrixShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, password-auditing, security.
  • crunchShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, password-auditing, security.
  • exploitdbShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, penetration-testing, security.
  • pocsuite3Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, penetration-testing, security.

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.

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