# 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 ```sh sudo av install brew:hydra ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install hydra ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install hydra ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: security/hydra/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add hydra ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: hydra from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install hydra ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: hydra from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install hydra ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: hydra 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#hydra ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/hy/hydra/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S hydra ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: hydra from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install hydra ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: hydra from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ### Windows - winget (92%): ```sh winget install --id HydraLauncher.Hydra -e ``` Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: HydraLauncher.Hydra from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:hydra - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 9.6 - **Source summary:** Network logon cracker which supports many services - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** AGPL-3.0-only - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-25T13:37:45+02:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - dpl4hydra.sh (cli) - hydra (cli) - hydra-wizard.sh (cli) - pw-inspector (cli) - dpl4hydra.sh (alias) - hydra (alias) - hydra-wizard.sh (alias) - pw-inspector (alias) ## Dependencies - libssh - mariadb-connector-c - openssl@3 - pcre2 ## Build dependencies - pkgconf ## Uses from macOS - ncurses ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 9.6 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-25 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - Upstream latest detected: v9.6 (current) ## 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 Notes credential attack tooling. - **Geiger risk:** red / high - credential attack tooling ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** hydra - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Conflicts With:** ory-hydra - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - hydra - 9.5-3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: hydra from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | very fast network logon cracker | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - Nix - hydra: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/hy/hydra/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - hydra - 9.5-1build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: hydra from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | very fast network logon cracker | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - Ubuntu apt - hydra-gtk - 9.5-1build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: hydra-gtk from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | very fast network logon cracker - GTK+ based GUI | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - apk - hydra - 9.6-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: hydra from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | fast network logon cracker with support for many different services | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - apk - hydra-doc - 9.6-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: hydra-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | fast network logon cracker with support for many different services (documentation) | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - dnf - hydra - 9.7-3.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: hydra from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Very fast network log-on cracker | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - dnf - hydra-frontend - 9.7-3.fc45: normalized package name match | 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 | The GTK+ front end for hydra | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - pacman - hydra - 9.7-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: hydra from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Very fast network logon cracker which support many different services | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - zypper - hydra - 9.7-1.1: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: hydra from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | A network logon cracker with support for many different services | https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra - MacPorts - hydra: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: security/hydra/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - winget - HydraLauncher.Hydra: normalized package name match | Windows Package Manager source index: HydraLauncher.Hydra from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [mariadb-connector-c](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mariadb-connector-c/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [openssl@3](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/openssl-3/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pcre2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pcre2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [ncrack](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ncrack/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, password-auditing, security. - [john](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/john/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, password-auditing, security. - [sshtrix](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sshtrix/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, password-auditing, security. - [crunch](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/crunch/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, password-auditing, security. - [exploitdb](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/exploitdb/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, penetration-testing, security. - [pocsuite3](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pocsuite3/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, penetration-testing, security. - [sqlmap](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sqlmap/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, penetration-testing, security. - [theharvester](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/theharvester/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, penetration-testing, security. - [hcxtools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hcxtools/) - Security-sensitive metadata or terminology overlaps. Shared terms: auditing, cli, openssl, openssl-3, password. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/hydra.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/hydra.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