# Install ice with Homebrew, MacPorts Comprehensive RPC framework. Version 3.8.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:ice ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install ice ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install Ice ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: aqua/Ice/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:ice - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 3.8.2 - **Source summary:** Comprehensive RPC framework - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-only - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-22T14:03:45-07:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - dsnode (cli) - glacier2router (cli) - ice2slice (cli) - icebox (cli) - iceboxadmin (cli) - icebridge (cli) - icegridadmin (cli) - icegriddb (cli) - icegridnode (cli) - icegridregistry (cli) - icestormadmin (cli) - icestormdb (cli) - slice2cpp (cli) - slice2php (cli) - slice2py (cli) - dsnode (alias) - glacier2router (alias) - ice2slice (alias) - icebox (alias) - iceboxadmin (alias) - icebridge (alias) - icegridadmin (alias) - icegriddb (alias) - icegridnode (alias) - icegridregistry (alias) - icestormadmin (alias) - icestormdb (alias) - slice2cpp (alias) - slice2php (alias) - slice2py (alias) ## Dependencies - lmdb - mcpp ## Uses from macOS - bzip2 - expat - libedit - libxcrypt ## 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: 3.8.2 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-22 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/zeroc-ice/ice - Upstream latest detected: v3.8.2 (current) ## Project history and usage Ice, short for Internet Communications Engine, is ZeroC's distributed-systems framework for RPC, typed interfaces, object adapters, service deployment, and pub/sub. The Homebrew package is package-nerd interesting because it installs a large family of command-line tools and Slice compilers, making a substantial middleware stack available from a Unix package manager. ### Project history ZeroC documentation from the 3.1 era already describes Ice as the Internet Communications Engine, with Slice, language mappings, services, and a comparison with CORBA. That lineage matters: Ice came from the same problem space as CORBA and DCOM, but packaged an IDL-driven RPC system with a smaller, implementation-centered developer workflow. The project evolved into a multi-language framework with a uniform API, compact binary RPC protocol, generated language bindings, and bundled services such as IceGrid, Glacier2, IceBridge, and IceStorm. ZeroC distributes the same source under GPLv2 or commercial licensing, which helped it occupy both open-source package repositories and proprietary distributed-application deployments. ### Adoption history Ice appears across language ecosystems and system package managers because it is not only a library: it ships compilers such as slice2cpp, slice2py, and slice2php, plus service daemons and administration tools. ZeroC's downloads page lists C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, MATLAB, Objective-C, PHP, Python, Ruby, and Swift entry points, which explains why a single package can serve heterogeneous client/server deployments. The Homebrew formula sits alongside MacPorts and other packages as a convenient way for developers to install the middleware tools locally, especially when they need Slice compilation or to run IceGrid and IceStorm utilities during development. ### How it is used Users generally install Ice to compile Slice definitions, generate stubs, run service components, or test distributed applications locally. The installed executables include administrative tools for IceGrid and IceStorm, service daemons, database helpers, and language-specific Slice compilers. In package-manager culture, Ice is one of the heavier RPC formulae: it is closer to installing a complete distributed-object environment than adding a single CLI. ### Why package nerds care Ice is significant because it preserves the classic IDL-plus-runtime model in a package-manager-friendly form. Installing it with Homebrew gives developers an immediately usable cross-language RPC toolchain, including compilers and service processes that would otherwise require a larger manual SDK setup. It is also easy to confuse ZeroC Ice's IceStorm service with Project IceStorm for iCE40 FPGAs; the shared name makes the package namespace around `ice*` tools unusually dense. ### Timeline - 2003: ZeroC documentation describes the Internet Communications Engine as a distributed programming system. - 2006: Ice 3.1-era manuals document Ruby preview support and the broader Ice architecture. - 2015: ZeroC source history moved to the public GitHub repository era. - 2026: ZeroC download metadata lists Ice 3.7.11 and links official source from GitHub. ### Related projects - IceStorm is ZeroC Ice's pub/sub service and ships with tools such as icestormadmin and icestormdb. - IceGrid, Glacier2, IceBridge, and DataStorm are related ZeroC services or frameworks in the same distributed-systems family. - IceRPC is ZeroC's newer RPC framework, but the Homebrew `ice` formula refers to the classic Ice framework. ### 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:** ice - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - MacPorts - Ice: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: aqua/Ice/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [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. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [lmdb](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/lmdb/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [mcpp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mcpp/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [grpc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/grpc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, distributed-systems, rpc. - [brpc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/brpc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rpc. - [capnp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/capnp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rpc. - [fbthrift](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fbthrift/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rpc. - [goctl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/goctl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rpc. - [kitex](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/kitex/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rpc. - [libjson-rpc-cpp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libjson-rpc-cpp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, rpc. - [omniorb](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/omniorb/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, distributed-systems, rpc. - [tendermint](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/tendermint/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, distributed, distributed-systems. - [zeromq](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/zeromq/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, distributed, distributed-systems. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ice.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/ice.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