Install ipv6calc with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• ipv6calc
• ipv6loganon
• ipv6logconv
• ipv6logstats

Project history

The project homepage states that ipv6calc's original intent was converting IPv6 addresses into compressed form and into the format shown by /proc/net/if_inet6, while also migrating functionality from the Perl ip6_int program. The same page records copyright beginning in 2001 and names Peter Bieringer as author.

Over time ipv6calc expanded beyond address formatting. The homepage lists included programs such as ipv6calcweb, ipv6logconv, ipv6loganon, ipv6logstats, and mod_ipv6calc, and documents built-in registry databases plus optional GeoIP, IP2Location, DB-IP, MaxMindDB, and external registry database support.

The project moved source hosting to GitHub on 2016-09-05 according to the homepage. The public ChangeLog records regular database updates, feature maintenance, and version tags through the 4.x line.

Adoption history

ipv6calc found adoption in IPv6 operations and packaging because it handles the practical edges of IPv6 notation, registry metadata, and log processing that general-purpose shell tools do not. The project homepage notes Fedora inclusion from Fedora 7 and EPEL availability for several Red Hat Enterprise Linux generations.

The package is distributed by Homebrew and major Linux package managers, making it a familiar small utility for operators who need deterministic IPv6 address conversion or log anonymization in scripts.

How it is used

Common use includes converting IPv6 address forms, extracting address properties, anonymizing IPv4/IPv6 web logs, converting logs, generating log statistics, and enriching address analysis with built-in or local registry/geolocation databases.

Its database support gives the package a broader operational role than a calculator name suggests: it can classify addresses by registry, country code, ASN, MAC/OUI-derived information, and external database lookups when compiled with those options.

Why package nerds care

ipv6calc is the sort of package that delights infrastructure packagers: a small CLI name hides multiple binaries, optional C library/database integrations, CGI and Apache module pieces, signed release practices, distro-specific build flags, and long-running registry-data maintenance.

It also captures a moment in IPv6 adoption history when operators needed purpose-built helpers for address notation, /proc compatibility, log privacy, and registry interpretation.

Timeline

• 2001: Project copyright period begins on the official homepage.
• 2006: Optional IPv4 IP2Location and GeoIP support appears in documented release history.
• 2007: Optional IPv6 IP2Location support appears in documented release history.
• 2013: Signed packages use the documented code-signing key for 0.95.0 and later.
• 2016: Source hosting moves to GitHub.
• 2019: MaxMindDB support appears in the 2.0.0 line.
• 2020: GeoIP legacy and DB-IP Berkeley DB support are removed in 3.0.0.
• 2025: The ChangeLog records 4.x releases with expanded IP2Location and ASN database support.

Related projects

• ipv6calc relates to DeepSpace6, ip6_int, initscripts-ipv6, GeoIP, IP2Location, DB-IP, MaxMindDB, Apache modules, and distro packaging in Fedora, EPEL, Debian, Ubuntu, Homebrew, and other package sets.

Sources

• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ipv6calc
• https://github.com/pbiering/ipv6calc
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pbiering/ipv6calc/master/ChangeLog
• https://www.deepspace6.net/projects/ipv6calc.html