# Install lastz with Homebrew, apt Pairwise aligner for DNA sequences. Version 1.04.52 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:lastz ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install lastz ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install lastz ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: lastz from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:lastz - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.04.52 - **Source summary:** Pairwise aligner for DNA sequences - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - lastz (cli) - lastz_D (cli) - lastz (alias) - lastz_D (alias) ## 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: 1.04.52 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/lastz/lastz - Upstream latest detected: 1.04.52 (current) - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. ## Project history and usage LASTZ is a pairwise DNA sequence aligner and the successor-style, command-line-compatible replacement for BLASTZ. It is used for comparing genomic sequences and can emit formats used by genome-alignment pipelines, including LAV, AXT, MAF, SAM, CIGAR, PAF, and human-readable output. ### Project history The official documentation presents LASTZ as a drop-in replacement for BLASTZ that preserves BLASTZ command-line syntax while adding options and correcting behavioral problems. Its documentation includes an explicit section on differences from BLASTZ, such as fixes to alignment-boundary behavior, premature termination, chaining overflow, ambiguity handling, and additional output formats. The GitHub repository was created on 2016-08-11 and is described by the project as the official working branch, with users encouraged to use tagged releases. Tagged 1.04.x releases continued the project's bioinformatics-maintenance role after the BLASTZ era. ### Adoption history LASTZ is packaged in Homebrew, Debian, and Ubuntu and appears in high-performance-computing genomics documentation because pairwise whole-genome and read-to-reference alignment remain recurring batch-computing tasks. Its BLASTZ compatibility helped existing workflows migrate without rewriting every command line. The adoption pattern is typical of scientific command-line tools: a stable executable, long HTML manual, tagged source releases, and distribution packages matter more than a polished end-user application interface. ### How it is used Users run `lastz` with target and query sequences plus scoring, seeding, masking, chaining, and output-format options. The manual's examples cover comparing chromosomes, aligning shotgun reads to a chromosome, self-alignment, and working with seed, HSP, gapped-alignment, and chaining stages. ### Why package nerds care LASTZ is package-nerd significant because it is a specialized scientific CLI whose real value is reproducibility: exact versions, tagged releases, and package-manager availability let genomics pipelines rerun large alignments with known behavior. It also illustrates a common packaging problem in bioinformatics: preserving old command-line compatibility while fixing algorithmic bugs and adding formats needed by newer workflows. ### Timeline - 2016-08-11: Official GitHub repository created. - 2017-04-12: Tag 1.04.00 appears in the public GitHub tag set. - 2022-01-11: Tag 1.04.52 appears in the public GitHub tag set. - 2026-05-20: GitHub repository metadata records activity on the official repository. ### Related projects - LASTZ is directly related to BLASTZ, the Miller Lab alignment tools, and downstream genome-alignment formats and pipelines that consume LAV, AXT, MAF, SAM, CIGAR, or PAF output. ### 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:** lastz - **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 - lastz - 1.04.22-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: lastz from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | pairwise aligning DNA sequences | https://github.com/lastz/lastz - Debian apt - lastz-examples - 1.04.22-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: lastz-examples from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | pairwise aligning DNA sequences (examples and test scripts) | https://github.com/lastz/lastz - Ubuntu apt - lastz - 1.04.22-2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: lastz from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | pairwise aligning DNA sequences | https://github.com/lastz/lastz - Ubuntu apt - lastz-examples - 1.04.22-2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: lastz-examples from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | pairwise aligning DNA sequences (examples and test scripts) | https://github.com/lastz/lastz ## 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. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Scientific computing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/scientific-computing-tools/) - Matched scientific computing metadata. - [minimap2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/minimap2/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: bioinformatics, cli, dna, genomics, science. - [mummer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mummer/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: bioinformatics, cli, dna, genomics, science. - [bbtools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bbtools/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: bioinformatics, cli, dna, genomics, science. - [blast](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/blast/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: bioinformatics, cli, genomics, science, sequence-alignment. - [breseq](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/breseq/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: bioinformatics, cli, dna, genomics, science. - [bwa](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bwa/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: bioinformatics, cli, dna, science, sequence-alignment. - [jellyfish](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jellyfish/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: bioinformatics, cli, dna, genomics, science. - [abpoa](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/abpoa/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: bioinformatics, cli, science, sequence-alignment. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/lastz.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/lastz.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