macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install lc0local Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install lc0 with Homebrew, Nix
Open source neural network based chess engine. Version 0.32.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#lc0nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/lc/lc0/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Open source neural network based chess engine
Project links
Commands and aliases
- lc0
history
Project history and usage
lc0 is the Leela Chess Zero engine, an open source UCI-compatible chess engine that plays with neural networks from the LeelaChessZero project.
Project history
Leela Chess Zero grew out of the post-AlphaZero wave of open source chess experimentation. The official site describes Lc0 as inspired by Google's Alpha Zero project, and the GitHub README describes the engine as the executable half of the LeelaChessZero project.
Adoption history
The project became important beyond ordinary package installation because users could both run the engine and contribute self-play training games. The README says the training server enforces game quality using client and engine versions, and the official site separates downloading the engine from downloading a neural network.
How it is used
Users typically run lc0 through a chess GUI or UCI-compatible interface, pairing the engine binary with a downloaded network. The README documents CPU and GPU backends including BLAS, CUDA, cuDNN, ONNX, Apple's Metal Performance Shaders, and experimental SYCL support.
Why package nerds care
lc0 is a rare package-manager-facing chess engine whose useful artifact is not just code but a code-plus-weights ecosystem. It also represents a major open source response to AlphaZero: a reproducible, community-run neural-network chess engine distributed through source, binary releases, and operating-system package managers.
Timeline
- 2018-05-30: GitHub lc0 repository created.
- 2018-11-19: Official blog announced lc0 v0.19.0.
- 2018-12-07: Official blog discussed AlphaZero paper details and lc0 v0.19.1.
- 2019-05-28: Official blog announced that Lc0 won TCEC 15.
- 2023-01-15: Official blog summarized 2022 progress, including contributors, search changes, network architecture changes, and new backends.
- 2025-11-23: Release v0.32.1 published.
Related projects
- The official docs relate lc0 to AlphaZero, the LeelaChessZero training network, chess GUIs such as Nibbler, UCI-compatible chess tooling, TCEC competition, and backends such as CUDA, ONNX, BLAS, Metal, and SYCL.
Sources
- https://api.github.com/repos/LeelaChessZero/lc0
- https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0
- https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0/releases
- https://lczero.org/
- https://lczero.org/blog/2018/12/alphazero-paper-and-lc0-v0191/
- https://lczero.org/blog/2019/05/lc0-won-tcec-15/
- https://lczero.org/blog/2023/01/2022-progress/
- https://lczero.org/dev/wiki/what-is-lc0/
security posture
Risk level: blue
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
Risk classifier
blue risk · medium confidence · tool
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
Signals
- text:network
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 7 platform targets.
- Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 4 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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
lc0 | cli | global 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 version0.32.1
manager updated2026-06-25
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:lc0 |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.32.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/lc0 |
| Homepage | https://lczero.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0 |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0#readme |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0.git |
| Last updated | 2026-06-25T13:37:48+02:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | eigen |
| Build dependencies | cmake, meson, ninja, pkgconf |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, tahoe, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | lc0 |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix95%
lc0
nix profile install nixpkgs#lc0- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lc0
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.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
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