# Install libassuan with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Assuan IPC Library. Version 3.0.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-23.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:libassuan
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install libassuan
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install libassuan
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/libassuan/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add libassuan
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libassuan from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install libassuan-dev
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libassuan-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install libassuan
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libassuan 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#libassuan
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libassuan/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S libassuan
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: libassuan from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/core/os/x86_64/core.db.tar.gz

- zypper (92%):

```sh
sudo zypper install libassuan-devel
```

  Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libassuan-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:libassuan
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Package manager page:** <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libassuan>
- **Version:** 3.0.2
- **Source summary:** Assuan IPC Library
- **Homepage:** <https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/>
- **Repository:** <https://git.gnupg.org/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?p=libassuan.git>
- **Upstream docs:** <https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/assuan>
- **License:** LGPL-2.1-or-later AND GPL-3.0-or-later AND FSFULLR
- **Source archive:** <https://gnupg.org/ftp/gcrypt/libassuan/libassuan-3.0.2.tar.bz2>
- **Last updated:** 2026-05-23T13:48:09-04:00
- **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00

## Executables

- libassuan-config (cli)
- libassuan-config (alias)

## Dependencies

- libgpg-error

## 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: 3.0.2
- Package-manager updated: 2026-05-23
- Local data: ok
- Upstream repository: https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/
- info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.
## Project history and usage

Libassuan is the GnuPG project's IPC library for the Assuan protocol. It exists so GnuPG front ends and helper processes can talk through a small, auditable client/server protocol instead of sharing one address space with sensitive cryptographic state.

### Project history

The Assuan manual says the protocol and library were developed for GNU Privacy Guard so user interfaces, mail clients, and other encryption front ends could communicate with smaller GnuPG server components without being able to corrupt or inspect server memory.

The GnuPG project page describes Libassuan as a small library implementing the Assuan protocol, with both client-side and server-side functions. Development is hosted in the GnuPG Git infrastructure.

### Adoption history

Libassuan became part of the broader GnuPG component stack. GnuPG describes the protocol as used for IPC between most newer GnuPG components, and release announcements also describe it as used by GnuPG, GPGME, and related packages.

### How it is used

Programs use Libassuan to build transaction-oriented IPC over pipes or Unix domain sockets. The protocol is mostly text based, supports client/server communication with a back channel, descriptor passing for bulk data, and optional confidentiality features for parts of a conversation.

### Why package nerds care

Libassuan is one of those small GnuPG libraries that appear everywhere because key management, pinentry, GPGME, and package-signature tooling depend on the GnuPG stack. For package maintainers, it matters less as a user-facing tool than as a security plumbing layer with ABI and licensing implications.

### Timeline

- 2001: Assuan manual copyright history begins with the Free Software Foundation.
- 2015: Libassuan 2.3.0 announcement describes it as a generic IPC library used by GnuPG and GPGME.
- 2017: The published Assuan manual edition 2.5.3 is dated 2017-12-07.
- 2020: The GnuPG Libassuan project page records a 2020-11-19 page change.

### Related projects

- GnuPG, GPGME, pinentry, libgpg-error, libgcrypt, libksba, and nPth are the closest package-stack relatives.

### Sources

- <https://lists.gnupg.org/pipermail/gnupg-announce/2015q3/000374.html>
- <https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/assuan/>
- <https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/assuan/Assuan.html>
- <https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/assuan/Introduction.html>
- <https://www.gnupg.org/software/libassuan/index.html>


## Security Notes

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for libassuan. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.


## Source Database Details

- **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API
- **Tap:** homebrew/core
- **Full Name:** libassuan
- **Aliases:** libassuan@3
- **Version Scheme:** 0
- **Revision:** 0
- **Bottle Stable Root URL:** <https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core>
- **Deprecated:** no
- **Disabled:** no
- **Keg Only:** no
- **URL Keys:** stable

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - libassuan-dev - 3.0.2-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libassuan-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | IPC library for the GnuPG components -- header files | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/index.html
- Debian apt - libassuan-mingw-w64-dev - 3.0.2-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libassuan-mingw-w64-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | IPC library for the GnuPG components -- Windows port | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/index.html
- Debian apt - libassuan9 - 3.0.2-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libassuan9 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | IPC library for the GnuPG components | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/index.html
- Nix - libassuan: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libassuan/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - libassuan-dev - 2.5.6-1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libassuan-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | IPC library for the GnuPG components -- header files | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/index.html
- Ubuntu apt - libassuan-mingw-w64-dev - 2.5.6-1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libassuan-mingw-w64-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | IPC library for the GnuPG components -- Windows port | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/index.html
- Ubuntu apt - libassuan0 - 2.5.6-1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libassuan0 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | IPC library for the GnuPG components | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/index.html
- apk - libassuan - 3.0.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libassuan from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | IPC library used by some GnuPG related software | https://www.gnupg.org/software/libassuan/index.html
- apk - libassuan-dev - 3.0.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libassuan-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | IPC library used by some GnuPG related software (development files) | https://www.gnupg.org/software/libassuan/index.html
- apk - libassuan-doc - 3.0.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libassuan-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | IPC library used by some GnuPG related software (documentation) | https://www.gnupg.org/software/libassuan/index.html
- apk - libassuan-static - 3.0.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libassuan-static from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | IPC library used by some GnuPG related software (static library) | https://www.gnupg.org/software/libassuan/index.html
- dnf - libassuan - 2.5.7-5.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libassuan from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | GnuPG IPC library | https://www.gnupg.org/
- dnf - libassuan-devel - 2.5.7-5.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libassuan-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | GnuPG IPC library | https://www.gnupg.org/
- pacman - libassuan - 3.0.0-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: libassuan from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/core/os/x86_64/core.db.tar.gz | IPC library used by some GnuPG related software | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/
- zypper - libassuan-devel - 3.0.2-1.4: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libassuan-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | IPC library used by GnuPG version 2 | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/index.en.html
- zypper - libassuan9 - 3.0.2-1.4: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libassuan9 from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | IPC library used by GnuPG version 2 | https://www.gnupg.org/related_software/libassuan/index.en.html


## Related links

- [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata.
- [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched curated package taxonomy and local package facts.
- [libgpg-error](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libgpg-error/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [fwknop](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fwknop/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [gnupg](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gnupg/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [gnupg-pkcs11-scd](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gnupg-pkcs11-scd/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [gpa](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gpa/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [gpgme](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gpgme/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [ledger](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ledger/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [mcabber](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mcabber/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [monkeysphere](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/monkeysphere/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [libgcrypt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libgcrypt/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: config, error, libgpg, libgpg-error.
- [libksba](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libksba/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: config, error, libgpg, libgpg-error.

## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libassuan.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libassuan.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- 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
