brew

Install libcdio with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Compact Disc Input and Control Library. Version 2.3.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install libcdio

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install libcdio

MacPorts ports tree · devel/libcdio/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add libcdio

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · libcdio · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install libcdio++-dev

Debian stable package indexes · libcdio++-dev · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install libcdio

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · libcdio · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#libcdio

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libcdio/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S libcdio

Arch Linux sync databases · libcdio · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install libcdio++1

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · libcdio++1 · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Compact Disc Input and Control Library

Project links

Commands and aliases

cd-drive
cd-info
cd-read
iso-info
iso-read
mmc-tool

history

Project history and usage

libcdio is the GNU Compact Disc Input and Control library: a C library and tool set for accessing CD-ROM drives, CD images, ISO-9660 filesystems, UDF media, and MMC device commands through a common API.

Project history

The GNU manual gives libcdio an unusually explicit origin story. Rocky Bernstein describes becoming interested in Video CDs through VCDImager, extracting reusable VCD and CD-reading pieces with Herbert Valerio Riedel's encouragement, and naming the CD reading/control library libcdio to avoid confusion with CD-I.

The same manual frames the project as an answer to the portability mess in early-2000s media players. Around 2002, applications such as xine, MPlayer, VLC, and XMMS carried platform-specific CD access code. libcdio set out to isolate that OS and device variability behind one library, then grew ISO-9660 support, MMC command support, and cdparanoia integration.

Adoption history

libcdio became a plumbing package for multimedia stacks rather than an end-user application. Its command-line tools such as cd-info, cd-read, iso-info, iso-read, cd-drive, and mmc-tool made it useful to packagers and diagnostics, while libraries such as libiso9660 let other programs consume disc images and physical discs through the same dependency.

The project is packaged broadly across Unix-like distributions and Homebrew. That adoption reflects a narrow but durable need: software still needs to inspect optical media, parse ISO images, read CD-DA, or issue low-level drive commands even as optical drives became less common.

How it is used

Users usually encounter libcdio indirectly through media players, ripping tools, image-inspection commands, or build dependencies. Developers use it to avoid writing separate drive-access code for Linux, BSD, macOS, Windows-style layers, and image formats.

Why package nerds care

libcdio is package-nerd catnip because it sits at the junction of hardware, file formats, ancient media-player portability, GNU packaging, and command-line diagnostics. It also explains recurring dependency chains such as libcdio, libcdio-paranoia, libcddb, vcdimager, and ISO-9660 tooling in old-school multimedia formulas.

Timeline

2002: libcdio's manual describes the portability problem in free software CD/media players around this period.
2003-11-22: GNU FTP archive lists libcdio 0.64.
2008-2010: GNU manual copyright range shows continued documentation work by Rocky Bernstein and Herbert Valerio Riedel.
2012-2014: GNU manual copyright range records later documentation maintenance.
2025: GNU manual copyright line records renewed documentation updates.

Related projects

Related projects include VCDImager, libvcdinfo, libiso9660, libcdio-paranoia, cdparanoia, libcddb, libburn, xine, MPlayer, VLC, and other applications that historically needed portable CD or CD-image access.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

library-like package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

library-like package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:library-like

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 1 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
`cd-drive`	cli	global executable
`cd-info`	cli	global executable
`cd-read`	cli	global executable
`iso-info`	cli	global executable
`iso-read`	cli	global executable
`mmc-tool`	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 version2.3.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/libcdio/libcdio

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/libcdio/libcdionone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:libcdio
Version	2.3.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libcdio
Homepage	https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/libcdio/
Repository	https://github.com/libcdio/libcdio
Upstream docs	https://github.com/libcdio/libcdio#readme
License	GPL-3.0-or-later
Source archive	https://github.com/libcdio/libcdio/releases/download/2.3.0/libcdio-2.3.0.tar.gz
Build dependencies	pkgconf
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, 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	libcdio
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

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

libcdio++-dev 2.2.0-4.1~deb13u1

C++ library to read and control CD-ROM (development files)