macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libchardetlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install libchardet with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman, zypper
Mozilla's Universal Charset Detector C/C++ API. Version 1.0.6 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libchardet-devDebian stable package indexes · libchardet-dev · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libchardetFedora Rawhide package metadata · libchardet · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libchardetnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libchardet/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S libchardetArch Linux sync databases · libchardet · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install libchardet-developenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · libchardet-devel · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Mozilla's Universal Charset Detector C/C++ API
Project links
Commands and aliases
- chardet-config
history
Project history and usage
libchardet is a C/C++ API around Mozilla's Universal Charset Detector lineage. It detects the likely character encoding of byte streams, a task that matters when programs ingest legacy text without reliable charset labels.
Project history
Mozilla's archived charset detector documentation describes the original detector as an XPCOM component that receives bytes and guesses the charset. A companion Mozilla document from 2002 explains that the universal detector implementation was separable from the XPCOM wrapper and could be used by other projects.
The libchardet README says the library is based on Mozilla Universal Charset Detector code originally written by Netscape Communications Corporation, with a C wrapping API and libtool build environment. It also records later changes: version 1.0.5 incorporated single-byte charset confidence ideas and language models from uchardet, and version 1.0.6 added BOM reporting.
Adoption history
libchardet's adoption is narrower than Python chardet or uchardet, but it fills the same packaging niche for C/C++ consumers that need Mozilla-style charset guessing without embedding the whole browser-era component. The batch input lists packages in Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Nix, and openSUSE, mostly as a development library.
How it is used
The repository documents a small API centered on detect_obj_init, detect or detect_r, confidence reporting, and object cleanup. The package also installs chardet-config for build integration, so downstream C/C++ projects can compile against the library.
Why package nerds care
libchardet is significant because charset detection is one of those small compatibility problems that keeps returning in editors, importers, scrapers, mail tools, and document converters. It also shows how browser infrastructure escaped into standalone libraries: Mozilla/Netscape detection code became reusable C, Python, Perl, and other language bindings.
Timeline
- 2002-08-15: Mozilla charset detector documentation was last modified.
- 2002-11-06: Mozilla standalone universal charset detector notes described using the detector outside Mozilla.
- 2019: libchardet README copyright line names JoungKyun.Kim and describes the standalone C/C++ API.
- 2021-05-13: GitHub release listing shows libchardet 1.0.6.
Related projects
- Related projects include Mozilla Universal Charset Detector, uchardet, Python chardet, John Gardiner Myers's Encode-Detect Perl module, and applications that need to infer encodings before decoding text.
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 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
chardet-config | 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 version1.0.6
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected1.0.6
https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:libchardet |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.0.6 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libchardet |
| Homepage | https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet |
| Repository | https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet#readme |
| License | MPL-1.1 OR LGPL-2.1-only |
| Source archive | https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet/archive/refs/tags/1.0.6.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-22T14:05:15-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Build dependencies | autoconf, automake, libtool |
| 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 | libchardet |
| 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.
Debian apt95%
libchardet-dev 1.0.6-1
universal charset detection library - development files
https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet
sudo apt install libchardet-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libchardet
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
Debian apt95%
libchardet1t64 1.0.6-1
universal charset detection library - shared library
https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet
sudo apt install libchardet1t64- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libchardet
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
Nix95%
libchardet
nix profile install nixpkgs#libchardet- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
Ubuntu apt95%
libchardet-dev 1.0.4-1.1build1
universal charset detection library - development files
https://ftp.oops.org/pub/oops/libchardet/
sudo apt install libchardet-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libchardet
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
Ubuntu apt95%
libchardet1t64 1.0.4-1.1build1
universal charset detection library - shared library
https://ftp.oops.org/pub/oops/libchardet/
sudo apt install libchardet1t64- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libchardet
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
dnf95%
libchardet 1.0.5-23.fc44
Mozilla's universal character set detector
http://ftp.oops.org/pub/oops/libchardet/
sudo dnf install libchardet- License: LicenseRef-Callaway-MPLv1.1 OR LicenseRef-Callaway-LGPLv2+ OR GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libchardet
- 5 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
dnf95%
libchardet-devel 1.0.5-23.fc44
Header and object files for development using libchardet
http://ftp.oops.org/pub/oops/libchardet/
sudo dnf install libchardet-devel- License: LicenseRef-Callaway-MPLv1.1 OR LicenseRef-Callaway-LGPLv2+ OR GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libchardet
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
pacman95%
libchardet 1.0.6-4
Mozilla's Universal Charset Detector C/C++ API
http://ftp.oops.org/pub/oops/libchardet
sudo pacman -S libchardet- License: MPL-1.1
- Architecture: x86_64
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
zypper95%
libchardet-devel 1.0.6-2.4
Development files of libchardet
https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet
sudo zypper install libchardet-devel- License: MPL-1.1
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libchardet
- 2 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
zypper95%
libchardet1 1.0.6-2.4
Mozilla Universal Chardet library
https://github.com/Joungkyun/libchardet
sudo zypper install libchardet1- License: MPL-1.1
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libchardet
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libchardet
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