macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libcpucycleslocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install libcpucycles with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix
Microlibrary for counting CPU cycles. Version 20260625 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install cpucyclesDebian stable package indexes · cpucycles · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libcpucyclesFedora Rawhide package metadata · libcpucycles · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libcpucyclesnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libcpucycles/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Microlibrary for counting CPU cycles
Project links
Commands and aliases
- cpucycles-info
- cpucycles-open
history
Project history and usage
libcpucycles is a small timing library for counting CPU cycles across multiple CPU and operating-system counter mechanisms. It comes from the cr.yp.to ecosystem associated with Daniel J. Bernstein's performance-oriented cryptographic and systems software.
Project history
The official introduction describes libcpucycles as a microlibrary for cycle counting, with a simple API: include `cpucycles.h`, call `cpucycles()`, and link with `-lcpucycles`. The project abstracts machine-level counters such as amd64 TSC/PMC, ARM counters, RISC-V counters, and OS fallbacks such as `mach_absolute_time`, `perf_event`, `CLOCK_MONOTONIC`, and `gettimeofday`.
The release notes visible in the 20250925 documentation show active portability work after the early 2023 tarballs, including s390x counter support, FreeBSD support, arm32-1176 support, a `cpucycles-info` man page, and macOS build fixes.
Adoption history
Adoption is concentrated among developers who need reproducible low-overhead timing for cryptography, benchmarking, and systems tuning. Its appearance in Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora-family packages, and Nix reflects a package-manager role as a tiny measurement primitive rather than an end-user application.
How it is used
Programmers use libcpucycles when they want an architecture-aware cycle counter without writing per-platform assembly and fallback code. Package users also get tools such as `cpucycles-info` and `cpucycles-open`, which help inspect available counters and support benchmarking workflows.
Why package nerds care
libcpucycles is package-nerd interesting because it packages the messy hardware reality of cycle counters into a minimal library. It is deliberately small, but its value is in the portability table: one dependency handles CPU families and OS timing APIs that would otherwise become build-system conditionals in every benchmark.
Timeline
- 2023-01-10: Release notes document `cpucycles_version()` and s390x counter work.
- 2023-01-15: Release notes mention behavior alignment for `cpucycles_version()`.
- 2024-01-14: Release notes add arm32-1176 counter support, FreeBSD support, and install/license documentation updates.
- 2024-03-18: Release notes mention macOS porting fixes and the `cpucycles-info` man page.
- 2025-09-25: Documentation tree published for libcpucycles-20250925.
Related projects
- Related projects include the broader cr.yp.to software family, architecture-specific cycle counters such as TSC and PMC, Linux `perf_event`, POSIX clocks, and benchmarking code in cryptographic libraries.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
cpucycles-info | cli | global executable | |
cpucycles-open | 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 version20260625
manager updated2026-06-25
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://cpucycles.cr.yp.to/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:libcpucycles |
|---|---|
| Version | 20260625 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libcpucycles |
| Homepage | https://cpucycles.cr.yp.to/ |
| Upstream docs | https://cpucycles.cr.yp.to/ |
| License | LicenseRef-Homebrew-public-domain OR CC0-1.0 OR 0BSD OR MIT-0 OR MIT |
| Source archive | https://cpucycles.cr.yp.to/libcpucycles-20260625.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-25T22:50:15Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| 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 | libcpucycles |
| 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%
cpucycles 0~20240318-2
command-line tool for counting CPU cycles (libcpucycles)
sudo apt install cpucycles- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Debian apt95%
libcpucycles-dev 0~20240318-2
library for counting CPU cycles - development files
sudo apt install libcpucycles-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Debian apt95%
libcpucycles1 0~20240318-2
library for counting CPU cycles
sudo apt install libcpucycles1- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Nix95%
libcpucycles
nix profile install nixpkgs#libcpucycles- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Ubuntu apt95%
cpucycles 0~20240114-1
command-line tool for counting CPU cycles (libcpucycles)
sudo apt install cpucycles- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Ubuntu apt95%
libcpucycles-dev 0~20240114-1
library for counting CPU cycles - development files
sudo apt install libcpucycles-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Ubuntu apt95%
libcpucycles1 0~20240114-1
library for counting CPU cycles
sudo apt install libcpucycles1- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
dnf95%
libcpucycles 20260105-1.fc44
Library for counting CPU cycles
sudo dnf install libcpucycles- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain OR 0BSD OR MIT-0 OR MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
dnf95%
libcpucycles-devel 20260105-1.fc44
Development files for libcpucycles
sudo dnf install libcpucycles-devel- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain OR 0BSD OR MIT-0 OR MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
dnf95%
libcpucycles-static 20260105-1.fc44
Static version of the libcpucycles library
sudo dnf install libcpucycles-static- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain OR 0BSD OR MIT-0 OR MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
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