brew

Install libdsk with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix

Library for accessing discs and disc image files. Version 1.4.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-19.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install libdsk

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install libdsk

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

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install libdsk-utils

Debian stable package indexes · libdsk-utils · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install libdsk

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#libdsk

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

overview

Package summary

Library for accessing discs and disc image files

Project links

Commands and aliases

apriboot
dskdump
dskform
dskid
dskscan
dsktrans
dskutil
md3serial

history

Project history and usage

LibDsk is John Elliott's library and utility suite for accessing floppy disks and disk image files, especially formats used by emulators, CP/M tools, and retrocomputing workflows.

Project history

The official LibDsk page positions the library between real floppy hardware, emulator disk-image formats, filesystem utilities, and floppy-controller emulation. It supports raw files and devices, CPCEMU/JOYCE-style .DSK images, MYZ80 hard-drive images, NanoWasp, CFI, CopyQM, TeleDisk, Compaq QRST, APRIDISK, LDBS, rcpmfs, serial-line LibDsk instances, and other formats.

The documented 1.4.x and 1.5.x histories show continued maintenance for unusual formats and preservation edge cases: JV3, CP2, Commodore D64/D64CPM, QRST, SAP, Gotek layouts, Apple Disk Copy 4.2, D88, and the LDBS/LDBST formats. The page also documents Linux kernel FDRAWCMD deprecation as a practical constraint for direct floppy access after Linux 5.18.

Adoption history

LibDsk's adoption is concentrated in retrocomputing and emulator ecosystems. Its official page names CPMTOOLS integration, emulator tools that convert between real floppies and images, and floppy-controller emulation as intended uses, which explains why distributions package the command-line utilities even though the audience is specialized.

How it is used

Packaged utilities such as `dskdump`, `dskform`, `dskid`, `dskscan`, `dsktrans`, `dskutil`, and related tools make LibDsk useful for converting, scanning, formatting, identifying, and transferring disk images. The library side lets emulators and filesystem tools use the same format backends.

Why package nerds care

LibDsk matters because disk-image support is usually a graveyard of one-off converters. Packaging one maintained library with many obscure floppy formats keeps retrocomputing workflows reproducible and prevents every emulator or CP/M tool from carrying its own partial disk-format parser.

Timeline

2022: Official page notes Linux FDRAWCMD deprecation in Linux 5.18+ as a direct-access concern.
2024: Official page lists 1.4.2 as stable and 1.5.22 as development downloads.
1.4.x: JV3 support and IMD driver fixes documented.
1.5.x: LDBS rewrite, D64/D64CPM, CP2, QRST, SAP, Gotek, dc42, LDBST, D88, and additional utilities documented.

Related projects

The official page links LibDsk to CPMTOOLS, JOYCE, Lib765, Diskette Tools, AUXD, CPC/PCW/Spectrum +3 CP/M use cases, Gotek USB floppy images, and emulator .DSK formats.

Sources

https://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk

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
`apriboot`	cli	global executable
`dskdump`	cli	global executable
`dskform`	cli	global executable
`dskid`	cli	global executable
`dskscan`	cli	global executable
`dsktrans`	cli	global executable
`dskutil`	cli	global executable
`md3serial`	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 version1.4.2

manager updated2026-06-19

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:libdsk
Version	1.4.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libdsk
Homepage	https://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/
Upstream docs	https://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk
License	LGPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/libdsk-1.4.2.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-19T12:31:50-07:00
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	libdsk
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%

libdsk-utils 1.5.9+dfsg-1+b2

library for accessing discs and disc image file (utilities)

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/

sudo apt install libdsk-utils

Section: utils
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libdsk
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libdsk-utils from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Debian apt95%

libdsk4 1.5.9+dfsg-1+b2

library for accessing discs and disc image file

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/

sudo apt install libdsk4

Section: libs
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libdsk
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libdsk4 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Debian apt95%

libdsk4-dev 1.5.9+dfsg-1+b2

library for accessing discs and disc image file (development headers)

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/

sudo apt install libdsk4-dev

Section: libdevel
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libdsk
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libdsk4-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

libdsk

nix profile install nixpkgs#libdsk

normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

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

Ubuntu apt95%

libdsk-utils 1.5.9+dfsg-1build1

library for accessing discs and disc image file (utilities)

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/

sudo apt install libdsk-utils

Section: universe/utils
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libdsk
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libdsk-utils from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

Ubuntu apt95%

libdsk4 1.5.9+dfsg-1build1

library for accessing discs and disc image file

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/

sudo apt install libdsk4

Section: universe/libs
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libdsk
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libdsk4 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

Ubuntu apt95%

libdsk4-dev 1.5.9+dfsg-1build1

library for accessing discs and disc image file (development headers)

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk/

sudo apt install libdsk4-dev

Section: universe/libdevel
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libdsk
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libdsk4-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

dnf95%

libdsk 1.5.22-2.fc44

Library for accessing disk images

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk

sudo dnf install libdsk

License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: i686
Source Package: libdsk
4 dependencies
2 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libdsk from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

libdsk-devel 1.5.22-2.fc44

Development files for libdsk

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk

sudo dnf install libdsk-devel

License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: i686
Source Package: libdsk
2 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libdsk-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

libdsk-tools 1.5.22-2.fc44

Tools for use with libdsk

http://www.seasip.info/Unix/LibDsk

sudo dnf install libdsk-tools

License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: libdsk
4 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libdsk-tools from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

libdsk

sudo port install libdsk

normalized package name match
Matched by: Libdsk

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

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.

combined/libdsk.yml

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

Install libdsk with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix

Additional install commands

macOS

Linux

Package summary

Project links

Commands and aliases

Project history and usage

Project history

Adoption history

How it is used

Why package nerds care

Timeline

Related projects

Sources

Risk level: green

Risk classifier

Why

Signals

Install behavior

Recommended review

Installed executables

Version and freshness

Package metadata

Source database details

Other package-manager records

Internal package links

Topical hubs

Related tools

Same workflow

Agent security guides

Generated from repository data

Combined YAML source

Used sources