# Install libewf with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper Library for support of the Expert Witness Compression Format. Version 20140816 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:libewf ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install libewf ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install libewf ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: security/libewf/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add libewf ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libewf from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install ewf-tools ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: ewf-tools from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install ewftools ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ewftools 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#libewf ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libewf/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S libewf ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: libewf from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install libewf-devel ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libewf-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:libewf - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 20140816 - **Source summary:** Library for support of the Expert Witness Compression Format - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** LGPL-3.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - ewfacquire (cli) - ewfacquirestream (cli) - ewfdebug (cli) - ewfexport (cli) - ewfinfo (cli) - ewfmount (cli) - ewfrecover (cli) - ewfverify (cli) - ewfacquire (alias) - ewfacquirestream (alias) - ewfdebug (alias) - ewfexport (alias) - ewfinfo (alias) - ewfmount (alias) - ewfrecover (alias) - ewfverify (alias) ## Dependencies - openssl@3 ## Build dependencies - pkgconf ## Uses from macOS - bzip2 ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 20140816 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage libewf is the libyal library and tool suite for reading, writing, acquiring, verifying, exporting, and mounting Expert Witness Compression Format evidence files. Its package-manager identity is tied to digital forensics because EWF/E01 images are common interchange artifacts between acquisition tools, forensic suites, and open-source analysis workflows. ### Project history Joachim Metz began documenting the EWF file format in March 2006, with libewf's legacy ChangeLog recording release-preparation work in April 2006. The project grew alongside a public working specification for the format, covering SMART, EnCase E01, logical evidence files, and later EWF2 variants. The libyal repositories split the actively experimental libewf tree from a stable legacy tree. Homebrew's curation points at the legacy repository, while the project documentation and README describe the broader libewf effort. ### Adoption history EWF became important because forensic images produced by EnCase, FTK Imager, SMART, and related tools needed open readers and converters. libewf gave Unix package ecosystems a reusable C library plus tools such as ewfacquire, ewfinfo, ewfexport, ewfmount, and ewfverify. Distribution packages under names such as libewf, ewf-tools, and ewftools made E01 handling available outside proprietary forensic workstations. ### How it is used Package users commonly install libewf for command-line acquisition and conversion, for mounting or inspecting EWF images, or as a dependency of forensic applications that need E01/S01/L01 support. ### Why package nerds care libewf is package-nerd useful because it turns a proprietary-forensics file family into a normal Unix library and set of small tools. It also carries one of the clearest public format documents for EWF, making it useful to preservation, incident response, and forensic packaging work. ### Timeline - 2006-03: Initial public EWF specification revisions for the libewf project. - 2006-04: Legacy ChangeLog records first-release preparation and tool renames such as ewfcat to ewfexport and ewfmd5sum to ewfverify. - 2014: Legacy ChangeLog records stabilization work and synchronization with the experimental libewf tree. - 2026: The EWF specification document records maintenance through 2006-2026. ### Related projects - Related projects include the libyal family of forensic libraries, The Sleuth Kit integrations, EnCase, FTK Imager, and forensic package sets that ship ewf-tools. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes library-like package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - library-like package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** libewf - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - ewf-tools - 20140816-1+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ewf-tools from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | collection of tools for reading and writing EWF files | https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - Debian apt - libewf-dev - 20140816-1+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libewf-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | support for Expert Witness Compression format (development) | https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - Debian apt - libewf2 - 20140816-1+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libewf2 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library with support for Expert Witness Compression Format | https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - Debian apt - python3-libewf - 20140816-1+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: python3-libewf from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | support for Expert Witness Compression format -- Python 3 bindings | https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - Nix - libewf: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libewf/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - ewf-tools - 20140814-1build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ewf-tools from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | collection of tools for reading and writing EWF files | https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - Ubuntu apt - libewf-dev - 20140814-1build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libewf-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | support for Expert Witness Compression format (development) | https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - Ubuntu apt - libewf2 - 20140814-1build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libewf2 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library with support for Expert Witness Compression Format | https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - Ubuntu apt - python3-libewf - 20140814-1build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: python3-libewf from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | support for Expert Witness Compression format -- Python 3 bindings | https://github.com/libyal/libewf-legacy - apk - libewf - 20240506-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libewf from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Library to support the Expert Witness Compression Format | https://libewf.sourceforge.net/ - apk - libewf-dev - 20240506-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libewf-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Library to support the Expert Witness Compression Format (development files) | https://libewf.sourceforge.net/ - apk - libewf-doc - 20240506-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libewf-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Library to support the Expert Witness Compression Format (documentation) | https://libewf.sourceforge.net/ - apk - libewf-libs - 20240506-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libewf-libs from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Library to support the Expert Witness Compression Format (libraries) | https://libewf.sourceforge.net/ - dnf - ewftools - 20140608-33.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ewftools from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Utilities for the Expert Witness Compression Format (EWF) | http://sourceforge.net/projects/libewf/ - dnf - libewf - 20140608-33.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libewf from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Library for the Expert Witness Compression Format (EWF) | http://sourceforge.net/projects/libewf/ - dnf - libewf-devel - 20140608-33.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libewf-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Development files for libewf | http://sourceforge.net/projects/libewf/ ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Archive and compression packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/archive-compression-tools/) - Matched archive or compression metadata. - [openssl@3](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/openssl-3/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [sleuthkit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sleuthkit/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [xmount](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xmount/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [bulk_extractor](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bulk-extractor/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, digital-forensics, security. - [foremost](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/foremost/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, digital-forensics, security. - [regipy](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/regipy/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, digital-forensics, security. - [daq](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/daq/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: c-library, cli, security. - [libgfshare](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libgfshare/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: c-library, cli, security. - [libjwt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libjwt/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: c-library, cli, security. - [afflib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/afflib/) - Security-sensitive metadata or terminology overlaps. Shared terms: cli, disk, forensics, format, openssl. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libewf.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libewf.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - 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