macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libgcryptlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install libgcryptMacPorts ports tree · devel/libgcrypt/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install libgcrypt with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Cryptographic library based on the code from GnuPG. Version 1.12.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add libgcryptAlpine Linux edge package indexes · libgcrypt · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libgcryptFedora Rawhide package metadata · libgcrypt · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libgcryptnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libgcrypt/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S libgcryptArch Linux sync databases · libgcrypt · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install libgcrypt-developenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · libgcrypt-devel · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Cryptographic library based on the code from GnuPG
Project links
Commands and aliases
- dumpsexp
- hmac256
- libgcrypt-config
- mpicalc
history
Project history and usage
Libgcrypt is the GnuPG project's standalone cryptographic building-block library, split out so applications could use GnuPG-derived primitives without embedding the OpenPGP implementation itself. It matters in package ecosystems because it is a low-level C library whose ABI promises, security releases, and CPU-specific optimizations ripple into many security-sensitive applications.
Project history
The GnuPG project describes Libgcrypt as a general-purpose cryptographic library originally based on GnuPG code. GnuPG news and release material show the library becoming a separately versioned component by the early 2000s, with a 2003 alpha-series announcement for Libgcrypt 1.1.42 and later 1.2.x, 1.4.x, 1.5.x, 1.7.x, 1.8.x, 1.10.x, and 1.12.x release lines.
Its scope grew from the cryptographic code needed by GnuPG into a broad primitive library covering symmetric ciphers, hashes, MACs, public-key algorithms, multi-precision integers, random-number generation, S-expressions, FIPS-related behavior, and helper tools. The project page also records a packaging-relevant compatibility policy: Libgcrypt versions since 1.2 keep API and ABI compatibility.
Adoption history
Libgcrypt's adoption follows GnuPG's split-library architecture: GnuPG and related projects can share a maintained cryptographic core while packagers ship it as an independent system library. Homebrew, Linux distributions, Nix, MacPorts, and other package managers expose it as a separate package because many consumers need the library without installing or rebuilding the whole GnuPG stack.
The GnuPG release stream treats Libgcrypt security updates as first-class events. Multiple GnuPG news entries call out Libgcrypt releases for side-channel fixes, stable-branch compatibility, new algorithms, and random-number-generator work, which is why downstream maintainers track it closely.
How it is used
Developers link against Libgcrypt when they need a C API for cryptographic primitives, MPI arithmetic, random bytes, or S-expression-based public-key operations. The command-line helpers packaged with it, such as hmac256 and mpicalc, are secondary to the library but useful for testing and small operational tasks.
The library intentionally does not provide a complete OpenPGP protocol implementation; it supplies lower-level cryptographic operations. That boundary is important for users choosing between Libgcrypt, GPGME, and the GnuPG command-line tools.
Why package nerds care
For package maintainers, Libgcrypt is a classic shared-library dependency: small on the surface, but security-critical, ABI-sensitive, and tied to CPU feature detection, FIPS behavior, and distribution hardening policies. Its separate release branches let downstreams apply fixes without forcing an application-level GnuPG upgrade.
Its long API/ABI compatibility promise since 1.2 is unusually package-friendly for a cryptographic C library and helps explain why it appears broadly across Unix-like package sets.
Timeline
- 2003: Libgcrypt 1.1.42 announced as a general-purpose cryptography library based on GnuPG code.
- 2005: Libgcrypt 1.2.1 announced in the GnuPG news stream.
- 2007: Libgcrypt 1.4.0 announced as a stable branch compatible with the 1.2 series.
- 2011: Libgcrypt 1.5.0 announced as a stable branch compatible with the 1.4 series.
- 2016: Libgcrypt 1.7.0 announced with new algorithms, curves, and performance work.
- 2017: Libgcrypt 1.8.0 announced with Blake2 support, XTS mode, random-number-generator work, and ARM performance improvements.
- 2022: Libgcrypt 1.10.1 announced as a stable branch with API and ABI compatibility to the 1.9 series.
- 2026: Libgcrypt 1.12.2, 1.11.3, and 1.10.4 announced for security advisory T8211.
Related projects
- GnuPG is the parent ecosystem and original source of the code lineage. GPGME sits at a higher level for applications that want GnuPG integration rather than raw cryptographic primitives. Libgpg-error is commonly paired with GnuPG libraries for shared error handling.
Sources
- https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libgcrypt
- https://lists.gnupg.org/pipermail/gnupg-announce/2003q3/000155.html
- https://lists.gnupg.org/pipermail/gnupg-announce/2022q1/000471.html
- https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/gcrypt/
- https://www.gnupg.org/news.html
- https://www.gnupg.org/software/libgcrypt/index.html
security posture
No protected-tool coverage found yet
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for libgcrypt. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 1 runtime 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
dumpsexp | cli | global executable | |
hmac256 | cli | global executable | |
libgcrypt-config | cli | global executable | |
mpicalc | 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 version1.12.2
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://gnupg.org/related_software/libgcrypt/
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://gnupg.org/related_software/libgcrypt/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:libgcrypt |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.12.2 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libgcrypt |
| Homepage | https://gnupg.org/related_software/libgcrypt/ |
| Repository | https://git.gnupg.org/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?p=libgcrypt.git |
| Upstream docs | https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/gcrypt |
| License | LGPL-2.1-or-later AND GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://gnupg.org/ftp/gcrypt/libgcrypt/libgcrypt-1.12.2.tar.bz2 |
| Last updated | 2026-06-22T14:05:17-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | libgpg-error |
| 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 | libgcrypt |
| 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.
Nix95%
libgcrypt
nix profile install nixpkgs#libgcrypt- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
apk95%
libgcrypt 1.12.2-r0
General purpose crypto library based on the code used in GnuPG
sudo apk add libgcrypt- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later AND GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
apk95%
libgcrypt-dev 1.12.2-r0
General purpose crypto library based on the code used in GnuPG (development files)
sudo apk add libgcrypt-dev- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later AND GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
apk95%
libgcrypt-doc 1.12.2-r0
General purpose crypto library based on the code used in GnuPG (documentation)
sudo apk add libgcrypt-doc- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later AND GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
apk95%
libgcrypt-static 1.12.2-r0
General purpose crypto library based on the code used in GnuPG (static library)
sudo apk add libgcrypt-static- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later AND GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
dnf95%
libgcrypt 1.12.2-1.fc45
A general-purpose cryptography library
sudo dnf install libgcrypt- License: BSD-3-Clause AND (BSD-3-Clause OR GPL-2.0-only) AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later AND MIT-Modern-Variant
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
dnf95%
libgcrypt-devel 1.12.2-1.fc45
Development files for the libgcrypt package
sudo dnf install libgcrypt-devel- License: BSD-3-Clause AND (BSD-3-Clause OR GPL-2.0-only) AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later AND MIT-Modern-Variant
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 9 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
pacman95%
libgcrypt 1.12.2-1
General purpose cryptographic library based on the code from GnuPG
sudo pacman -S libgcrypt- License: BSD-3-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause OR GPL-2.0-only AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND X11 AND LicenseRef-scancode-public-domain
- Architecture: x86_64
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
zypper95%
libgcrypt-devel 1.12.2-1.2
The GNU Crypto Library
https://gnupg.org/software/libgcrypt
sudo zypper install libgcrypt-devel- License: GFDL-1.1-only AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND MIT
- Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 10 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
zypper95%
libgcrypt-devel-32bit 1.12.2-1.2
The GNU Crypto Library
https://gnupg.org/software/libgcrypt
sudo zypper install libgcrypt-devel-32bit- License: GFDL-1.1-only AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND MIT
- Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 3 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
zypper95%
libgcrypt-devel-x86-64-v3 1.12.2-1.2
The GNU Crypto Library
https://gnupg.org/software/libgcrypt
sudo zypper install libgcrypt-devel-x86-64-v3- License: GFDL-1.1-only AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND MIT
- Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 3 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
zypper95%
libgcrypt20 1.12.2-1.2
The GNU Crypto Library
https://gnupg.org/software/libgcrypt
sudo zypper install libgcrypt20- License: GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: System/Libraries
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 6 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
zypper95%
libgcrypt20-32bit 1.12.2-1.2
The GNU Crypto Library
https://gnupg.org/software/libgcrypt
sudo zypper install libgcrypt20-32bit- License: GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: System/Libraries
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 5 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
zypper95%
libgcrypt20-x86-64-v3 1.12.2-1.2
The GNU Crypto Library
https://gnupg.org/software/libgcrypt
sudo zypper install libgcrypt20-x86-64-v3- License: GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: System/Libraries
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgcrypt
- 2 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
MacPorts95%
libgcrypt
sudo port install libgcrypt- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgcrypt
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
- 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