macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libgsflocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install libgsfMacPorts ports tree · gnome/libgsf/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install libgsf with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
I/O abstraction library for dealing with structured file formats. Version 1.14.58 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add libgsfAlpine Linux edge package indexes · libgsf · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install gir1.2-gsf-1Debian stable package indexes · gir1.2-gsf-1 · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libgsfFedora Rawhide package metadata · libgsf · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libgsfnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libgsf/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S libgsfArch Linux sync databases · libgsf · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install gsf-office-thumbnaileropenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · gsf-office-thumbnailer · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
I/O abstraction library for dealing with structured file formats
Project links
Commands and aliases
- gsf
- gsf-office-thumbnailer
- gsf-vba-dump
history
Project history and usage
libgsf is the GNOME Structured File Library, an I/O abstraction for compound and structured file formats such as Microsoft OLE2, ZIP/JAR, gzip, bzip, OpenDocument-related streams, metadata, and thumbnails. It came out of Gnumeric's need for maintainable spreadsheet file-format infrastructure.
Project history
The libgsf README says the project was started by Jody Goldberg and aims to provide an efficient, extensible I/O abstraction for dealing with different structured file formats. The GTK-Doc manual adds that it began in 2002 as part of the Gnumeric project, replacing libole2 for Microsoft Excel file handling because libole2 had become difficult to maintain and generalize.
The GitLab repository history includes an initial backup commit dated 2002-05-23. Since then, the 1.14 series has continued as a quiet GNOME infrastructure library with fixes for OLE2 edge cases, large files, ZIP64 behavior, thumbnailing, introspection, fuzzed-file crashes, and metadata handling.
Adoption history
libgsf was adopted through GNOME Office and file-format tooling rather than as a famous end-user command. It is infrastructure for applications that need structured file reading and writing without duplicating OLE, ZIP, compression, metadata, and stream code.
The Homebrew package exposes command-line tools such as gsf, gsf-office-thumbnailer, and gsf-vba-dump, showing the library's practical packaging surface: archive-like inspection, office document thumbnails, and VBA extraction/debugging around compound document formats.
How it is used
Developers use libgsf through its C API to read and write structured files and streams. The reference manual groups APIs around basic I/O, stream sources, ZIP files, compression, MS OLE2, metadata, OASIS Open Document support, and related utilities.
Packagers ship it for applications that depend on GNOME/GLib-style structured file handling. Its release notes show continued attention to malformed files and very large OLE/ZIP cases, which are exactly the edge cases shared libraries are meant to centralize.
Why package nerds care
libgsf is a small dependency with a long tail: most users do not ask for it by name, but office-file importers, thumbnailers, and data tools benefit from one shared implementation of gnarly container formats.
It is package-nerd significant because it demonstrates the GNOME/GLib style of extracting reusable infrastructure from an application. Gnumeric needed better Excel container handling; the result became a general library that distributions can patch, fuzz, and update once.
Timeline
- 2002: The reference manual says GSF started as part of Gnumeric to replace libole2 for Microsoft Excel file handling.
- 2002-05-23: The GitLab repository records the initial backup commit.
- 2016: Release 1.14.38 fixed BSD test compatibility and ZIP64 behavior.
- 2024: Release 1.14.53 fixed integer overflows affecting memory allocation and improved OLE/OpenDocument handling.
- 2026: Release 1.14.57 fixed problems with OLE files larger than 4 GB and improved gzip, bzip, and ZIP handling for 4 GB and larger reads and writes.
Related projects
- Gnumeric is the spreadsheet project from which libgsf emerged.
- libole2 is the older library that GSF replaced for Gnumeric's Excel file handling.
- GLib, GNOME, GTK-Doc, OLE2, ZIP, OpenDocument, and office thumbnailing tools are part of the surrounding ecosystem.
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.
- Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
gsf | cli | global executable | |
gsf-office-thumbnailer | cli | global executable | |
gsf-vba-dump | 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 version1.14.58
manager updated2026-06-25
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsf
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsfnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:libgsf |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.14.58 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libgsf |
| Homepage | https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsf |
| Repository | https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsf |
| Upstream docs | https://gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org/libgsf/api |
| License | LGPL-2.1-only |
| Source archive | https://download.gnome.org/sources/libgsf/1.14/libgsf-1.14.58.tar.xz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-25T13:37:51+02:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | gettext, glib |
| Build dependencies | pkgconf |
| Uses from macOS | bzip2, libxml2 |
| 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 | libgsf |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| 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%
gir1.2-gsf-1 1.14.53-1
GObject introspection data for the Structured File Library
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install gir1.2-gsf-1- Section: introspection
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Debian apt95%
libgsf-1-114 1.14.53-1
Structured File Library - runtime version
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install libgsf-1-114- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 6 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Debian apt95%
libgsf-1-common 1.14.53-1
Structured File Library - common files
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install libgsf-1-common- Section: libs
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: libgsf
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Debian apt95%
libgsf-1-dev 1.14.53-1
Structured File Library - development files
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install libgsf-1-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 5 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Debian apt95%
libgsf-bin 1.14.53-1
Structured File Library - programs
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install libgsf-bin- Section: gnome
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 4 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Nix95%
libgsf
nix profile install nixpkgs#libgsf- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Ubuntu apt95%
gir1.2-gsf-1 1.14.51-2build2
GObject introspection data for the Structured File Library
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install gir1.2-gsf-1- Section: introspection
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Ubuntu apt95%
libgsf-1-114 1.14.51-2build2
Structured File Library - runtime version
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install libgsf-1-114- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 6 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Ubuntu apt95%
libgsf-1-common 1.14.51-2build2
Structured File Library - common files
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install libgsf-1-common- Section: libs
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: libgsf
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Ubuntu apt95%
libgsf-1-dev 1.14.51-2build2
Structured File Library - development files
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install libgsf-1-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 5 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
Ubuntu apt95%
libgsf-bin 1.14.51-2build2
Structured File Library - programs
http://projects.gnome.org/libgsf/
sudo apt install libgsf-bin- Section: universe/gnome
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 4 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
apk95%
libgsf 1.14.58-r0
Utility library for reading and writing structured file formats
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsf
sudo apk add libgsf- License: LGPL-2.1-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
apk95%
libgsf-dev 1.14.58-r0
Utility library for reading and writing structured file formats (development files)
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsf
sudo apk add libgsf-dev- License: LGPL-2.1-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgsf
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
apk95%
libgsf-doc 1.14.58-r0
Utility library for reading and writing structured file formats (documentation)
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsf
sudo apk add libgsf-doc- License: LGPL-2.1-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgsf
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
apk95%
libgsf-lang 1.14.58-r0
Languages for package libgsf
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsf
sudo apk add libgsf-lang- License: LGPL-2.1-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libgsf
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
dnf95%
libgsf 1.14.58-1.fc45
GNOME Structured File library
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgsf/
sudo dnf install libgsf- License: LGPL-2.1-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libgsf
- 9 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libgsf
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