macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libheiflocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install libheifMacPorts ports tree · multimedia/libheif/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install libheif with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
ISO/IEC 23008-12:2017 HEIF file format decoder and encoder. Version 1.23.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-26.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add heif-thumbnailerAlpine Linux edge package indexes · heif-thumbnailer · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install heif-gdk-pixbufDebian stable package indexes · heif-gdk-pixbuf · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libheifFedora Rawhide package metadata · libheif · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libheifnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libheif/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S libheifArch Linux sync databases · libheif · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install gdk-pixbuf-loader-libheifopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · gdk-pixbuf-loader-libheif · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
ISO/IEC 23008-12:2017 HEIF file format decoder and encoder
Project links
Commands and aliases
- heif-convert
- heif-dec
- heif-enc
- heif-info
- heif-thumbnailer
history
Project history and usage
libheif is a C/C++ library and set of command-line tools for HEIF-family still-image formats. Its package-manager value comes from sitting at the awkward but important boundary between container formats, patent-heavy video codecs, and desktop image tooling.
The project is associated with Struktur AG and Dirk Farin, and the public repository describes it as an ISO/IEC 23008-12 HEIF and AVIF file-format decoder and encoder.
Project history
The v1.0.0 release in February 2018 was billed as the first still-image decoder release and already covered HEIF features such as tiled images, alpha channels, thumbnails, EXIF/XMP metadata, depth channels, multiple images, image transformations, and overlays.
The v1.7.0 release in June 2020 added AVIF reading and writing through libaom and described a plugin architecture that let encoders reuse HEIF infrastructure while selecting AV1 compression.
The v1.12.0 release in May 2021 added MIAF conformance handling, premultiplied-alpha signaling, AV1 sequence-header parsing for the av1C box, and AVIF pixi-box writing. The v1.22.0 release in May 2026 broadened the library toward generic image components and a reworked ISO/IEC 23001-17 lossless-image codec implementation.
Adoption history
libheif became a common Unix package because it gave image applications and shell workflows a reusable way to read HEIC files from Apple-oriented ecosystems and AVIF files from web-image ecosystems without each application implementing the container stack itself.
Homebrew ships it with user-facing tools such as heif-convert, heif-enc, heif-dec, heif-info, and heif-thumbnailer, which made it useful both as a library dependency and as a command-line conversion utility.
How it is used
Typical package use is format conversion, image inspection, thumbnail generation, and linking higher-level image software against a shared HEIF/AVIF implementation. Codec details are delegated to companion libraries or plugins such as libaom for AV1 support.
Why package nerds care
libheif matters to packagers because the visible package is small, but its usefulness depends on codec policy, optional dependencies, plugin choices, and file-format brands. It is the sort of package where build options decide whether users get HEIC-only, AVIF-capable, or broader modern-image support.
It also marks the shift from classic single-image formats toward containerized image formats that carry auxiliary images, metadata, sequences, depth, alpha, HDR, and codec-specific boxes.
Timeline
- 2018: v1.0.0 released as the first still-image decoder release.
- 2020: v1.7.0 added AVIF reading and writing through libaom.
- 2021: v1.12.0 added MIAF conformance and AVIF metadata refinements.
- 2026: v1.22.0 expanded generic image components and ISO/IEC 23001-17 lossless-image support.
Related projects
- libde265 and x265 are closely related through HEVC/HEIC workflows.
- libaom and other AV1 codec projects are related through AVIF encoding and decoding.
- ImageMagick, GIMP, thumbnailers, and desktop file managers are typical downstream consumers of HEIF/AVIF libraries.
Sources
- https://api.github.com/repos/strukturag/libheif/releases/tags/v1.0.0
- https://api.github.com/repos/strukturag/libheif/releases/tags/v1.12.0
- https://api.github.com/repos/strukturag/libheif/releases/tags/v1.22.0
- https://api.github.com/repos/strukturag/libheif/releases/tags/v1.7.0
- https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libheif
- https://github.com/strukturag/libheif
security posture
No protected-tool coverage found yet
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for libheif. 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 7 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
heif-convert | cli | global executable | |
heif-dec | cli | global executable | |
heif-enc | cli | global executable | |
heif-info | cli | global executable | |
heif-thumbnailer | 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 version1.23.1
manager updated2026-06-26
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/strukturag/libheif
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/strukturag/libheifnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:libheif |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.23.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libheif |
| Homepage | https://www.libde265.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/strukturag/libheif |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/strukturag/libheif#readme |
| License | LGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/strukturag/libheif/releases/download/v1.23.1/libheif-1.23.1.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-26T12:52:58Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | aom, jpeg-turbo, libde265, libpng, libtiff, webp, x265 |
| Build dependencies | cmake, pkgconf |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
| Caveats | Additional codecs can be enabled by `brew install libheif-plugins` |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | libheif |
| 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%
heif-gdk-pixbuf 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - gdk-pixbuf loader
sudo apt install heif-gdk-pixbuf- Section: graphics
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
heif-thumbnailer 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - thumbnailer
sudo apt install heif-thumbnailer- Section: graphics
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-dev 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - development files
sudo apt install libheif-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-examples 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - examples
sudo apt install libheif-examples- Section: video
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-aomdec 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - aomdec plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-aomdec- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-aomenc 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - aomenc plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-aomenc- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-dav1d 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - dav1d plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-dav1d- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-ffmpegdec 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - ffmpegdec plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-ffmpegdec- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 6 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-j2kdec 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - j2kdec plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-j2kdec- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-j2kenc 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - j2kenc plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-j2kenc- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-jpegdec 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - jpegdec plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-jpegdec- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-jpegenc 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - jpegenc plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-jpegenc- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-kvazaar 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - kvazaar plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-kvazaar- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-libde265 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - libde265 plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-libde265- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-rav1e 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - rav1e plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-rav1e- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
Debian apt95%
libheif-plugin-svtenc 1.19.8-1
HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder - svtenc plugin
sudo apt install libheif-plugin-svtenc- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libheif
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libheif
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