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Install libmtp with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Implementation of Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol (MTP). Version 1.1.23 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libmtp

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install libmtp

MacPorts ports tree · multimedia/libmtp/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add libmtp

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · libmtp · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libmtp-common

Debian stable package indexes · libmtp-common · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libmtp

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

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libmtp

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S libmtp

Arch Linux sync databases · libmtp · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install libmtp-devel

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · libmtp-devel · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Implementation of Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol (MTP)

Commands and aliases

  • mtp-albumart
  • mtp-albums
  • mtp-connect
  • mtp-delfile
  • mtp-detect
  • mtp-emptyfolders
  • mtp-files
  • mtp-filetree
  • mtp-folders
  • mtp-format
  • mtp-getfile
  • mtp-getplaylist
  • mtp-hotplug
  • mtp-newfolder
  • mtp-newplaylist
  • mtp-playlists
  • mtp-reset
  • mtp-sendfile
  • mtp-sendtr
  • mtp-thumb
  • mtp-tracks
  • mtp-trexist

history

Project history and usage

libmtp is a POSIX-oriented C implementation of the Media Transfer Protocol initiator side: host software talks to MTP responders such as media players, phones, and other portable devices.

Project history

The project grew around the practical problem that MTP devices are not normal mounted filesystems. The upstream homepage describes libmtp as an initiator implementation of MTP Basic, and the README explains the difference between a host-side initiator and a device-side responder.

Copyright notices in the public headers and examples show active authorship beginning in 2005, including Linus Walleij and other contributors. Over time the project accumulated a large device database, examples, command-line tools, and downstream integrations for desktop environments and media applications.

Adoption history

The libmtp homepage explicitly lists downstreams and related clients such as GVFS MTP support for GNOME, KIO-MTP for KDE, go-mtpfs, XNJB, Gnomad2, Amarok, and Rhythmbox. That downstream list captures why the library became the common Unix packaging point for MTP access.

Package managers ship both the shared library and many small mtp-* utilities, letting users inspect devices, transfer files, manage playlists, and debug unknown vendor/product IDs without writing code.

How it is used

Typical usage is through desktop file managers, media players, FUSE clients, or the bundled commands such as mtp-detect, mtp-files, mtp-getfile, and mtp-sendfile. The upstream site asks users with unrecognized devices to submit USB IDs and mtp-detect output, reflecting the device-quirk maintenance model.

Why package nerds care

libmtp matters to packagers because it turns a messy device protocol and vendor-ID database into one shared dependency. It is also a classic example of a library whose command-line tools are as important for debugging support tickets as the library ABI is for applications.

Timeline

  • 2005: Public source copyright notices begin for libmtp authorship and examples.
  • 2007: Additional contributors and device support appear in public source copyright notices.
  • 2008: Several libmtp source files record continued authorship and device-support work.
  • 2010s: GNOME, KDE, FUSE, and media-player clients use libmtp or related MTP access paths.
  • 2020s: The project maintains SourceForge and GitHub source surfaces plus release packaging across Unix distributions.

Related projects

  • libmtp is related to libgphoto2's PTP/MTP handling, but the README explains that libmtp stays closer to the MTP object model rather than presenting everything as files. Desktop integrations include GVFS and KIO-MTP, while go-mtpfs and XNJB are standalone client examples.

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

  • broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

  • text:media

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.
  • 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

CommandKindExposureNote
mtp-albumartcliglobal executable
mtp-albumscliglobal executable
mtp-connectcliglobal executable
mtp-delfilecliglobal executable
mtp-detectcliglobal executable
mtp-emptyfolderscliglobal executable
mtp-filescliglobal executable
mtp-filetreecliglobal executable
mtp-folderscliglobal executable
mtp-formatcliglobal executable
mtp-getfilecliglobal executable
mtp-getplaylistcliglobal executable
mtp-hotplugcliglobal executable
mtp-newfoldercliglobal executable
mtp-newplaylistcliglobal executable
mtp-playlistscliglobal executable
mtp-resetcliglobal executable
mtp-sendfilecliglobal executable
mtp-sendtrcliglobal executable
mtp-thumbcliglobal executable
mtp-trackscliglobal executable
mtp-trexistcliglobal 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 version1.1.23
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:libmtp
Version1.1.23
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libmtp
Homepagehttps://libmtp.sourceforge.net/
Repositoryhttps://sourceforge.net/p/libmtp/code/ci/master/tree
Upstream docshttps://libmtp.sourceforge.net/
LicenseLGPL-2.1-or-later
Source archivehttps://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/libmtp/libmtp/1.1.23/libmtp-1.1.23.tar.gz
Dependencieslibusb
Build dependenciespkgconf
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namelibmtp
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
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%

libmtp-common 1.1.22-1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) common files

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp-common
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmtp-common from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

libmtp-dev 1.1.22-1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) development files

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp-dev
  • Section: libdevel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmtp-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

libmtp-doc 1.1.22-1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) library documentation

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp-doc
  • Section: doc
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmtp-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

libmtp-runtime 1.1.22-1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) runtime tools

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp-runtime
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 3 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmtp-runtime from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

libmtp9t64 1.1.22-1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) library

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp9t64
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 4 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • 2 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmtp9t64 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

mtp-tools 1.1.22-1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) library tools

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install mtp-tools
  • Section: utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: mtp-tools from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

libmtp

nix profile install nixpkgs#libmtp
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libmtp/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

libmtp-common 1.1.21-3.1build1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) common files

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp-common
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmtp-common from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

libmtp-dev 1.1.21-3.1build1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) development files

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp-dev
  • Section: libdevel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmtp-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

libmtp-doc 1.1.21-3.1build1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) library documentation

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp-doc
  • Section: doc
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmtp-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

libmtp-runtime 1.1.21-3.1build1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) runtime tools

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp-runtime
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 3 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmtp-runtime from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

libmtp9t64 1.1.21-3.1build1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) library

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install libmtp9t64
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 4 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • 2 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmtp9t64 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

mtp-tools 1.1.21-3.1build1

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) library tools

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install mtp-tools
  • Section: universe/utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mtp-tools from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

libmtp 1.1.22-r1

Software library for MTP media players

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apk add libmtp
  • License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libmtp from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

libmtp-dev 1.1.22-r1

Software library for MTP media players (development files)

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apk add libmtp-dev
  • License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libmtp-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

libmtp-examples 1.1.22-r1

Example programs for libmtp

https://libmtp.sourceforge.net/

sudo apk add libmtp-examples
  • License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: libmtp
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libmtp
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libmtp-examples from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • pkgconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • simple-mtpfsPopular package that depends on this formula.

Same workflow

  • a52decShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
  • aalibShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
  • adplugShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
  • alsa-libShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
  • bablShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
  • chromaprintShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.

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.

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