# Install libraw with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Library for reading RAW files from digital photo cameras. Version 0.22.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:libraw
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install libraw
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install libraw
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: graphics/libraw/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add libraw
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libraw from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install libraw-bin
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libraw-bin from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install LibRaw
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: LibRaw 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#libraw
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libraw/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S libraw
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: libraw from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

- zypper (92%):

```sh
sudo zypper install libraw-devel
```

  Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libraw-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:libraw
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Package manager page:** <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libraw>
- **Version:** 0.22.1
- **Source summary:** Library for reading RAW files from digital photo cameras
- **Homepage:** <https://www.libraw.org/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw>
- **Upstream docs:** <https://www.libraw.org/docs>
- **License:** LGPL-2.1-only OR CDDL-1.0
- **Source archive:** <https://www.libraw.org/data/LibRaw-0.22.1.tar.gz>
- **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00

## Executables

- 4channels (cli)
- dcraw_emu (cli)
- dcraw_half (cli)
- half_mt (cli)
- mem_image (cli)
- multirender_test (cli)
- postprocessing_benchmark (cli)
- raw-identify (cli)
- rawtextdump (cli)
- simple_dcraw (cli)
- unprocessed_raw (cli)
- 4channels (alias)
- dcraw_emu (alias)
- dcraw_half (alias)
- half_mt (alias)
- mem_image (alias)
- multirender_test (alias)
- postprocessing_benchmark (alias)
- raw-identify (alias)
- rawtextdump (alias)
- simple_dcraw (alias)
- unprocessed_raw (alias)

## Dependencies

- jpeg-turbo
- libomp
- little-cms2

## Build dependencies

- pkgconf

## 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: 0.22.1
- Local data: ok
- Upstream repository: https://www.libraw.org/
- info: No package-manager update timestamp was available.
- info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.
## Project history and usage

LibRaw is a RAW photo decoding library created to turn Dave Coffin's dcraw codebase into an embeddable, thread-safer library with expanded metadata and camera-format support.

### Project history

The LibRaw project states that it launched in 2008 based on Dave Coffin's dcraw.c utility. Its goals were to convert dcraw into a library usable by other programs, remove global-variable style constraints, improve thread safety, import dcraw changes, and expand metadata extraction.

LibRaw's history is inseparable from dcraw. The project notes that dcraw support was reduced to a minimum in 2015 and ceased in 2018; after that, new camera and format support was handled by the LibRaw team. The rendering path inherited from dcraw remained important, while LibRaw moved contributor demosaic and post-processing experiments into separate projects when they became hard to maintain in the core library.

### Adoption history

LibRaw was adopted broadly because camera vendors produce many undocumented or semi-documented RAW formats and applications need a maintained decoding layer. Its official documentation describes embedding in RAW converters, data analyzers, and other programs that use RAW files as input, and its supported-camera list spans phone cameras, drones, cinema cameras, DSLRs, and mirrorless systems.

### How it is used

Homebrew installs the library and sample utilities such as dcraw_emu, raw-identify, simple_dcraw, and postprocessing_benchmark. Developers use the API when they need to identify cameras, read RAW metadata, unpack sensor data, or feed image data to a separate conversion pipeline.

### Why package nerds care

LibRaw is one of the cleaner examples of turning a famous single-file Unix utility into a library package. It matters to maintainers because many graphics applications can share one camera-support substrate instead of vendoring dcraw snapshots or maintaining format decoders independently.

### Timeline

- 1997: Dave Coffin's dcraw copyright lineage begins, later forming LibRaw's base.
- 2008: LibRaw project launched from dcraw.c.
- 2015: LibRaw records dcraw support being reduced to a minimum.
- 2018: LibRaw records dcraw support ceasing, with camera-format support handled by the LibRaw team thereafter.
- 2026: LibRaw documentation and supported-camera pages described the 0.22 camera support generation.

### Related projects

- LibRaw is related to dcraw, RawDigger, FastRawViewer, RAW converter applications, camera-specific RAW formats such as CRW, CR2, NEF, RAF, DNG, MOS, KDC, and DCR, and the LibRaw demosaic pack projects.

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libraw>
- <https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw>
- <https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw/releases>
- <https://www.libraw.org/about>
- <https://www.libraw.org/docs>
- <https://www.libraw.org/supported-cameras>


## 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:** libraw
- **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:** head, stable

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - libraw-bin - 0.21.4-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libraw-bin from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | raw image decoder library (tools) | https://www.libraw.org
- Debian apt - libraw-dev - 0.21.4-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libraw-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | raw image decoder library (development files) | https://www.libraw.org
- Debian apt - libraw-doc - 0.21.4-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libraw-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | raw image decoder library (documentation) | https://www.libraw.org
- Debian apt - libraw23t64 - 0.21.4-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libraw23t64 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | raw image decoder library | https://www.libraw.org
- Nix - libraw: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libraw/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - libraw-bin - 0.21.2-2.1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libraw-bin from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | raw image decoder library (tools) | https://www.libraw.org
- Ubuntu apt - libraw-dev - 0.21.2-2.1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libraw-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | raw image decoder library (development files) | https://www.libraw.org
- Ubuntu apt - libraw-doc - 0.21.2-2.1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libraw-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | raw image decoder library (documentation) | https://www.libraw.org
- Ubuntu apt - libraw23t64 - 0.21.2-2.1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libraw23t64 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | raw image decoder library | https://www.libraw.org
- apk - libraw - 0.22.1-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libraw from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Library for reading RAW files obtained from digital photo cameras | https://www.libraw.org/
- apk - libraw-dev - 0.22.1-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libraw-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Library for reading RAW files obtained from digital photo cameras (development files) | https://www.libraw.org/
- apk - libraw-tools - 0.22.1-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libraw-tools from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | tools for LibRaw | https://www.libraw.org/
- dnf - LibRaw - 0.22.1-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: LibRaw from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Library for reading RAW files obtained from digital photo cameras | https://www.libraw.org
- dnf - LibRaw-devel - 0.22.1-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: LibRaw-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | LibRaw development libraries | https://www.libraw.org
- dnf - LibRaw-samples - 0.22.1-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: LibRaw-samples from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | LibRaw sample programs | https://www.libraw.org
- dnf - LibRaw-static - 0.22.1-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: LibRaw-static from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | LibRaw static development libraries | https://www.libraw.org


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- [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider.
- [jpeg-turbo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jpeg-turbo/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [little-cms2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/little-cms2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
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## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libraw.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libraw.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
