Install librealsense with Homebrew, dnf, Nix, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• realsense-viewer
• rs-align
• rs-align-advanced
• rs-align-gl
• rs-benchmark
• rs-callback
• rs-capture
• rs-color
• rs-convert
• rs-data-collect
• rs-depth
• rs-depth-quality
• rs-distance
• rs-embed
• rs-embedded-filters
• rs-enumerate-devices
• rs-eth-config
• rs-fw-logger
• rs-fw-update
• rs-gl
• rs-hdr
• rs-hello-realsense
• rs-infrared
• rs-labeled-pointcloud
• rs-measure
• rs-motion
• rs-multicam
• rs-on-chip-calib
• rs-pointcloud
• rs-post-processing
• rs-record
• rs-record-playback

Project history

The public release line began with v0.9 pre-release on January 21, 2016, then moved through 1.x releases for RealSense models such as ZR300 during 2016 and early 2017. The 2.x line is presented by the project as RealSense SDK 2.0, a cross-platform library for RealSense depth cameras that exposes depth and color streams plus calibration metadata.

The README describes support across Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and Docker, and highlights wrappers and examples for Python, ROS, C#, Unity, and other environments. The project later migrated its GitHub organization from IntelRealSense to RealSenseAI while keeping redirects from the older URL.

Adoption history

Adoption has followed the RealSense hardware line: robotics, 3D scanning, drones, skeletal and people tracking, and facial-authentication workflows all depend on being able to script and package camera access. The repository README lists thousands of dependent GitHub projects, stars, and forks, reflecting use well beyond Intel's sample applications.

For Homebrew users, the package is useful because it bundles both the SDK library and the practical diagnostics/conversion tools that developers need when calibrating cameras, recording rosbag data, checking firmware, or debugging USB and platform backends.

How it is used

Typical use starts with realsense-viewer for interactive camera inspection, rs-enumerate-devices for inventory, rs-fw-update for firmware work, and small C++ or Python programs using the pipeline API. The SDK is commonly built from source with CMake when users need platform-specific backend choices or non-default wrappers.

Why package nerds care

librealsense is package-nerd interesting because it turns a finicky hardware SDK into ordinary package-manager material: shared libraries, udev/platform integration, CMake options, examples, CLI tools, and language bindings. It also sits at the collision point between vendor firmware, Linux kernels, USB behavior, ROS, Python wheels, and desktop package policies.

Timeline

• 2016-01-21: v0.9 pre-release published on GitHub.
• 2017-01-05: v1.12.1 release published for ZR300-era RealSense hardware.
• 2017-2018: RealSense SDK 2.0 became the project's main public SDK line.
• 2025-2026: 2.57.x and 2.58.x releases continued adding camera, viewer, build, Python, ROS, and platform fixes.

Related projects

• Related projects include Intel/RealSense firmware packages, ROS and ROS 2 RealSense integrations, pyrealsense2, OpenCV-based examples, and the broader RealSenseAI hardware and documentation sites.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/realsenseai/librealsense/releases?per_page=100
• https://github.com/IntelRealSense/librealsense
• https://github.com/IntelRealSense/librealsense/wiki/Release-Notes