brew

Install libsepol with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, Nix, zypper

SELinux binary policy manipulation library. Version 3.11 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-01.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install libsepol

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add libsepol

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

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install libsepol-dev

Debian stable package indexes · libsepol-dev · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install libsepol

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#libsepol

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

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install libsepol-devel

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

overview

Package summary

SELinux binary policy manipulation library

Project links

Commands and aliases

chkcon
sepol_check_access
sepol_compute_av
sepol_compute_member
sepol_compute_relabel
sepol_validate_transition

history

Project history and usage

libsepol is the SELinux binary policy manipulation library. It sits below higher-level management tools and policy compilers, handling the compiled policy representation that the kernel consumes.

Project history

libsepol grew as part of the SELinux userspace stack, which was separated from the kernel-side mandatory access-control mechanism into libraries, compilers, and administrative tools. The SELinuxProject repository contains libsepol alongside libselinux, libsemanage, policycoreutils, checkpolicy, and secilc.

The upstream userspace package documentation describes secilc and checkpolicy as using libsepol to generate binary policy. It also describes libsemanage as relying on libsepol for binary policy manipulation and on libselinux for interaction with the running SELinux system.

Adoption history

libsepol's adoption followed SELinux adoption in distributions: it is packaged as a base SELinux userspace component rather than as a user-facing application. Systems that build, load, downgrade, inspect, or manage SELinux policy tend to pull in libsepol directly or indirectly.

The library is also useful outside a fully SELinux-enabled Linux system, because policy analysis and compilation workflows can run on systems that are not enforcing SELinux.

How it is used

Administrators usually touch libsepol indirectly through semodule, semanage, checkpolicy, secilc, load_policy, and related SELinux tools. The Homebrew formula exposes helper commands such as chkcon and sepol_check_access for policy-oriented checks.

For developers, libsepol is the lower-level library to use when the task is reading, writing, checking, or transforming SELinux binary policy rather than asking the running system for a process or file context.

Why package nerds care

libsepol is the package that reminds distro maintainers that SELinux is not one package: the enforcement model depends on a layered toolchain. libselinux is the runtime-facing layer, libsepol is the binary-policy layer, and libsemanage plus policycoreutils build the administrative experience above them.

Because Homebrew can build libsepol on macOS mainly for policy analysis, it is a neat example of a Linux security component whose most portable part is the file-format and compiler tooling.

Timeline

2001: NSA published SELinux technical reports on the original Linux kernel patch and Linux Security Module integration.
2008-09-09: The SELinux userspace release archive lists coordinated source tarball releases including libsepol.
2015-02-02: The userspace release archive includes libsepol 2.4 alongside libselinux 2.4 and related packages.
2026-02-02: SELinuxProject repository metadata records SELinux userspace release 3.10.

Related projects

checkpolicy and secilc use libsepol to produce binary policy, libsemanage uses it when managing policy modules, libselinux may use it when loading policy, and policycoreutils provides many of the command-line tools around those libraries.

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.
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
`chkcon`	cli	global executable
`sepol_check_access`	cli	global executable
`sepol_compute_av`	cli	global executable
`sepol_compute_member`	cli	global executable
`sepol_compute_relabel`	cli	global executable
`sepol_validate_transition`	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 version3.11

manager updated2026-07-01

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux

infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinuxnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:libsepol
Version	3.11
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libsepol
Homepage	https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux
Repository	https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux
Upstream docs	https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki
License	LGPL-2.1-or-later
Source archive	https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/releases/download/3.11/libsepol-3.11.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-07-01T18:53:14Z
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	coreutils
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	libsepol
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
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%

libsepol-dev 3.8.1-1

SELinux binary policy manipulation library and development files

https://selinuxproject.org

sudo apt install libsepol-dev

Section: libdevel
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libsepol
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libsepol-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Debian apt95%

libsepol2 3.8.1-1

SELinux library for manipulating binary security policies

https://selinuxproject.org

sudo apt install libsepol2

Section: libs
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libsepol
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libsepol2 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Debian apt95%

sepol-utils 3.8.1-1

Security Enhanced Linux policy utility programs

https://selinuxproject.org

sudo apt install sepol-utils

Section: admin
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libsepol
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: sepol-utils from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

libsepol

nix profile install nixpkgs#libsepol

normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

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

Ubuntu apt95%

libsepol-dev 3.5-2build1

SELinux binary policy manipulation library and development files

https://selinuxproject.org

sudo apt install libsepol-dev

Section: libdevel
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libsepol
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libsepol-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

Ubuntu apt95%

libsepol2 3.5-2build1

SELinux library for manipulating binary security policies

https://selinuxproject.org

sudo apt install libsepol2

Section: libs
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libsepol
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libsepol2 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

Ubuntu apt95%

sepol-utils 3.5-2build1

Security Enhanced Linux policy utility programs

https://selinuxproject.org

sudo apt install sepol-utils

Section: universe/misc
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: libsepol
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: sepol-utils from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

apk95%

libsepol 3.10-r0

SELinux binary policy manipulation library

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki

sudo apk add libsepol

License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: libsepol
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

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

apk95%

libsepol-dev 3.10-r0

SELinux binary policy manipulation library (development files)

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki

sudo apk add libsepol-dev

License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: libsepol
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

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

apk95%

libsepol-doc 3.10-r0

SELinux binary policy manipulation library (documentation)

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki

sudo apk add libsepol-doc

License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: libsepol
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

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

dnf95%

libsepol 3.10-1.fc44

SELinux binary policy manipulation library

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki

sudo dnf install libsepol

License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: i686
Source Package: libsepol
2 dependencies
2 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libsepol from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

libsepol-devel 3.10-1.fc44

Header files and libraries used to build policy manipulation tools

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki

sudo dnf install libsepol-devel

License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: i686
Source Package: libsepol
3 dependencies
2 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libsepol-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

libsepol-static 3.10-1.fc44

static libraries used to build policy manipulation tools

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki

sudo dnf install libsepol-static

License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: i686
Source Package: libsepol
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libsepol-static from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

libsepol-utils 3.10-1.fc44

SELinux libsepol utilities

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki

sudo dnf install libsepol-utils

License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: libsepol
4 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libsepol-utils from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

zypper95%

libsepol-devel 3.10-1.3

Development files for SELinux's binary policy manipulation library

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki/Releases

sudo zypper install libsepol-devel

License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: libsepol
3 dependencies
2 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

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

zypper95%

libsepol-devel-static 3.10-1.3

Static archives for SELinux's binary policy manipulation library

https://github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/wiki/Releases

sudo zypper install libsepol-devel-static

License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: libsepol
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Libsepol

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

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.

combined/libsepol.yml

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

Install libsepol with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, Nix, zypper

Additional install commands

macOS

Linux

Package summary

Project links

Commands and aliases

Project history and usage

Project history

Adoption history

How it is used

Why package nerds care

Timeline

Related projects

Sources

Risk level: green

Risk classifier

Why

Signals

Install behavior

Recommended review

Installed executables

Version and freshness

Package metadata

Source database details

Other package-manager records

Internal package links

Topical hubs

Related tools

Same workflow

Agent security guides

Generated from repository data

Combined YAML source

Used sources