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brew

Install libtar with Homebrew, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, apt, zypper

C library for manipulating POSIX tar files. Version 1.2.20 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libtar

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install libtar

MacPorts ports tree · devel/libtar/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libtar

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

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libtar

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S libtar

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

Ubuntu aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libtar-dev

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · libtar-dev · source: archive.ubuntu.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install libtar

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · libtar · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

C library for manipulating POSIX tar files

Commands and aliases

  • libtar

history

Project history and usage

libtar is a small C library for manipulating POSIX tar archives. Its history is thinly documented, but the maintained source page identifies it as a Mark Roth project kept alive through a maintenance repository for packagers and downstream users.

Project history

The package is associated with Mark Roth and the University of Illinois era of late-1990s and early-2000s Unix utility code. The repo.or.cz project page describes the hosted tree as a maintenance repository for libtar, temporarily run by Chris Frey until Mark Roth resumed development.

The maintained repository shifted the project from tarball-style upstream releases toward tagged source snapshots. The page explicitly says no tarball releases would be done from that maintenance repo and directs users to grab tagged sources instead.

Adoption history

libtar's adoption is mostly downstream and infrastructural rather than user-facing. The input metadata shows packaging in Homebrew, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Ubuntu, and openSUSE families, which matches its niche as a C library that other software can link when it needs tar archive operations without invoking the tar command.

How it is used

The library is used by C programs that need to read, write, append, or extract tar archives through an API. Its appeal is that it gives applications direct archive manipulation while preserving familiar POSIX tar semantics.

Why package nerds care

libtar is package-nerd glue: a small C dependency that exists so build systems and applications do not need to shell out or vendor tar handling. Its repo.or.cz maintenance status also illustrates a common packaging reality: useful libraries can outlive their original release process because distributions still need a canonical source.

Timeline

  • 1998-2003: Copyright ranges in downstream source copies identify the original Mark Roth and University of Illinois development period.
  • 2013: The repo.or.cz maintenance repository records libtar 1.2.20 and a short burst of portability and correctness fixes.
  • 2013: The maintained repository states that tagged source snapshots, rather than new tarball releases from that tree, are the distribution path.

Related projects

  • GNU tar and libarchive occupy adjacent archive-handling territory; libtar is narrower, with a C API focused on tar files.

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 3 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
libtarcliglobal 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 version1.2.20
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://repo.or.cz/libtar

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://repo.or.cz/libtarnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:libtar
Version1.2.20
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libtar
Homepagehttps://repo.or.cz/libtar.git
Repositoryhttps://repo.or.cz/libtar.git
Upstream docshttps://repo.or.cz/libtar.git
LicenseNCSA
Source archivehttps://repo.or.cz/libtar.git
Build dependenciesautoconf, automake, libtool
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 Namelibtar
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.

Nix95%

libtar

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

libtar-dev 1.2.20-8.1build1

C library for manipulating tar archives (development files)

http://repo.or.cz/w/libtar.git

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

libtar0t64 1.2.20-8.1build1

C library for manipulating tar archives

http://repo.or.cz/w/libtar.git

sudo apt install libtar0t64
  • Section: universe/libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: libtar
  • 1 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libtar
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libtar0t64 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
dnf95%

libtar 1.2.20-35.fc44

Tar file manipulation API

http://repo.or.cz/libtar.git

sudo dnf install libtar
  • License: MIT
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: libtar
  • 3 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libtar
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libtar from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

libtar-devel 1.2.20-35.fc44

Development files for libtar

http://repo.or.cz/libtar.git

sudo dnf install libtar-devel
  • License: MIT
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: libtar
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libtar
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libtar-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

libtar 1.2.20-8

C library for manipulating POSIX tar files

https://repo.or.cz/w/libtar.git

sudo pacman -S libtar
  • License: BSD
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libtar
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: libtar from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

libtar 1.2.20-2.27

Tar file manipulation API

http://www.feep.net/libtar/

sudo zypper install libtar
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: libtar
  • 3 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libtar
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libtar from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

libtar-devel 1.2.20-2.27

Development files for libtar

http://www.feep.net/libtar/

sudo zypper install libtar-devel
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: libtar
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libtar
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libtar-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

libtar1 1.2.20-2.27

Shared library for libtar

http://www.feep.net/libtar/

sudo zypper install libtar1
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Category: System/Libraries
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: libtar
  • 2 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libtar
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libtar1 from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

libtar

sudo port install libtar
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Libtar
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: devel/libtar/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

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

Related tools

  • autoconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • automakeBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • libtoolBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

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  • libsvmShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, not-completed, other.
  • libtasn1Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, not-completed, other.
  • libteclaShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, not-completed, other.

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