install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install lizard

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install lizard

MacPorts ports tree · archivers/lizard/Portfile · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Efficient compressor with very fast decompression

Project links

Commands and aliases

lizardcat
unlizard

history

Project history and usage

lizard is a lossless compression utility and library by Przemyslaw Skibinski, originally published as LZ5. It is historically interesting as an experiment in the space between LZ4-style speed and zlib/zstd-style compression ratio.

Project history

The inikep/lizard repository was created on GitHub in October 2015. The README states that Lizard was formerly LZ5 and is based on Yann Collet's LZ4 library, while using a compression format that is not compatible with LZ4.

The project exposes several compression modes: fast LZ4-like levels, LIZv1 levels aimed at stronger ratios, and Huffman-coded variants. The upstream README frames the design as fast decompression without relying on SSE or AVX extensions.

Adoption history

Early public releases were named LZ5 in 2015 and 2016. The GitHub release named lizard v1.0 was published in March 2017, marking the rename visible to package managers and users.

The upstream README added a 2025 update explaining that Lizard's 2017 niche had narrowed because LZ4 and zstd had improved substantially. That makes the package more of a compression-history artifact than a default modern choice.

How it is used

The Homebrew formula installs command-line tools such as lizardcat and unlizard for working with the Lizard stream format.

For package users, Lizard matters most when reproducing older benchmark comparisons or handling data produced with the Lizard format; for new compression choices, upstream points readers toward LZ4 and zstd performance progress.

Why package nerds care

brew:lizard is the reason Homebrew's unrelated cyclomatic-complexity analyzer is packaged as lizard-analyzer. The collision is a neat example of why package names, executable names, and upstream project names do not always line up.

Compression packages often preserve niche codecs long after the mainstream ecosystem standardizes elsewhere, because archives, benchmarks, and reproducible experiments can outlive the period when a codec was a leading recommendation.

Timeline

2015: inikep/lizard repository created on GitHub.
2015: LZ5 r131b release published.
2017: lizard v1.0 release published after earlier LZ5-tagged releases.
2025: lizard v2.1 release and README update described the compressor as outdated relative to improved LZ4 and zstd.

Related projects

Lizard is directly related to LZ4 because its library is based on LZ4 while using a different format.
The upstream README compares it with zlib, zstd, and brotli, especially for low and medium compression levels.

Sources

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:compress

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.

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	Note
`lizardcat`	cli	global executable
`unlizard`	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 version2.1

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv2.1

https://github.com/inikep/lizard

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:lizard
Version	2.1
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/lizard
Homepage	https://github.com/inikep/lizard
Repository	https://github.com/inikep/lizard
Upstream docs	https://github.com/inikep/lizard#readme
License	BSD-2-Clause AND GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://github.com/inikep/lizard/archive/refs/tags/v2.1.tar.gz
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, 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	lizard
Version Scheme	1
Revision	0
Conflicts With	lizard-analyzer
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.

MacPorts95%

lizard

sudo port install lizard

normalized package name match
Matched by: Lizard

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: archivers/lizard/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.

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/lizard.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 lizard with Homebrew, MacPorts