macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install lwtoolslocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install lwtools with Homebrew, dnf
Cross-development tools for Motorola 6809 and Hitachi 6309. Version 4.24 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install lwtoolsFedora Rawhide package metadata · lwtools · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
overview
Package summary
Cross-development tools for Motorola 6809 and Hitachi 6309
Project links
Commands and aliases
- lwar
- lwasm
- lwcc-cpp
- lwlink
- lwobjdump
history
Project history and usage
LWTOOLS is a cross-development toolchain for Motorola 6809 and Hitachi 6309 systems. It includes the LWASM assembler, LWLINK linker, LWAR archiver, object-dump tooling, and related support for raw binaries, CoCo LOADM/DECB formats, object files, and later linking.
Project history
The official homepage says LWTOOLS began in 2006 when William Astle wanted an assembler with features missing from the alternatives available for his Color Computer 3 operating-system work. The manual history says LWASM grew out of that need for macros and correct forward-reference handling, with LWASM 1.0 released in October 2008.
As the operating-system project grew, assembling everything through a single source file became impractical. That led to object-file support in LWASM and the LWLINK project. The homepage records the first combined LWTOOLS release on January 29, 2009 after separate LWASM and LWLINK releases.
Adoption history
LWTOOLS adoption is concentrated in retrocomputing and 6809/6309 cross-development communities rather than broad mainstream package use. It is packaged by Homebrew and Fedora-family packaging, and the official homepage provides source releases, contributed binaries, and an active Mercurial repository.
The upstream release list shows continued maintenance through LWTOOLS 4.24 in April 2025, while the Mercurial log showed new toolchain and GCC 6809-related commits in June 2026.
How it is used
The usual source build is simply `make` at the top of the source tree, with binaries produced in the lwasm, lwlink, and lwar directories and installed with `make install`. The manual documents output formats including raw binaries, DECB binaries, ASCII hex, Motorola S-record, Intel Hex, OS-9 modules, and object files.
Typical package-manager users install it to obtain `lwasm`, `lwlink`, `lwar`, and related inspection tools for assembling and linking 6809/6309 programs on a modern host.
Why package nerds care
LWTOOLS is package-nerd significant as a maintained retro cross-toolchain with a narrow but serious audience. It packages old-CPU development knowledge into normal Unix build/install conventions, which is exactly the kind of niche tool that package managers keep discoverable.
Timeline
- 2006: LWASM work begins for Color Computer 3 operating-system development.
- 2008: LWASM 1.0 released.
- 2009: Initial combined LWTOOLS release published.
- 2025: LWTOOLS 4.24 release published.
- 2026: Official Mercurial repository shows active commits.
Related projects
- LWASM is the assembler component.
- LWLINK is the linker component.
- LWAR is the archiver component.
- gcc6809-related patches and scripts appear in the upstream Mercurial history.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
lwar | cli | global executable | |
lwasm | cli | global executable | |
lwcc-cpp | cli | global executable | |
lwlink | cli | global executable | |
lwobjdump | 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 version4.24
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.lwtools.ca/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:lwtools |
|---|---|
| Version | 4.24 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/lwtools |
| Homepage | https://www.lwtools.ca/ |
| Repository | http://lwtools.projects.l-w.ca/hg |
| Upstream docs | https://www.lwtools.ca/ |
| License | GPL-3.0-only |
| Source archive | https://www.lwtools.ca/releases/lwtools/lwtools-4.24.tar.gz |
| 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 | lwtools |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
dnf95%
lwtools 4.24-3.fc44
Cross-development tool chain for Motorola 6809 and Hitachi 6309
sudo dnf install lwtools- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: lwtools
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lwtools
dnf95%
lwtools-doc 4.24-3.fc44
Documentation for the LWTOOLS cross-development tool chain
sudo dnf install lwtools-doc- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: lwtools
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lwtools
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.
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