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brew

Install magics with Homebrew, apt

ECMWF's meteorological plotting software. Version 4.16.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install magics

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libmagics++-data

Debian stable package indexes · libmagics++-data · source: deb.debian.org

overview

Package summary

ECMWF's meteorological plotting software

Commands and aliases

  • magics
  • magicsCompatibilityChecker
  • magjson
  • magjsonx
  • magml
  • magmlx
  • metgram
  • metgram.sh
  • metgramx

history

Project history and usage

Magics is ECMWF's meteorological plotting package for visualising weather and climate data. It supports GRIB, NetCDF, BUFR, and ODB data and produces map and chart output in formats such as PostScript, PDF, PNG, GIF, and SVG.

Project history

The official ECMWF page describes Magics as meteorological plotting software accessible directly through Python or Fortran interfaces or through Metview. The project supports meteorological-specific plot types including contours, wind fields, observations, satellite images, symbols, axes, text, and graphs.

Its visible release history predates the public GitHub mirror. The ECMWF Confluence release list includes Magics 2.x tarballs in 2012, the 2.22 series moving installation to CMake in 2015, Magics 3.0.0 becoming Python 3 ready in December 2017, and Magics 4.0.0 as a production release in February 2019.

Adoption history

Magics adoption is concentrated in meteorology, earth-science, and ECMWF workflows rather than general-purpose CLI use. The official documentation ties it to ECMWF's ecCodes for GRIB handling and to Metview, while the companion `magics-python` repository packages the Python interface.

The supplied Homebrew input shows packaged availability in Homebrew and Debian/Ubuntu as `libmagics++-data`. ECMWF's page also advertises PyPI, Conda, and Docker badges, which fits its scientific-computing distribution model.

How it is used

Users call Magics through Python, Fortran, Metview, or command-line helpers to produce meteorological plots from GRIB, BUFR, NetCDF, ODB, and gridded fields. It is infrastructure-like plotting software rather than a single-purpose command.

Package-manager users usually care that the native Magics libraries and data files are present because higher-level ECMWF tools, notebooks, and Python bindings depend on them.

Why package nerds care

Magics is package-nerd significant because it is a domain-specific native stack with scientific data formats, C++ and Fortran code, Python bindings, and data assets. It tends to surface in formulae and distro packages as part of the ECMWF weather-toolchain cluster with ecCodes and Metview.

Its release trail is valuable for maintainers because ABI, CMake, Python, and format support changes matter to downstream meteorological software.

Timeline

  • 2012: Magics 2.x source tarballs appear in ECMWF's release list.
  • 2015: Magics 2.22 installation changed to CMake.
  • 2017: Magics 3.0.0 released as the first Python 3 ready version.
  • 2019: Magics 4.0.0 production release published.
  • 2025: Magics 4.16.0 source tarball published on ECMWF Confluence.

Related projects

  • ecCodes handles GRIB data used by Magics.
  • Metview can use Magics for plotting.
  • magics-python provides the Python interface to the Magics plotting package.

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.
  • Installs with 9 runtime dependencies.
  • Build metadata lists 2 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
magicscliglobal executable
magicsCompatibilityCheckercliglobal executable
magjsoncliglobal executable
magjsonxcliglobal executable
magmlcliglobal executable
magmlxcliglobal executable
metgramcliglobal executable
metgram.shcliglobal executable
metgramxcliglobal 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 version4.16.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://confluence.ecmwf.int/display/MAGP/Magics

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:magics
Version4.16.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/magics
Homepagehttps://confluence.ecmwf.int/display/MAGP/Magics
Repositoryhttps://github.com/ecmwf/magics
Upstream docshttps://confluence.ecmwf.int/display/MAGP/Magics
LicenseApache-2.0
Source archivehttps://confluence.ecmwf.int/download/attachments/3473464/Magics-4.16.0-Source.tar.gz
Dependenciescairo, eccodes, gettext, glib, harfbuzz, netcdf, pango, proj, qtbase
Build dependenciescmake, pkgconf
Uses from macOSexpat
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 Namemagics
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.

Debian apt95%

libmagics++-data 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1

Data files needed for magics++ library

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

sudo apt install libmagics++-data
  • Section: utils
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: magics++
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Magics
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmagics++-data from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

libmagics++-dev 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1

Development files for ECMWF plotting software MAGICS++

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

sudo apt install libmagics++-dev
  • Section: libdevel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: magics++
  • 6 dependencies
  • 1 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Magics
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmagics++-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

libmagics++-metview-dev 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1

Libraries needed for building MetView

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

sudo apt install libmagics++-metview-dev
  • Section: utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: magics++
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Magics
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmagics++-metview-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

libmagplus3v5 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1

ECMWF meteorological plotting software library

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

sudo apt install libmagplus3v5
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: magics++
  • 22 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Magics
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libmagplus3v5 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

magics++ 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1

Executables for the magics++ library

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

sudo apt install magics++
  • Section: utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 7 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Magics
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: magics++ from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Ubuntu apt95%

libmagics++-data 4.15.3-1build2

Data files needed for magics++ library

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

sudo apt install libmagics++-data
  • Section: universe/utils
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: magics++
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Magics
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmagics++-data from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

libmagics++-dev 4.15.3-1build2

Development files for ECMWF plotting software MAGICS++

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

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

libmagics++-metview-dev 4.15.3-1build2

Libraries needed for building MetView

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

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

libmagplus3v5 4.15.3-1build2

ECMWF meteorological plotting software library

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

sudo apt install libmagplus3v5
  • Section: universe/libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: magics++
  • 22 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Magics
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmagplus3v5 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

magics++ 4.15.3-1build2

Executables for the magics++ library

https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics

sudo apt install magics++
  • Section: universe/utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 7 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Magics
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: magics++ from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

package graph

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

Related tools

  • cairoRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • eccodesRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • gettextRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • glibRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • harfbuzzRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • netcdfRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • pangoRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • projRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • graceShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, plotting, science, visualization.
  • libgrShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, plotting, science, visualization.
  • gnuplotShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, plotting, science, visualization.
  • vtkShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, science, visualization.
  • geomviewShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, science, visualization.
  • cdiShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, meteorology, science.

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