# Install magics with Homebrew, apt ECMWF's meteorological plotting software. Version 4.16.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:magics ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install magics ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install libmagics++-data ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libmagics++-data from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:magics - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 4.16.0 - **Source summary:** ECMWF's meteorological plotting software - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - magics (cli) - magicsCompatibilityChecker (cli) - magjson (cli) - magjsonx (cli) - magml (cli) - magmlx (cli) - metgram (cli) - metgram.sh (cli) - metgramx (cli) - magics (alias) - magicsCompatibilityChecker (alias) - magjson (alias) - magjsonx (alias) - magml (alias) - magmlx (alias) - metgram (alias) - metgram.sh (alias) - metgramx (alias) ## Dependencies - cairo - eccodes - gettext - glib - harfbuzz - netcdf - pango - proj - qtbase ## Build dependencies - cmake - pkgconf ## Uses from macOS - expat ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 4.16.0 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://confluence.ecmwf.int/display/MAGP/Magics - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## 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. ### Sources - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** magics - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - libmagics++-data - 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libmagics++-data from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Data files needed for magics++ library | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Debian apt - libmagics++-dev - 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libmagics++-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Development files for ECMWF plotting software MAGICS++ | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Debian apt - libmagics++-metview-dev - 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libmagics++-metview-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Libraries needed for building MetView | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Debian apt - libmagplus3v5 - 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libmagplus3v5 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | ECMWF meteorological plotting software library | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Debian apt - magics++ - 4.16.0+really4.15.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: magics++ from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Executables for the magics++ library | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Ubuntu apt - libmagics++-data - 4.15.3-1build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmagics++-data from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Data files needed for magics++ library | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Ubuntu apt - libmagics++-dev - 4.15.3-1build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmagics++-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Development files for ECMWF plotting software MAGICS++ | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Ubuntu apt - libmagics++-metview-dev - 4.15.3-1build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmagics++-metview-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Libraries needed for building MetView | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Ubuntu apt - libmagplus3v5 - 4.15.3-1build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libmagplus3v5 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | ECMWF meteorological plotting software library | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics - Ubuntu apt - magics++ - 4.15.3-1build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: magics++ from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Executables for the magics++ library | https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/display/MAGP/Magics ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Media and graphics packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/media-graphics-tools/) - Matched media, image, audio, video, or graphics metadata. - [Database and data packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/database-data-tools/) - Matched database, SQL, migration, or data-store metadata. - [cairo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cairo/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [eccodes](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/eccodes/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [gettext](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gettext/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [glib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/glib/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [harfbuzz](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/harfbuzz/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [netcdf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/netcdf/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pango](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pango/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [proj](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/proj/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [cmake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cmake/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [metview](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/metview/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [grace](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/grace/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, plotting, science, visualization. - [libgr](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libgr/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, plotting, science, visualization. - [gnuplot](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gnuplot/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, plotting, science, visualization. - [vtk](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/vtk/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, science, visualization. - [geomview](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/geomview/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, science, visualization. - [cdi](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cdi/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, meteorology, science. - [gabedit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gabedit/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, science, visualization. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/magics.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/magics.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph