install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install mp3cat

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install mp3cat

MacPorts ports tree · audio/mp3cat/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#mp3cat

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/mp/mp3cat/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Reads and writes mp3 files

Project links

Commands and aliases

mp3cat
mp3dirclean
mp3http
mp3log
mp3log-conf
mp3stream-conf

history

Project history and usage

mp3cat is a small Unix-style MP3 stream utility distributed from Tom Clegg's site and GitHub repository. Its core behavior is deliberately narrow: it copies a byte stream while skipping everything except MP3 frames with valid headers, so it can clean concatenated or noisy input and write the remaining frames to standard output or to its own directory format.

Project history

The distinctive feature is the "mp3dir" workflow. Instead of producing one file, mp3cat can append valid frames to current.mp3 and rotate timestamped segment files after a size threshold. The same format can be read like a following log: mp3cat waits at the end of current.mp3, notices rotations, and continues from the next file. The accompanying tools, including mp3log-conf and mp3stream-conf, place it in the same practical niche as daemontools-style audio logging and simple MP3 streaming.

How it is used

The project page says the software was written for Kootenay Cooperative Radio in Nelson, British Columbia, and presents a live-radio use case: record from a sound card into an mp3dir, clean old segments, and stream the directory to network clients. In package managers it is a niche command-line audio utility rather than a general editor or encoder; Homebrew describes it simply as a tool that reads and writes MP3 files.

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:http,stream

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 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
`mp3cat`	cli	global executable
`mp3dirclean`	cli	global executable
`mp3http`	cli	global executable
`mp3log`	cli	global executable
`mp3log-conf`	cli	global executable
`mp3stream-conf`	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 version0.5

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detected0.5

https://github.com/tomclegg/mp3cat

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:mp3cat
Version	0.5
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mp3cat
Homepage	https://tomclegg.ca/mp3cat
Repository	https://github.com/tomclegg/mp3cat
Upstream docs	https://github.com/tomclegg/mp3cat#readme
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://github.com/tomclegg/mp3cat/archive/refs/tags/0.5.tar.gz
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, 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	mp3cat
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
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.

Nix95%

mp3cat

nix profile install nixpkgs#mp3cat

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mp3cat

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/mp/mp3cat/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

MacPorts95%

mp3cat

sudo port install mp3cat

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mp3cat

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: audio/mp3cat/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/mp3cat.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 mp3cat with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix