macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install ncolocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install ncoMacPorts ports tree · science/nco/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install nco with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper
Command-line operators for netCDF and HDF files. Version 5.3.9 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install ncoDebian stable package indexes · nco · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install ncoFedora Rawhide package metadata · nco · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#nconixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/nc/nco/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install libnco-5_3_9openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · libnco-5_3_9 · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Command-line operators for netCDF and HDF files
Project links
Commands and aliases
- ncap2
- ncatted
- ncbo
- ncchecker
- ncclimo
- ncdiff
- ncea
- ncecat
- nces
- ncflint
- ncks
- ncpdq
- ncra
- ncrcat
- ncremap
- ncrename
- ncwa
- ncz2psx
history
Project history and usage
NCO, the netCDF Operators, is a suite of standalone shell commands for manipulating netCDF, HDF, and DAP scientific-data files. The project sits in the geoscience data-tooling world: derive fields, compute statistics, print and hyperslab data, edit metadata, concatenate files, regrid data, and emit text, binary, or netCDF outputs.
Project history
Charlie Zender's NCO documentation traces the package back to software needs from NCAR, NASA, and ARM-funded work, with copyright beginning in 1995 and a May 1997 foreword offering the tools freely to the scientific community. Unidata's netCDF history places NCO 1.0 in June 1997, one month after netCDF 3.3.
Adoption history
NCO became a durable part of the netCDF ecosystem because it gives scientists scriptable Unix-style tools instead of requiring a custom C, Fortran, Python, MATLAB, or IDL program for every data-editing task. The project says SourceForge began hosting NCO in March 2000, which helped collaboration, contributions, and support.
How it is used
Package users reach for commands like ncks for inspection and extraction, ncrcat for record concatenation, ncra or ncwa for averages, ncatted and ncrename for metadata cleanup, ncap2 for derived variables, and ncremap/ncclimo for climate and regridding workflows. The shell-command style is the point: build reproducible data-processing pipelines with normal scripts.
Why package nerds care
NCO is a classic example of domain-specific CLI tooling that stayed relevant because the file format stayed relevant. It is important for package collections because it bridges lower-level libraries such as netCDF and HDF with practical batch workflows used by climate, atmospheric, oceanographic, and earth-system researchers.
Timeline
- 1995: NCO source/documentation copyright begins and the project describes itself as GPL open source since 1995.
- June 1997: Unidata history records Charlie Zender releasing NCO 1.0.
- March 2000: SourceForge hosting begins for collaboration and support.
- 2008: Recommended software citation published in Environmental Modelling & Software.
- 2020s: 5.x releases continue adding climate, remapping, compression, and model-workflow features.
Related projects
- netCDF, HDF4, HDF5, DAP, OPeNDAP, Unidata, ESMF, climate and geoscience model outputs
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.
- Installs with 5 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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
ncap2 | cli | global executable | |
ncatted | cli | global executable | |
ncbo | cli | global executable | |
ncchecker | cli | global executable | |
ncclimo | cli | global executable | |
ncdiff | cli | global executable | |
ncea | cli | global executable | |
ncecat | cli | global executable | |
nces | cli | global executable | |
ncflint | cli | global executable | |
ncks | cli | global executable | |
ncpdq | cli | global executable | |
ncra | cli | global executable | |
ncrcat | cli | global executable | |
ncremap | cli | global executable | |
ncrename | cli | global executable | |
ncwa | cli | global executable | |
ncz2psx | 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 version5.3.9
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected5.3.9
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:nco |
|---|---|
| Version | 5.3.9 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nco |
| Homepage | https://nco.sourceforge.net/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/nco/nco |
| Upstream docs | https://nco.sourceforge.net/ |
| License | BSD-3-Clause |
| Source archive | https://github.com/nco/nco/archive/refs/tags/5.3.9.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-22T14:05:35-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | gettext, gsl, netcdf, texinfo, udunits |
| Build dependencies | gettext, openjdk |
| 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 | nco |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| 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.
Debian apt95%
nco 5.3.3-1
Command-line operators to analyze netCDF files
sudo apt install nco- Section: science
- Architecture: amd64
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
Nix95%
nco
nix profile install nixpkgs#nco- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
Ubuntu apt95%
nco 5.2.1-1build2
Command-line operators to analyze netCDF files
sudo apt install nco- Section: universe/math
- Architecture: amd64
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
dnf95%
nco 5.3.9-1.fc45
Suite of programs for manipulating NetCDF/HDF4 files
sudo dnf install nco- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nco
- 14 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
dnf95%
nco-devel 5.3.9-1.fc45
Development files for NCO
sudo dnf install nco-devel- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: nco
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
dnf95%
nco-static 5.3.9-1.fc45
Static libraries for NCO
sudo dnf install nco-static- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: nco
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
zypper95%
libnco-5_3_9 5.3.9-1.1
Libraries for accessing nco
sudo zypper install libnco-5_3_9- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: System/Libraries
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nco
- 8 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
zypper95%
libnco-devel 5.3.9-1.1
Development files for nco
sudo zypper install libnco-devel- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nco
- 2 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
zypper95%
libnco_c++-5_3_9 5.3.9-1.1
Libraries for accessing nco
sudo zypper install libnco_c++-5_3_9- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: System/Libraries
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nco
- 5 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
zypper95%
nco 5.3.9-1.1
Suite of programs for manipulating NetCDF/HDF files
sudo zypper install nco- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Productivity/Scientific/Other
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nco
- 9 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
zypper95%
nco-doc 5.3.9-1.1
Documentation for nco
sudo zypper install nco-doc- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Documentation/HTML
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: nco
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
MacPorts95%
nco
sudo port install nco- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nco
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