Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install netmask with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix

IP address netmask generation utility. Version 2.5.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-14.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install netmask

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install netmask

Debian stable package indexes · netmask · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install netmask

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · netmask · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#netmask

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

overview

Package summary

IP address netmask generation utility

Commands and aliases

  • netmask

history

Project history and usage

netmask is a tiny IPv4 network-mask formatting and range utility. The upstream README describes it as a handy tool for generating terse netmasks in common formats, cleaning up sloppy firewall rules, generalizing address ranges, and converting between netmask formats.

Project history

The available public history is thin. The GitHub repository is small, with 18 commits shown when checked, and GitHub listed 2.5.0 as the latest release on 2025-07-27. The source tree includes traditional Unix packaging artifacts such as a man page, Texinfo, Autotools files, Debian metadata, and tests.

Adoption history

Adoption is distro-tool level rather than ecosystem level. Debian packages it as `netmask` and describes it as a tiny program useful for firewalls, routers, and shell scripts; Homebrew packages version 2.5.0 and reported 247 installs over 365 days in its 2026-07-01 API output.

How it is used

Package users run `netmask` when they need to turn address ranges into the smallest set of masks or convert between common address/netmask notations. Debian's package description explicitly calls out firewall and router work, plus use as a helper from shell scripts.

This is not a service and not a library in the package-manager sense. Its value is that it is faster and less error-prone than doing subnet arithmetic by hand while editing firewall rules or migration scripts.

Why package nerds care

netmask is the kind of small C utility that package indexes keep because network admins occasionally need it and because it has a stable, well-bounded job. The history is not rich enough to justify a high-confidence origin story.

Timeline

  • 2025-07-27: GitHub listed 2.5.0 as the latest release.
  • 2026-07-01: Homebrew formula API reported version 2.5.0 and 247 installs over 365 days.

Related projects

  • ipcalc
  • gip
  • firewall rule tooling

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for netmask. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
  • Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
  • Build metadata lists 5 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
netmaskcliglobal 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 version2.5.0
manager updated2026-05-14
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv2.5.0

https://github.com/tlby/netmask

  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:netmask
Version2.5.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/netmask
Homepagehttps://github.com/tlby/netmask
Repositoryhttps://github.com/tlby/netmask
Upstream docshttps://github.com/tlby/netmask#readme
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://github.com/tlby/netmask/archive/refs/tags/v2.5.0.tar.gz
Last updated2026-05-14T20:19:44Z
Pulseupdated
Dependenciescheck
Build dependenciesautoconf, autoconf-archive, automake, pkgconf, texinfo
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 Namenetmask
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%

netmask 2.4.4-4

helps determine network masks

https://github.com/tlby/netmask

sudo apt install netmask
  • Section: net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netmask
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: netmask from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

netmask

nix profile install nixpkgs#netmask
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netmask
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ne/netmask/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

netmask 2.4.4-4build1

helps determine network masks

https://github.com/tlby/netmask

sudo apt install netmask
  • Section: universe/net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netmask
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: netmask from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
dnf95%

netmask 2.5.0-3.fc44

Utility for determining network masks

https://github.com/tlby/netmask

sudo dnf install netmask
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: netmask
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netmask
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: netmask from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

package graph

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

Related tools

  • checkRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • autoconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • automakeBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • pkgconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • mapcidrShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, ip-addressing, networking, subnet.
  • cidrShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, ip-addressing, networking.
  • cidr2rangeShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, ip-addressing, networking.
  • cidrmergeShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, ip-addressing, networking.
  • ipinfoShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, ip-addressing, networking, subnet.
  • pripsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, ip-addressing, networking.

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