# Install nip4 with Homebrew, scoop, dnf, Nix

Image processing spreadsheet. Version 9.1.5 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-07.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:nip4
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install nip4
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install snip
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: snip from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#snip
```

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

### Windows

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install extras/nip4
```

  Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/nip4.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:nip4
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Package manager page:** <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nip4>
- **Version:** 9.1.5
- **Source summary:** Image processing spreadsheet
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/libvips/nip4>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/libvips/nip4>
- **Upstream docs:** <https://github.com/libvips/nip4#readme>
- **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later
- **Source archive:** <https://github.com/libvips/nip4/releases/download/v9.1.5/nip4-9.1.5.tar.xz>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-07T14:59:01Z
- **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00

## Executables

- nip4 (cli)
- snip (cli)
- nip4 (alias)
- snip (alias)

## Dependencies

- cairo
- gdk-pixbuf
- gettext
- glib
- graphene
- gsl
- gtk4
- hicolor-icon-theme
- libxml2
- pango
- vips

## Build dependencies

- bison
- flex
- meson
- ninja
- pkgconf

## 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: 9.1.5
- Package-manager updated: 2026-07-07
- Local data: ok
- Upstream repository: https://github.com/libvips/nip4
- info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available.
## Project history and usage

nip4 is the modern libvips graphical image-processing spreadsheet: users build formula-driven image-processing workspaces, watch recalculation live, and can batch-run those workspaces without the GUI through `snip`. It is niche, but serious niche: the official docs describe workflows with more than 10,000 cells and hundreds of gigabytes of imagery.

### Project history

nip4 is explicitly a reworking of nip2 for GTK4 and the vips8 image-processing API. The libvips post for nip2 users says nip2 was mostly finished around 2000, had its last major feature around 2005, and became difficult to maintain because libvips-7, GTK2, and goffice-0.8 aged out. nip4's stated goals include loading and processing all nip2 workspaces, using GTK4, switching to libvips-8, simplifying the interface, and improving distribution across Linux, macOS, and Windows.

The libvips progress post on October 19, 2024 described work to complete nip4, remove old vips7 code, and make it run the old nip2 test suite. A March 12, 2025 post announced a test release working on Linux, Windows, and macOS, and a March 20, 2025 introduction presented nip4 as mostly done. A June 3, 2026 post described a newer batch mode built around `snip`, the command-line interpreter for the nip4 language.

### Adoption history

nip4 adoption follows libvips rather than a mass desktop-app path. The libvips homepage calls nip4 the official libvips GUI and places it in an ecosystem where libvips itself powers image processing in projects such as sharp, Mastodon, imgproxy, MediaWiki, and others. nip4 is for people who need interactive construction of large image-processing pipelines, not for casual photo editing.

On 2026-07-01, Homebrew listed nip4 9.1.5 with 965 installs over 365 days. That is small in absolute package-manager terms but credible for a GUI scientific/media tool with recent cross-platform packaging.

### How it is used

The GUI workflow is spreadsheet-like: load images into cells, apply toolkit operations or edit formulas, reorder and duplicate columns, open live image windows, and exploit libvips demand-driven evaluation so enormous images can be inspected interactively. The introduction emphasizes that only pixels needed for the display are computed until a final save or batch run.

`snip` is the package-nerd hook. It can evaluate expressions, run scripts, load nip4 or nip2 workspaces, patch them, save results, and apply a workspace to many files from the shell. That makes nip4 more than a GUI package: it also exposes a scriptable batch engine for pipelines developed interactively.

### Why package nerds care

nip4 is significant as a rare GUI-plus-CLI package where the GUI is a visual programming environment and the CLI executes the same model. It also marks a migration point for libvips: completing nip4 helps retire the old vips7-dependent nip2 path.

### Timeline

- {'date': '2000', 'event': 'libvips post says nip2 was mostly finished around this time.'}
- {'date': '2005', 'event': "libvips post says nip2's final major feature landed around this time."}
- {'date': '2024-10-19', 'event': 'libvips progress post described nip4 completion work and vips7 removal goals.'}
- {'date': '2025-03-12', 'event': 'nip4 test release announced for Linux, Windows, and macOS.'}
- {'date': '2026-06-03', 'event': 'libvips post described the newer `snip` batch mode.'}

### Related projects

- libvips
- nip2
- snip
- vipsdisp

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nip4>
- <https://github.com/libvips/nip4>
- <https://www.libvips.org/>
- <https://www.libvips.org/2024/10/19/nip4-Progress.html>
- <https://www.libvips.org/2025/03/12/nip4-for-nip2-users.html>
- <https://www.libvips.org/2025/03/20/introduction-to-nip4.html>
- <https://www.libvips.org/2026/06/03/nip4-batch-mode.html>


## Security Notes

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for nip4. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.


## Source Database Details

- **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API
- **Tap:** homebrew/core
- **Full Name:** nip4
- **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:** head, stable

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Scoop - extras/nip4: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/nip4.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Nix - snip: installed executable or alias match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/sn/snip/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- dnf - snip - 0.11-31.fc44: installed executable or alias match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: snip from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | An Ant task designed to help with the single-sourcing of program documentation | http://www.martiansoftware.com/lab/snip/
- dnf - snip-javadoc - 0.11-31.fc44: installed executable or alias match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: snip-javadoc from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Javadocs for snip | http://www.martiansoftware.com/lab/snip/


## Related links

- [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family.
- [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.
- [cairo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cairo/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [gdk-pixbuf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gdk-pixbuf/) - 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.
- [gsl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gsl/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [gtk4](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gtk4/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [bison](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bison/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [flex](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/flex/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [meson](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/meson/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [ninja](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ninja/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [lutgen](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/lutgen/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, gui, image-processing, media.
- [babl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/babl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media.
- [caire](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/caire/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media.
- [camellia](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/camellia/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media.
- [epsilon](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/epsilon/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media.
- [exact-image](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/exact-image/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media.
- [exiftran](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/exiftran/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media.
- [faceprints](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/faceprints/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media.
- [vipsdisp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/vipsdisp/) - Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: cairo, cli, gdk, gdk-pixbuf, glib.
- [vips](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/vips/) - Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: cairo, cli, gettext, glib, image.
- [pqiv](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pqiv/) - Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: cairo, cli, gdk, gdk-pixbuf, gettext.

## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/nip4.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/nip4.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