install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install ntbtls

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#ntbtls

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

overview

Package summary

Not Too Bad TLS Library

Project links

Commands and aliases

ntbtls-config

history

Project history and usage

ntbTLS, the Not Too Bad TLS Library, is a small GnuPG-family TLS 1.2 client library intended to pair with Libgcrypt and LibKSBA. It deliberately leaves certificate verification to callers such as GnuPG's `dirmngr`.

Project history

The GnuPG wiki says ntbTLS started in 2014 as Werner Koch's stripped-down fork of PolarSSL, later known as mbedTLS, using Libgcrypt and existing GnuPG modules for X.509 handling. The official page says the code replaced PolarSSL crypto with Libgcrypt, removed older SSL/TLS protocol support, and has been used by the GnuPG version of Gpg4win since 2017.

Adoption history

ntbTLS is narrow infrastructure rather than a general TLS competitor. The GnuPG libraries page lists it under other GnuPG-related libraries, while the project page frames it as a good fit where GnuPG already has certificate verification and wants to avoid pulling in another TLS library's crypto stack.

The release directory shows public tarballs from 0.1.0 on February 21, 2017 through 0.3.2 on January 12, 2024. On July 1, 2026, Homebrew listed ntbTLS 0.3.2 with 62 installs in its 365-day analytics window, which matches its specialized role.

How it is used

Package users usually encounter `ntbtls-config` and the library as build-time plumbing for GnuPG-adjacent software. It is not a drop-in OpenSSL replacement: the README says the server part and TLS 1.3 are not implemented in version 0.3, and callers must do certificate verification themselves.

Why package nerds care

ntbTLS matters because it shows the GnuPG project's preference for minimizing independent crypto implementations inside the stack. For packagers, the important details are its Libgcrypt/LibKSBA dependencies, GPL licensing, and intentionally limited protocol surface.

Timeline

2014: ntbTLS began as a stripped-down PolarSSL fork.
February 21, 2017: the GnuPG file area published ntbtls-0.1.0.
2017: Gpg4win's GnuPG build began using ntbTLS.
January 12, 2024: ntbtls-0.3.2 tarball date in the GnuPG file area.
July 1, 2026: Homebrew listed stable version 0.3.2.

Related projects

Libgcrypt supplies cryptographic primitives.
LibKSBA supplies X.509 and CMS handling.
PolarSSL/mbedTLS is the historical source base for the TLS protocol code.
GnuPG and Gpg4win are the main practical ecosystem.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for ntbtls. 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 3 runtime 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
`ntbtls-config`	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 version0.3.2

manager updated2026-06-22

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://gnupg.org/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://gnupg.org/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:ntbtls
Version	0.3.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ntbtls
Homepage	https://gnupg.org/
Repository	https://dev.gnupg.org/source/ntbtls
Upstream docs	https://www.gnupg.org/software/ntbtls/index.html
License	GPL-3.0-or-later
Source archive	https://gnupg.org/ftp/gcrypt/ntbtls/ntbtls-0.3.2.tar.bz2
Last updated	2026-06-22T14:05:38-07:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	libgcrypt, libgpg-error, libksba
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	ntbtls
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%

ntbtls

nix profile install nixpkgs#ntbtls

normalized package name match
Matched by: Ntbtls

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/nt/ntbtls/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/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/ntbtls.yml

Used sources

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 ntbtls with Homebrew, Nix