install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install numdiff

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install numdiff

MacPorts ports tree · science/numdiff/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install numdiff

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#numdiff

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

overview

Package summary

Putative files comparison tool

Project links

Commands and aliases

ndselect
numdiff

history

Project history and usage

Numdiff is a small, long-lived NonGNU utility by Ivano Primi for comparing files that contain numeric fields. Its reason to exist is simple: ordinary `diff`, `cmp`, and `wdiff` do not know that two textual representations may be numerically equivalent, nor can they ignore numeric changes below a requested tolerance.

Project history

The official manual for Numdiff 5.9 carries copyrights from 2005 through 2017 and documents a mature Unix-style C program built with the usual `configure`, `make`, and `make install` workflow. The 5.9 manual also notes that older 5.x releases accepted fewer options and that 4.0.0 and 3.x used a different output format, so the package has a real pre-5.x history even though public narrative sources are sparse.

Adoption history

Numdiff has modest adoption: it is packaged by Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, MacPorts, Nix, and GNU Guix, but it is not a broad ecosystem cornerstone. Homebrew's formula page listed only 43 installs over 365 days on July 1, 2026, which fits the profile of a specialist testing/scientific utility that users reach for when normal diffs are too literal.

How it is used

The practical workflow is comparing generated numeric output line by line and field by field while setting absolute or relative tolerances and accepting equivalent numeric notation. Numdiff also ships `ndselect` for selecting lines and fields, and version 5.9 added a raw output format intended for machine parsing.

Why package nerds care

Numdiff is the classic package-manager long tail: tiny, stable, GPL-licensed, and exactly useful when validating numerical programs whose outputs vary by rounding, notation, platform, compiler, or BLAS implementation. It is most likely to appear in regression-test scripts, scientific-code QA, and packaging test fixtures.

Timeline

2005-2017: Years covered by the official manual copyright range.
5.9: Adds compact raw output intended for parsing by other programs.

Related projects

GNU diffutils
wdiff
cmp

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 13 platform targets.
Installs with 1 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
`ndselect`	cli	global executable
`numdiff`	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 version5.9.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://www.nongnu.org/numdiff

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.nongnu.org/numdiffnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:numdiff
Version	5.9.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/numdiff
Homepage	https://www.nongnu.org/numdiff
Upstream docs	https://www.nongnu.org/numdiff/numdiff.html
License	GPL-3.0-or-later
Source archive	https://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/numdiff/numdiff-5.9.0.tar.gz
Dependencies	gmp
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	numdiff
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.

Debian apt95%

numdiff 5.9.0-2

Compare similar files with numeric fields

https://nongnu.org/numdiff/

sudo apt install numdiff

Section: science
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Numdiff

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: numdiff from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

numdiff

nix profile install nixpkgs#numdiff

normalized package name match
Matched by: Numdiff

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

Ubuntu apt95%

numdiff 5.9.0-1

Compare similar files with numeric fields

http://nongnu.org/numdiff/

sudo apt install numdiff

Section: universe/science
Architecture: amd64
3 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Numdiff

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: numdiff from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

MacPorts95%

numdiff

sudo port install numdiff

normalized package name match
Matched by: Numdiff

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: science/numdiff/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/numdiff.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 numdiff with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix