macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install openal-softlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install openal-softMacPorts ports tree · audio/openal-soft/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install openal-soft with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper
Implementation of the OpenAL 3D audio API. Version 1.25.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-12.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add openal-softAlpine Linux edge package indexes · openal-soft · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libopenal-dataDebian stable package indexes · libopenal-data · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install openal-softFedora Rawhide package metadata · openal-soft · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#openal-softnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/op/openal-soft/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install libopenal0openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · libopenal0 · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Implementation of the OpenAL 3D audio API
Project links
Commands and aliases
- openal-info
history
Project history and usage
OpenAL Soft is a cross-platform, LGPL-licensed software implementation of the OpenAL 3D audio API. It provides spatial audio features such as distance attenuation, Doppler shift, directional sound emitters, environmental effects, streaming audio, multi-channel buffers, and audio capture.
Project history
The project traces its lineage to the open-sourced Windows implementation of OpenAL once hosted at openal.org's Subversion repository. OpenAL Soft forked that codebase and developed into a maintained software renderer after the original OpenAL sample implementation became deprecated and less central to the ecosystem.
The GitHub repository dates to August 24, 2014, but the OpenAL Soft release archive contains earlier 1.x tarballs, showing that the project predates its GitHub-hosted development. Its official documentation and README emphasize portability, CMake-based builds, and selectable audio backends such as PipeWire, PulseAudio, ALSA, CoreAudio, and WASAPI.
Adoption history
OpenAL Soft became the practical free-software answer for applications and games that wanted the OpenAL API without relying on vendor-specific or proprietary implementations. It is packaged across many Unix-like systems and C/C++ dependency managers, including Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, Debian/Ubuntu-family packages, Fedora-family packages, Alpine, openSUSE, vcpkg, Conan, and FreeBSD ports.
Language bindings helped keep the API useful outside C and C++. The upstream README points to OpenTK for C#, LWJGL and JOAL for Java, Kotlin/Native bindings, PyOpenAL for Python, and other wrappers that build on the same OpenAL API surface.
How it is used
Applications link against OpenAL Soft as an OpenAL-compatible library, then create buffers, sources, and a listener to render positional audio. Operators and users can tune behavior through system-wide or per-user configuration files such as `alsoft.conf` and environment-directed configuration.
The package also installs `openal-info`, a diagnostic utility that reports devices, versions, extensions, and ALC/AL subsystem details. That small executable is useful for debugging backend detection, missing devices, and extension support.
Why package nerds care
OpenAL Soft is the kind of library that quietly keeps old and portable multimedia software buildable. Package maintainers care about it because it sits below games, emulators, engines, and language bindings, while abstracting the messy per-platform audio backends.
Its value is not just OpenAL compatibility; it is an active, redistributable implementation with configuration knobs and modern audio features that can be shipped on systems where the original vendor lineage is not enough.
Timeline
- Pre-GitHub: OpenAL Soft release tarballs were published through the project's release archive. August 24, 2014: the GitHub repository was created. May 12, 2026: GitHub releases list OpenAL Soft 1.25.2.
Related projects
- OpenAL Soft relates directly to the OpenAL API, the older OpenAL sample implementation, OpenAL.org documentation, EFX extensions, and language stacks such as LWJGL, OpenTK, JOAL, and PyOpenAL.
Sources
security posture
No protected-tool coverage found yet
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for openal-soft. 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.
- 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.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
/etc/openal/alsoft.conf$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/alsoft.conf~/.alsoftrc$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/alsoft.conf~/.config/alsoft.conf$ALSOFT_CONF- Windows
%APPDATA%\alsoft.ini%ALSOFT_CONF%
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
openal-info | 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 version1.25.2
manager updated2026-05-12
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://openal-soft.org/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:openal-soft |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.25.2 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/openal-soft |
| Homepage | https://openal-soft.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft/wiki/Programmer%27s-Guide |
| License | LGPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://openal-soft.org/openal-releases/openal-soft-1.25.2.tar.bz2 |
| Last updated | 2026-05-12T11:50:33Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Build dependencies | cmake, pkgconf |
| 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 | openal-soft |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | yes |
| 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%
libopenal-data 1:1.24.2-1
Software implementation of the OpenAL audio API (data files)
https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft
sudo apt install libopenal-data- Section: libs
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: openal-soft
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
Debian apt95%
libopenal-dev 1:1.24.2-1
Software implementation of the OpenAL audio API (development files)
https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft
sudo apt install libopenal-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
Debian apt95%
libopenal1 1:1.24.2-1
Software implementation of the OpenAL audio API (shared library)
https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft
sudo apt install libopenal1- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 4 dependencies
- 4 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
Debian apt95%
openal-tools 1:1.24.2-1
Utilities for the OpenAL audio API
https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft
sudo apt install openal-tools- Section: sound
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
Nix95%
openal-soft
nix profile install nixpkgs#openal-soft- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
Ubuntu apt95%
libopenal-data 1:1.23.1-4build1
Software implementation of the OpenAL audio API (data files)
https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft
sudo apt install libopenal-data- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: openal-soft
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
Ubuntu apt95%
libopenal-dev 1:1.23.1-4build1
Software implementation of the OpenAL audio API (development files)
https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft
sudo apt install libopenal-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
Ubuntu apt95%
libopenal1 1:1.23.1-4build1
Software implementation of the OpenAL audio API (shared library)
https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft
sudo apt install libopenal1- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 5 dependencies
- 3 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
Ubuntu apt95%
openal-tools 1:1.23.1-4build1
Utilities for the OpenAL audio API
https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft
sudo apt install openal-tools- Section: universe/sound
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
apk95%
openal-soft 1.25.2-r0
software implementation of OpenAL API
sudo apk add openal-soft- License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
apk95%
openal-soft-dev 1.25.2-r0
software implementation of OpenAL API (development files)
sudo apk add openal-soft-dev- License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
apk95%
openal-soft-libs 1.25.2-r0
software implementation of OpenAL API (libraries)
sudo apk add openal-soft-libs- License: LGPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
dnf95%
openal-soft 1.24.2-6.fc44
Software implementation of the OpenAL 3D audio API
sudo dnf install openal-soft- License: LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND Apache-2.0 AND (LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause) AND (MIT WITH fmt-exception) AND NCL AND MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 8 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
dnf95%
openal-soft-devel 1.24.2-6.fc44
Development files for openal-soft
sudo dnf install openal-soft-devel- License: LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND Apache-2.0 AND (LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause) AND (MIT WITH fmt-exception) AND NCL AND MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 11 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
dnf95%
openal-soft-examples 1.24.2-6.fc44
Sample applications for OpenAl Soft
sudo dnf install openal-soft-examples- License: LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND Apache-2.0 AND (LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause) AND (MIT WITH fmt-exception) AND NCL AND MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 10 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
dnf95%
openal-soft-qt 1.24.2-6.fc44
Qt frontend for configuring OpenAL Soft
sudo dnf install openal-soft-qt- License: LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND Apache-2.0 AND (LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause) AND (MIT WITH fmt-exception) AND NCL AND MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: openal-soft
- 9 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openal Soft
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 configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment