# Install soapysdr with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman

Vendor and platform neutral SDR support library. Version 0.8.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:soapysdr
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install soapysdr
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install SoapySDR
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: science/SoapySDR/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install libsoapysdr-dev
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libsoapysdr-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install SoapySDR
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: SoapySDR 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#soapysdr
```

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

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S soapysdr
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: soapysdr from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:soapysdr
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Package manager page:** <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/soapysdr>
- **Version:** 0.8.1
- **Source summary:** Vendor and platform neutral SDR support library
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR>
- **Upstream docs:** <https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR#readme>
- **License:** BSL-1.0
- **Source archive:** <https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/archive/refs/tags/soapy-sdr-0.8.1.tar.gz>
- **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00

## Executables

- SoapySDRUtil (cli)
- SoapySDRUtil (alias)

## Dependencies

- python@3.14

## Build dependencies

- cmake
- swig

## 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: 0.8.1
- Local data: ok
- Upstream repository: https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR
- info: No package-manager update timestamp was available.
- info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available.
## Project history and usage

SoapySDR is a vendor-neutral, platform-independent runtime and API for software-defined radio hardware. It gives applications, drivers, and package managers a shared abstraction so SDR tools do not need to hard-code every device vendor's native library.

### Project history

The SoapySDR changelog identifies January 31, 2015 as the first public release. The project quickly added module paths, streaming APIs, Python bindings, utility probing, logging, ABI-aware module installation, and C/Python/C++ API refinements through the 0.2 to 0.5 series.

The official wiki explains the core design: SoapySDR is a generalized API and runtime library for interfacing with SDR devices, with runtime-loadable modules for vendor hardware, bindings for environments such as GNU Radio and Pothos, and a command-line utility for device probing.

### Adoption history

The official wiki states that most off-the-shelf SDR hardware platforms are supported by SoapySDR and that many open source applications rely on it for hardware integration. The supplied package-manager facts show packaging across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, and Arch, matching its role as shared SDR infrastructure.

### How it is used

Users encounter SoapySDR both as a library and through SoapySDRUtil, which the changelog and wiki describe for probing devices, listing modules, and exercising streaming/rate tests. Application developers use the client API, while hardware support is delivered through installable modules.

### Why package nerds care

Package nerds care about SoapySDR because it is an ABI and plugin packaging problem as much as a library. Distributions need the core library, versioned module directories, optional language bindings, and separate hardware-driver modules to agree so applications can discover radios at runtime.

### Timeline

- 2015: First public release 0.1.0.
- 2015: 0.2.0 added SOAPY_SDR_PLUGIN_PATH and direct buffer streaming APIs.
- 2015: 0.4.0 added SoapySDRUtil --probe and more query APIs.
- 2016: 0.5.1 added ABI-specific modules directories.
- 2018: 0.7.0 added parallel device factory support and converter registry APIs.
- 2021: 0.8.0 modernized CMake config generation and added more API helpers.

### Related projects

- The official wiki links SoapySDR to Pothos, GNU Radio, GrOsmoSDR, SoapyUHD, SoapyRemote, and command-line SDR tools such as Rx Tools, showing its role as a hub in the open SDR stack.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR#readme>
- <https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/master/Changelog.txt>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

library-like package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- library-like package without higher-risk signals

## Source Database Details

- **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API
- **Tap:** homebrew/core
- **Full Name:** soapysdr
- **Version Scheme:** 0
- **Revision:** 1
- **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

- Debian apt - libsoapysdr-dev - 0.8.1-5+b2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libsoapysdr-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | SoapySDR library development files | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Debian apt - libsoapysdr-doc - 0.8.1-5: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libsoapysdr-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | SoapySDR library development documentation | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Debian apt - libsoapysdr0.8 - 0.8.1-5+b2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libsoapysdr0.8 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | software defined radio interface library | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Debian apt - python3-soapysdr - 0.8.1-5+b2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: python3-soapysdr from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | SoapySDR Python 3 bindings | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Debian apt - soapysdr-module-all - 0.8.1-5+b2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: soapysdr-module-all from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | All device support for default version of SoapySDR (metapackage) | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Debian apt - soapysdr-tools - 0.8.1-5+b2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: soapysdr-tools from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | software defined radio interface library tools | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Debian apt - soapysdr0.8-module-all - 0.8.1-5+b2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: soapysdr0.8-module-all from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | All device support for SoapySDR (metapackage) | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Nix - soapysdr: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/so/soapysdr/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - libsoapysdr-dev - 0.8.1-4build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libsoapysdr-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | SoapySDR library development files | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Ubuntu apt - libsoapysdr-doc - 0.8.1-4build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libsoapysdr-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | SoapySDR library development documentation | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Ubuntu apt - libsoapysdr0.8 - 0.8.1-4build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libsoapysdr0.8 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | software defined radio interface library | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Ubuntu apt - python3-soapysdr - 0.8.1-4build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: python3-soapysdr from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | SoapySDR Python 3 bindings | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Ubuntu apt - soapysdr-module-all - 0.8.1-4build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: soapysdr-module-all from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | All device support for default version of SoapySDR (metapackage) | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Ubuntu apt - soapysdr-tools - 0.8.1-4build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: soapysdr-tools from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | software defined radio interface library tools | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- Ubuntu apt - soapysdr0.8-module-all - 0.8.1-4build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: soapysdr0.8-module-all from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | All device support for SoapySDR (metapackage) | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
- dnf - SoapySDR - 0.8.1-23.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: SoapySDR from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | A Vendor Neutral and Platform Independent SDR Support Library | https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR


## 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.
- [python@3.14](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/python-3-14/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [cmake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cmake/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [swig](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/swig/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew.
- [gnuradio](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gnuradio/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [limesuite](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/limesuite/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [soapyremote](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/soapyremote/) - Popular package that depends on this formula.
- [airspy](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/airspy/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, radio, sdr.
- [airspyhf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/airspyhf/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, radio, sdr.
- [a52dec](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/a52dec/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
- [aalib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aalib/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
- [adplug](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/adplug/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
- [alsa-lib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/alsa-lib/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
- [babl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/babl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
- [chromaprint](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/chromaprint/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media.
- [lue-reader](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/lue-reader/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, media, python, python-3-14, support.
- [animdl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/animdl/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, media, python, python-3-14.
- [bandcamp-dl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bandcamp-dl/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, media, python, python-3-14.

## Combined YAML source

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