# Install sparse with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman, zypper Static C code analysis tool. Version 0.6.4 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:sparse ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install sparse ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add sparse ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: sparse from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install sparse ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: sparse from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install sparse ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: sparse 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#sparse ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/sp/sparse/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S sparse ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: sparse from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install sparse ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: sparse from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:sparse - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.6.4 - **Source summary:** Static C code analysis tool - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - cgcc (cli) - sparse (cli) - cgcc (alias) - sparse (alias) ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.6.4 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://sparse.wiki.kernel.org/ - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage Sparse is a semantic parser and static-analysis tool for C, historically tied to Linux kernel development. It parses much of ANSI C plus many GCC extensions and uses annotations to catch mistakes such as incorrect address-space pointer use. ### Project history The official documentation says Linus Torvalds started writing Sparse in 2003, initially targeting issues such as mixing user-space and kernel-space pointers. It also records maintainer handoffs to Josh Triplett in 2006, Christopher Li in 2009, and Luc Van Oostenryck in late 2018. ### Adoption history Sparse's adoption is rooted in kernel and low-level C workflows rather than general application development. Its official documentation points contributors to the linux-sparse mailing list, kernel.org Git repository, release tarballs, and kernel bug tracker, while the supplied package data shows distribution through many Unix package managers. ### How it is used Users build Sparse from the kernel.org Git repository with `make` and `make install`, or install it from a system package manager. The `sparse` analyzer and `cgcc` wrapper are used to check C code with Sparse's type and annotation system. ### Why package nerds care Sparse matters to package nerds because it is old-school kernel infrastructure that still behaves like a classic Unix developer tool: source releases, mailing-list development, a kernel.org Git repository, manpage-like docs, and wide distro packaging. It also demonstrates how static-analysis tools become part of build and packaging QA culture. ### Timeline - 2003: Linus Torvalds started Sparse, according to the official documentation. - 2006: Josh Triplett became the first maintainer, and v0.1 is listed in the official release notes. - 2009: Christopher Li became maintainer. - 2018: Luc Van Oostenryck became maintainer in late 2018. - 2021: v0.6.4 release listed in official release notes. ### Related projects - Sparse is closely associated with the Linux kernel, GCC-style C extensions, kernel address-space annotations, and other static-analysis or compiler-front-end tooling for C. ### Sources - - - - input.source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** sparse - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - sparse - 0.6.4-5: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: sparse from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | semantic parser of source files | https://sparse.wiki.kernel.org/ - Debian apt - sparse-test-inspect - 0.6.4-5: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: sparse-test-inspect from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | semantic parser of source files | https://sparse.wiki.kernel.org/ - Nix - sparse: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/sp/sparse/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - sparse - 0.6.4-4ubuntu3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: sparse from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | semantic parser of source files | https://sparse.wiki.kernel.org/ - Ubuntu apt - sparse-test-inspect - 0.6.4-4ubuntu3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: sparse-test-inspect from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | semantic parser of source files | https://sparse.wiki.kernel.org/ - apk - sparse - 0.6.4-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: sparse from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | A semantic parser of source files | http://sparse.wiki.kernel.org/ - apk - sparse-doc - 0.6.4-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: sparse-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | A semantic parser of source files (documentation) | http://sparse.wiki.kernel.org/ - dnf - sparse - 0.6.4-4.gce1a6720f69e.fc44.7: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: sparse from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | A semantic parser of source files | https://sparse.wiki.kernel.org - pacman - sparse - 0.6.5+rc1-2: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: sparse from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Semantic parser for C | https://sparse.docs.kernel.org/en/latest/ - zypper - sparse - 0.6.4+20240203-1.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: sparse from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | A semantic parser of source files | https://sparse.docs.kernel.org/ - zypper - sparse-inspect - 0.6.4+20240203-1.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: sparse-inspect from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Inspect binary from sparse | https://sparse.docs.kernel.org/ ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [Language runtime packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/language-runtime-packages/) - Matched language runtime, compiler, or interpreter metadata. - [cflow](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cflow/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: c, cli, developer-tools, static-analysis. - [cppcheck](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cppcheck/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: c, cli, developer-tools, static-analysis. - [spoa](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/spoa/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: c, cli, developer-tools, static-analysis. - [checkstyle](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/checkstyle/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, static-analysis. - [clazy](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/clazy/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, static-analysis. - [credo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/credo/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, static-analysis. - [datadog-static-analyzer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/datadog-static-analyzer/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, static-analysis. - [detekt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/detekt/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, static-analysis. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/sparse.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/sparse.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