# Install ssocr with Homebrew, apt, Nix Seven Segment Optical Character Recognition. Version 2.25.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:ssocr ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install ssocr ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install ssocr ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: ssocr from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#ssocr ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ss/ssocr/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:ssocr - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 2.25.1 - **Source summary:** Seven Segment Optical Character Recognition - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-3.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - ssocr (cli) - ssocr (alias) ## Dependencies - imlib2 ## Build dependencies - pkgconf ## 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: 2.25.1 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~auerswal/ssocr/ - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage ssocr is a specialized command-line OCR program for reading seven-segment displays from images. It appeals to package nerds because it solves a narrow hardware-adjacent automation problem with deterministic C code rather than a general OCR or machine-learning stack. ### Project history The official page explains that ssocr was written because general OCR software struggled with seven-segment displays, often segmenting a single digit into multiple characters. The project's niche is recognizing digits and characters made from seven-segment displays, especially from consistent camera setups. The first 1.x versions used a separate preprocessing program named ssocrpp. The official version history says version 2 integrated all functionality into one binary and was the first publicly released ssocr version, with later development concentrating on image manipulation options and removing the need for separate tools. ### Adoption history The upstream page lists third-party packages for FreeBSD, NixOS, Debian Buster and newer, Ubuntu Disco Dingo and newer, and Homebrew for macOS and x86-64 GNU/Linux. The supplied package metadata also shows Homebrew, Debian, Nix, and Ubuntu. Adoption is use-case driven rather than broad platform infrastructure: ssocr is useful for people who need to turn photos of meters, scales, counters, or other seven-segment readouts into scriptable text. ### How it is used ssocr reads an image containing a seven-segment display, applies optional preprocessing commands such as crop, thresholding, inversion, rotation, shear, dilation, and erosion, then prints recognized digits to standard output. The man page documents reading from files or standard input and using Imlib2-supported image formats. The official usage advice emphasizes fixed camera placement, consistent lighting, debug images, threshold tuning, cropping to the display, deskewing with shear or rotate, and specifying the expected number or character set of digits to catch recognition errors. ### Why package nerds care ssocr is significant because it is tiny, deterministic, and composable: it turns physical-world display readings into stdout, where shell scripts, cron jobs, home automation, and data logging can consume them. It is also a reminder that not every OCR problem wants Tesseract. For package maintainers, ssocr's value is its small dependency surface, man page, source tarballs, and clear behavior for one specific class of displays. ### Timeline - 2.x: Version 2 integrated ssocrpp preprocessing into the main ssocr binary and became the first publicly released ssocr line. - 2.8.1: A manual page was added. - 2.9.0: Reading images from a pipe was added, easing command-line composition. - 2.11.0: Decimal point detection was added. - 2.12.0: Hexadecimal digit detection was added. - 2.13.0: Automatic digit-count determination was added. - 2.15.0: Minus-sign detection was added. - 2.22.0: A NEWS file was added, compilation with GCC 10 was fixed, and table-tennis-robot character sets were added. - 2025: The official page lists version 2.25.1 as the current source tarball and generated man page version. ### Related projects - The official page discusses general OCR programs such as GNU Ocrad, GOCR, OCRFeeder, ocropus, and Tesseract as related but less suitable for this specific seven-segment problem. - It also links related seven-segment OCR projects such as Display OCR and sevenSegDecode. ### 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:** ssocr - **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 - ssocr - 2.25.0-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ssocr from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | OCR for seven segment displays | https://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~auerswal/ssocr/ - Nix - ssocr: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ss/ssocr/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - ssocr - 2.23.1-1build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ssocr from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | OCR for seven segment displays | https://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~auerswal/ssocr/ ## Related links - [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. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [imlib2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/imlib2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [gocr](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gocr/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media, ocr. - [ocrad](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ocrad/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media, ocr. - [tesseract](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/tesseract/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media, ocr. - [ocrmypdf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ocrmypdf/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, ocr. - [babl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/babl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media. - [caire](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/caire/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media. - [camellia](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/camellia/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media. - [ctl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ctl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media. - [faceprints](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/faceprints/) - Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: cli, image, image-processing, media, processing. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ssocr.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/ssocr.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