install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install surfer

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#surfer

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

overview

Package summary

Waveform viewer, supporting VCD, FST, or GHW format

Project links

Commands and aliases

surfer

history

Project history and usage

Surfer is a Rust waveform viewer for hardware-development waveforms, supporting VCD, FST, GHW, and FTR-style inputs. Official documentation describes it as a configurable native and web-capable viewer with a separate server mode named surver.

Project history

Surfer's official changelog says the project is still in the 0.x phase and treats releases as mostly symbolic snapshots on a six-week release cycle. Official GitLab release metadata shows early public release tags in 2024, followed by rapid feature growth through 2025 and 2026.

Adoption history

The README says native builds are recommended for day-to-day use, while a browser-hosted version exists for trying the tool. The documentation also notes package-manager availability for some Linux distributions and Homebrew, matching the supplied Homebrew and Nix package facts.

How it is used

Surfer is used to inspect HDL simulation waveforms locally, through a browser/WebAssembly build, or through surver client-server mode when waveform files live on another machine. Its feature list emphasizes snappy zooming, command-line interaction, configurable colors, waveform translations, VS Code integration, and remote/server support.

Why package nerds care

Package nerds care about Surfer because it is part of the modern Rust-and-open-EDA tooling wave: a native GUI/TUI-adjacent developer tool with cargo installation, Homebrew packaging, web artifacts, and platform-specific binary concerns. It packages the everyday debugging surface for HDL developers rather than the compiler itself.

Timeline

2024: GitLab releases show 0.1.0 and later 0.2.0/0.3.0 public tags
2025: Changelog records 0.4.0 and 0.5.0 feature releases
2026: GitLab releases show 0.6.0 and 0.7.0 releases

Related projects

Surfer is related to HDL waveform formats and tools such as VCD, FST, GHW, GTKWave/libfst, GHDL, Spade integrations, and VS Code waveform workflows.

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 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.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`surfer`	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 version0.7.0

manager updated2026-05-11

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://surfer-project.org/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://surfer-project.org/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:surfer
Version	0.7.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/surfer
Homepage	https://surfer-project.org/
Repository	https://gitlab.com/surfer-project/surfer
Upstream docs	https://docs.surfer-project.org/
License	EUPL-1.2
Source archive	https://gitlab.com/surfer-project/surfer.git
Last updated	2026-05-11T18:34:18-04:00
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	pkgconf, rust
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	surfer
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head 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.

Nix95%

surfer

nix profile install nixpkgs#surfer

normalized package name match
Matched by: Surfer

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/su/surfer/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/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/surfer.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 surfer with Homebrew, Nix