brew

Install valgrind with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Dynamic analysis tools (memory, debug, profiling). Version 3.27.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-20.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install valgrind

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install valgrind

MacPorts ports tree · devel/valgrind/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add valgrind

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · valgrind · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install valgrind

Debian stable package indexes · valgrind · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install valgrind

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · valgrind · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#valgrind

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S valgrind

Arch Linux sync databases · valgrind · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install valgrind

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · valgrind · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Dynamic analysis tools (memory, debug, profiling)

Project links

Commands and aliases

callgrind_annotate
callgrind_control
cg_annotate
cg_diff
cg_merge
ms_print
valgrind
valgrind-di-server
valgrind-listener
vgdb
vgstack

history

Project history and usage

Valgrind began as Julian Seward's attempt to build an open source memory-checking tool for x86/Linux in the spirit of Purify, but without source rewriting or relinking. Nicholas Nethercote's twentieth-anniversary retrospective places the first 1.0 release in July 2002, after early use by KDE developers, and notes that Cachegrind was committed in April 2002. Soon afterward the project split its generic dynamic-binary-instrumentation engine from individual analysis tools: the original memory checker became Memcheck, while Valgrind became the overall framework.

Project history

That split shaped Valgrind's long-term role. The official manual describes it as an instrumentation framework with standard tools including Memcheck for C/C++ memory errors, Cachegrind and Callgrind for cache/call profiling, Helgrind and DRD for thread errors, Massif and DHAT for heap profiling, plus smaller developer and research tools. This made Valgrind both a daily debugging command and a platform for building heavyweight dynamic-analysis experiments.

The project also became influential research and infrastructure. Nethercote records papers on Memcheck's bit-precise undefined-value tracking and Valgrind's heavyweight instrumentation architecture, and notes that later tools such as AddressSanitizer were inspired by Memcheck while making different speed/coverage tradeoffs. By the 2010s Seward and Nethercote had moved into emeritus roles, with many other contributors and Mark Wielaard as lead maintainer, but Valgrind remained a reference tool for deep user-space dynamic analysis.

Adoption history

Adoption followed the places where native-code correctness bugs are expensive: C and C++ applications, libraries, language runtimes, databases, browsers, scientific programs, embedded software, and automated regression suites. The Valgrind site emphasizes that it works on existing binaries without recompilation and that it has been used on projects ranging from personal code to very large codebases. Its standard package-nerd usage remains direct and boring: compile with debug symbols, run a program under `valgrind` or a selected `--tool`, inspect source-mapped diagnostics, and, for CI or release checks, fail builds on leaks, invalid accesses, or concurrency issues.

How it is used

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for valgrind. 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 2 platform targets.

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
`callgrind_annotate`	cli	global executable
`callgrind_control`	cli	global executable
`cg_annotate`	cli	global executable
`cg_diff`	cli	global executable
`cg_merge`	cli	global executable
`ms_print`	cli	global executable
`valgrind`	cli	global executable
`valgrind-di-server`	cli	global executable
`valgrind-listener`	cli	global executable
`vgdb`	cli	global executable
`vgstack`	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 version3.27.1

manager updated2026-05-20

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://www.valgrind.org/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.valgrind.org/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:valgrind
Version	3.27.1
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/valgrind
Homepage	https://www.valgrind.org/
Repository	https://sourceware.org/git/valgrind.git
Upstream docs	https://valgrind.org/docs/download_docs.html
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://sourceware.org/pub/valgrind/valgrind-3.27.1.tar.bz2
Last updated	2026-05-20T16:57:52Z
Pulse	updated
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, 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	valgrind
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Requirements	linux
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.

Debian apt95%

valgrind 1:3.24.0-3

instrumentation framework for building dynamic analysis tools

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo apt install valgrind

Section: devel
Architecture: amd64
2 dependencies
4 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: valgrind from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Debian apt95%

valgrind-mpi 1:3.24.0-3

instrumentation framework for building dynamic analysis tools (MPI module)

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo apt install valgrind-mpi

Section: devel
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: valgrind
2 dependencies
1 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: valgrind-mpi from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

valgrind

nix profile install nixpkgs#valgrind

normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

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

Ubuntu apt95%

valgrind 1:3.22.0-0ubuntu3

instrumentation framework for building dynamic analysis tools

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo apt install valgrind

Section: devel
Architecture: amd64
2 dependencies
6 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: valgrind from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

Ubuntu apt95%

valgrind-mpi 1:3.22.0-0ubuntu3

instrumentation framework for building dynamic analysis tools (MPI module)

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo apt install valgrind-mpi

Section: universe/devel
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: valgrind
2 dependencies
1 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: valgrind-mpi from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

apk95%

valgrind 3.25.1-r2

Tool to help find memory-management problems in programs

https://valgrind.org/

sudo apk add valgrind

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: valgrind
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: valgrind from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

apk95%

valgrind-dev 3.25.1-r2

Tool to help find memory-management problems in programs (development files)

https://valgrind.org/

sudo apk add valgrind-dev

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: valgrind
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: valgrind-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

apk95%

valgrind-doc 3.25.1-r2

Tool to help find memory-management problems in programs (documentation)

https://valgrind.org/

sudo apk add valgrind-doc

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: valgrind
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: valgrind-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

apk95%

valgrind-scripts 3.25.1-r2

Tool to help find memory-management problems in programs (perl+python cachegrind/callgrind script tools)

https://valgrind.org/

sudo apk add valgrind-scripts

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: valgrind
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: valgrind-scripts from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

dnf95%

valgrind 3.27.1-1.fc45

Dynamic analysis tools to detect memory or thread bugs and profile

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo dnf install valgrind

License: GPL-3.0-or-later AND bzip2-1.0.6 AND (GPL-3.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later) AND (GPL-3.0-or-later AND ISC) AND (GPL-3.0-or-later AND Unlicense) AND
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: i686
Source Package: valgrind
2 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: valgrind from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

valgrind-devel 3.27.1-1.fc45

Development files for valgrind aware programs

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo dnf install valgrind-devel

License: bzip2-1.0.6
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: i686
Source Package: valgrind
1 dependencies
2 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: valgrind-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

valgrind-docs 3.27.1-1.fc45

Documentation for valgrind tools, scripts and gdb integration

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo dnf install valgrind-docs

License: GFDL-1.2-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: valgrind
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: valgrind-docs from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

valgrind-gdb 3.27.1-1.fc45

Tools for integrating valgrind and gdb

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo dnf install valgrind-gdb

License: GPL-3.0-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: valgrind
5 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: valgrind-gdb from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

valgrind-openmpi 3.27.1-1.fc45

OpenMPI support for valgrind

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo dnf install valgrind-openmpi

License: bzip2-1.0.6
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: valgrind
4 dependencies
2 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: valgrind-openmpi from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

valgrind-scripts 3.27.1-1.fc45

Scripts for post-processing valgrind tool output

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo dnf install valgrind-scripts

License: GPL-3.0-or-later AND (GPL-3.0-or-later OR MPL-2.0)
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: valgrind
3 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: valgrind-scripts from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

dnf95%

valgrind-tools-devel 3.27.1-1.fc45

Development files for building valgrind tools.

https://www.valgrind.org/

sudo dnf install valgrind-tools-devel

License: GPL-3.0-or-later AND bzip2-1.0.6 AND (GPL-3.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later) AND (GPL-3.0-or-later AND ISC) AND (GPL-3.0-or-later AND Unlicense) AND
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: i686
Source Package: valgrind
1 dependencies
2 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Valgrind

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: valgrind-tools-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

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/valgrind.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 valgrind with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Additional install commands

macOS

Linux

Package summary

Project links

Commands and aliases

Project history and usage

Project history

Adoption history

How it is used

Sources

No protected-tool coverage found yet

Install behavior

Recommended review

Installed executables

Version and freshness

Package metadata

Source database details

Other package-manager records

Internal package links

Topical hubs

Same workflow

Agent security guides

Generated from repository data

Combined YAML source

Used sources