# Install varnish with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix High-performance HTTP accelerator. Version 9.0.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-06. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:varnish ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install varnish ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install varnish ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: www/varnish/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add varnish ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: varnish from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install libvarnishapi-dev ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libvarnishapi-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install varnish ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: varnish 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#varnish ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: varnish from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:varnish - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 9.0.3 - **Source summary:** High-performance HTTP accelerator - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** BSD-2-Clause - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-06T11:29:14Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - varnishadm (cli) - varnishd (cli) - varnishhist (cli) - varnishlog (cli) - varnishlog-json (cli) - varnishncsa (cli) - varnishstat (cli) - varnishstat_help_gen (cli) - varnishtest (cli) - varnishtop (cli) - vtest (cli) - varnishadm (alias) - varnishd (alias) - varnishhist (alias) - varnishlog (alias) - varnishlog-json (alias) - varnishncsa (alias) - varnishstat (alias) - varnishstat_help_gen (alias) - varnishtest (alias) - varnishtop (alias) - vtest (alias) ## Dependencies - openssl@3 - pcre2 ## Build dependencies - docutils - graphviz - pkgconf - sphinx-doc ## Uses from macOS - libedit - ncurses ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Service: declared - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 9.0.3 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-06 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/varnish/varnish - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage Varnish Cache is an HTTP accelerator and reverse caching proxy designed to sit in front of origin servers and serve cached responses from memory. It is best known for VCL, the Varnish Configuration Language, which lets operators encode cache policy as programmable configuration. ### Project history The project began from the operational needs of VG Nett, the online branch of the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang. In 2005 the site was serving more than 45 million page views per week and needed twelve servers; system administrator Anders Berg wrote a specification for a faster open-source HTTP accelerator. Anders Nordby helped bring in Danish FreeBSD developer Poul-Henning Kamp, VG funded the work, and Linpro supplied development and support infrastructure. The first code was submitted to the Varnish Cache repository on February 22, 2006. Varnish 1.0 followed in September 2006 as the first production release of the high-performance HTTP accelerator. By that point VG had replaced its Squid layer and was reportedly running on Varnish alone, handling traffic spikes with three servers instead of twelve. The project later developed a commercial ecosystem. Varnish Software was founded in 2010 after spinning out from Linpro and took over development and management around the open-source project while offering web-acceleration products and support. The open-source line continued through major releases such as 2.0 in 2008, 3.0 in 2011, and 4.0 in 2014, while commercial offerings such as Varnish Plus added enterprise storage, high availability, tuning, API acceleration, and TLS-related products. ### Adoption history Varnish was adopted by high-traffic publishers, social platforms, and content-heavy sites because it focused narrowly on origin-side HTTP acceleration rather than general proxying. Official history material highlights adoption stories including Facebook, WikiLeaks under severe traffic pressure in 2010, Varnish User Group meetings, and the publication of community learning material such as the Varnish Book. Its architecture reflected a package-operator culture: fast in-memory caching, shared-memory logging, separately packaged observability tools, and command-line administration. The administrator documentation describes the normal deployment pattern as installing Varnish in front of any HTTP server, configuring cache policy, and using reference tools such as `varnishadm`, `varnishlog`, `varnishstat`, `varnishncsa`, `varnishhist`, and `varnishtop` to operate it. ### How it is used A typical Varnish deployment places `varnishd` between clients and an origin web server. Requests are answered from cache when possible and proxied to the origin otherwise. Cache policy is expressed in VCL, which official documentation describes as compiled into native code and run inside the worker, allowing policy decisions at line rate. Package users usually care about the daemon, the default VCL path, system service integration, and the tooling suite. The same package often gives operators an interactive admin CLI, request logs, Apache-style access logging, real-time counters, histogram views, test tooling, and VCL validation, making Varnish feel more like a small HTTP-cache operating environment than a single binary. ### Why package nerds care Varnish matters in package-manager culture because it is a canonical example of a specialized Unix network daemon: small surface area, strong command-line tooling, a DSL for runtime policy, and a BSD-licensed open-source core that distributions can ship independently from commercial variants. The modern branding has become more complex. The current Varnish site describes Varnish Cache as a distribution of the open-source Vinyl Cache project, with native TLS, containers, Helm charts, and long-term-support cadence layered around the original caching architecture. That transition is part of the stewardship story package maintainers now have to track. ### Timeline - 2005: VG Nett identifies the need for a faster open-source HTTP accelerator. - 2006-02-22: First code is submitted to the Varnish Cache repository. - 2006-09: Varnish 1.0 is released and VG is running on Varnish alone. - 2008: Varnish 2.0 is released. - 2010: Varnish Software is founded after spinning out from Linpro. - 2011: Varnish 3.0 release helps anchor a growing community and release-party culture. - 2014: Varnish Cache 4.0 and Varnish Plus-era commercial components expand the ecosystem. - 2026: Official site describes Varnish Cache as a modern distribution of the open-source Vinyl Cache project. ### Related projects - Squid is the older cache whose reverse-proxy use case helped motivate Varnish, but Varnish was designed specifically as an HTTP accelerator. - Vinyl Cache is the open-source project named by the current Varnish site as the base for the Varnish Cache distribution. - Varnish Software provides commercial products, support, and enterprise variants around the open-source cache. ### Sources - Administrator documentation: https://varnish-cache.readthedocs.io/ - Official project site: https://www.varnish.org/ - Poul-Henning Kamp Varnish presentation: https://phk.freebsd.dk/pubs/varnish.pdf - Varnish Software 10-year Q&A: https://info.varnish-software.com/blog/celebrating-10-years-of-varnish-cache-qa-with-the-man-behind-the-idea - Varnish Software history timeline: https://varnish-software.teamtailor.com/pages/varnish-history?preview=true ## Security Notes formula declares a Homebrew service. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - formula declares a Homebrew service ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** varnish - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - libvarnishapi-dev - 7.7.0-3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libvarnishapi-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | development files for Varnish | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - Debian apt - libvarnishapi3 - 7.7.0-3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libvarnishapi3 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | shared libraries for Varnish | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - Debian apt - varnish - 7.7.0-3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: varnish from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | state of the art, high-performance web accelerator | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - Debian apt - varnish-doc - 7.7.0-3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: varnish-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | documentation for Varnish Cache | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - Nix - varnish: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: varnish from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix - Ubuntu apt - libvarnishapi-dev - 7.1.1-1.1ubuntu1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libvarnishapi-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | development files for Varnish | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - Ubuntu apt - libvarnishapi3 - 7.1.1-1.1ubuntu1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libvarnishapi3 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | shared libraries for Varnish | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - Ubuntu apt - varnish - 7.1.1-1.1ubuntu1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: varnish from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | state of the art, high-performance web accelerator | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - Ubuntu apt - varnish-doc - 7.1.1-1.1ubuntu1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: varnish-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | documentation for Varnish Cache | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - apk - varnish - 7.7.3-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: varnish from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | High-performance HTTP accelerator | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - apk - varnish-dbg - 7.7.3-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: varnish-dbg from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | High-performance HTTP accelerator (debug symbols) | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - apk - varnish-dev - 7.7.3-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: varnish-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | High-performance HTTP accelerator (development files) | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - apk - varnish-doc - 7.7.3-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: varnish-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | High-performance HTTP accelerator (documentation) | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - apk - varnish-libs - 7.7.3-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: varnish-libs from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Libraries for varnish | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - apk - varnish-openrc - 7.7.3-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: varnish-openrc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | High-performance HTTP accelerator (OpenRC init scripts) | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ - dnf - varnish - 9.0.3-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: varnish from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | High-performance HTTP accelerator | https://www.varnish-cache.org/ ## Related links - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [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. - [Web development packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/web-dev-tools/) - Matched web development metadata. - [openssl@3](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/openssl-3/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pcre2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pcre2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [docutils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/docutils/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [graphviz](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/graphviz/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [sphinx-doc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sphinx-doc/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pushpin](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pushpin/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, reverse-proxy. - [river](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/river/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, http, networking, reverse-proxy. - [getparty](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/getparty/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, http, networking. - [httpflow](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/httpflow/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, http, networking. - [httping](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/httping/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, http, networking. - [httpry](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/httpry/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, http, networking. - [jprq](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jprq/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, http, networking, reverse-proxy. - [neon](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/neon/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, http, networking. - [nginx](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/nginx/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, http, networking, openssl, openssl-3. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/varnish.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/varnish.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