# Install vcpkg with Homebrew, dnf, Nix, pacman, scoop C++ Library Manager. Version 2026-05-27 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-01. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:vcpkg ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install vcpkg ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install vcpkg ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: vcpkg 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#vcpkg ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/vc/vcpkg/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S vcpkg ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: vcpkg from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ### Windows - Scoop (92%): ```sh scoop install main/vcpkg ``` Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/vcpkg.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:vcpkg - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 2026-05-27 - **Source summary:** C++ Library Manager - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-01T19:50:20Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - vcpkg (cli) - vcpkg (alias) ## Dependencies - fmt - ninja ## Build dependencies - cmake - cmrc ## Uses from macOS - curl ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Caveats: This formula provides only the `vcpkg` executable. To use vcpkg: git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg "$HOME/vcpkg" export VCPKG_ROOT="$HOME/vcpkg" - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 2026-05-27 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-01 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg-tool - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage vcpkg is Microsoft's open-source C and C++ package manager, built around a curated ports registry, a command-line tool, and integration points for native build systems. It began as a way to make Windows C++ library consumption less painful, then grew into a cross-platform workflow for Windows, macOS, Linux, and multiple target triplets. The project matters because it brought package-manager ergonomics to an ecosystem that historically depended on handwritten build instructions, vendored source trees, system packages, or project-specific CMake glue. Its package-nerd identity is the combination of source-built ports, reproducible baselines, triplets, binary caching, and manifest files checked into application repositories. ### Project history The public Microsoft/vcpkg repository was created on 2016-09-15, matching Microsoft's later description of the September 2022 release as vcpkg's sixth anniversary. Early vcpkg centered on a shared installed tree and simple commands for acquiring C++ libraries; the maintained registry became the main social and technical object, with contributors adding and updating port recipes. By 2020, vcpkg's implementation was being separated into the Microsoft/vcpkg-tool repository, whose GitHub metadata describes it as the components of the vcpkg binary. That split reflects the project's maturation from a scripts-and-ports repository into a package manager with an independently released tool and a fast-moving registry. ### Adoption history Microsoft's C++ Team reported in October 2022 that vcpkg had passed 2,000 unique open-source libraries in its public registry, with over 10,000 available port versions, 95 contributors active during that release window, 4.8k forks, and 16.8k GitHub stars. On 2026-07-02, GitHub API metadata for Microsoft/vcpkg showed more than 27k stars and 7.6k forks, indicating continued adoption in the C++ tooling community. The public vcpkg site describes a catalog of 2,849 open-source libraries, while Microsoft Learn material presents vcpkg as a free C/C++ package manager for acquiring and managing libraries and adding private libraries. The adoption story is therefore both public-registry growth and enterprise workflow growth: teams can pin baselines, use custom registries, and share binary caches in CI. ### How it is used Modern vcpkg use is usually manifest mode: projects commit a vcpkg.json file declaring direct dependencies and, when needed, a vcpkg-configuration.json file for registries and baselines. Microsoft Learn describes manifest mode as the recommended workflow for most users, while classic mode remains available for installing packages directly into a vcpkg tree. Package users care about triplets because vcpkg packages are built for a target configuration rather than merely downloaded as opaque archives. CI-heavy users care about binary caching, which Microsoft documents as a way to persist vcpkg-built binaries across clean build agents, including GitHub Actions workflows. ### Why package nerds care vcpkg is significant because it treats C++ package management as a build-recipe and ABI problem instead of only a download problem. Ports can encode source retrieval and build steps, triplets encode target choices, manifests encode project dependencies, and baselines make dependency versions reviewable in source control. For package maintainers, vcpkg also became a visible catalog of C and C++ library portability work. A working port is not just a version number; it is evidence that a library can be fetched, patched if necessary, configured, built, and tested across at least one supported target. ### Timeline - 2016-09-15: The Microsoft/vcpkg GitHub repository was created. - 2020-12-08: The Microsoft/vcpkg-tool repository was created for the vcpkg binary components. - 2022-10-06: Microsoft marked vcpkg's sixth anniversary and reported more than 2,000 unique libraries in the public registry. - 2024: Microsoft Learn continued positioning manifest mode as the recommended workflow for most users. - 2026-07-02: GitHub API metadata showed Microsoft/vcpkg with more than 27k stars and active pushes on the same day. ### Related projects - vcpkg is commonly compared with Conan, system package managers, language-specific package managers, and project-local vendoring. Its closest internal companion is vcpkg-tool, the repository for the compiled tool that works with the main ports registry. - In CMake projects, vcpkg is often used through its toolchain integration, so its practical ecosystem overlaps heavily with CMake, MSBuild, Visual Studio, GitHub Actions, NuGet-style binary caches, and private source registries. ### Sources - - - - - - - - - ## Security Notes library-like package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - library-like package without higher-risk signals ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: vcpkg.json, vcpkg-configuration.json ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** vcpkg - **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 - Nix - vcpkg: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/vc/vcpkg/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - dnf - vcpkg - 2026.04.08-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: vcpkg from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | C++ Library Manager | https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg-tool - pacman - vcpkg - 2026.05.27-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: vcpkg from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | C++ library manager | https://vcpkg.io - Scoop - main/vcpkg: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/vcpkg.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Package publisher tools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/package-publishers/) - Belongs to a package publishing or registry command family. - [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. - [ninja](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ninja/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [cmake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cmake/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [conan](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/conan/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, cpp, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [pnpm](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pnpm/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, dependencies, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [psc-package](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/psc-package/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, dependencies, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [akku](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/akku/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [bower](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bower/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [cabal-install](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cabal-install/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [clib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/clib/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [composer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/composer/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [micromamba](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/micromamba/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, cpp, developer, developer-tools, fmt. - [corepack](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/corepack/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, management, manager. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/vcpkg.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/vcpkg.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - 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