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Install protobuf-c with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, pacman, apt, zypper

Protocol buffers library. Version 1.5.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-09-10. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install libprotobuf-c-dev.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install protobuf-c

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install protobuf-c

MacPorts ports tree · devel/protobuf-c/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add protobuf-c

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

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install protobuf-c

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · protobuf-c · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S protobuf-c

Arch Linux sync databases · protobuf-c · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libprotobuf-c-dev

Debian stable package indexes · libprotobuf-c-dev · source: deb.debian.org

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install libprotobuf-c1

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · libprotobuf-c1 · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Protocol buffers library

Commands and aliases

  • protoc-c
  • protoc-gen-c

history

Project history and usage

protobuf-c is a C implementation of Protocol Buffers comprising a serialization runtime library and a `protoc` code-generation plugin.

Project history

Dave Benson originally wrote protobuf-c as a C implementation of Google's Protocol Buffers and maintained it through version 0.15. Maintenance later passed to a new team.

The project includes `libprotobuf-c` for encoding and decoding and `protoc-gen-c`, formerly commonly invoked as `protoc-c`, for generating C descriptors and bindings from `.proto` definitions. Its former RPC implementation was separated into the protobuf-c-rpc project.

Beginning with version 1.0.0, protobuf-c adopted Semantic Versioning and generated headers gained version guards to detect incompatible compiler and runtime combinations.

Adoption history

protobuf-c is widely distributed as both a development library and command-line code generator. The supplied package facts record packages across Homebrew, Alpine, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, openSUSE, and MacPorts.

The project survived a maintainer transition after Dave Benson maintained it through version 0.15. A new team continued development, standardized semantic versioning at 1.0.0, and maintained compatibility with successive releases of Google's protobuf compiler and runtime.

How it is used

Write message schemas as `.proto` files and run the upstream `protoc` compiler with the protobuf-c plugin to generate `.pb-c.c` and `.pb-c.h` files.

Compile the generated C source into the application and link it with `libprotobuf-c`; the official README documents discovering compiler and linker flags with `pkg-config`.

The maintainers recommend regenerating bindings during the build rather than committing stale generated files, because generated headers and the installed runtime may become incompatible.

Why package nerds care

protobuf-c provides Protocol Buffers interoperability for programs that need a C ABI and runtime rather than the upstream C++ implementation. Its split between generated descriptor code and a packaged runtime library makes compiler/runtime version skew an important concern for distribution maintainers.

It is a classic systems-package dependency: distributions commonly separate runtime and development packages, while builds discover it through `pkg-config`. Package maintainers must coordinate the C library, `protoc-gen-c`, and the upstream protobuf compiler.

Timeline

  • 2008: Copyright history in the official API documentation begins with Dave Benson's implementation.
  • Through 0.15: Dave Benson maintained the original project.
  • 1.0.0: The project adopted Semantic Versioning and compiler/runtime version guards.
  • Later development: The RPC component was maintained separately as protobuf-c-rpc.
  • 2025: Version 1.5.2 continued compatibility work for newer Google protobuf releases.

Related projects

  • Google Protocol Buffers provides the data format and the upstream `protoc` compiler on which protobuf-c code generation depends.
  • protobuf-c-rpc contains the RPC functionality formerly included in protobuf-c.
  • protobuf-c-text provides text-format routines for the C library.

Sources

  • Official generated API documentation: https://protobuf-c.github.io/protobuf-c/
  • Official releases: https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c/releases
  • Official repository and README: https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

security posture

Risk level: green

library-like package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • library-like package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:library-like

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
  • Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
  • Build metadata lists 1 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

CommandKindExposureNote
protoc-ccliglobal executable
protoc-gen-ccliglobal 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 generated2026-09-19
manager version1.5.2
manager updated2026-09-10
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:protobuf-c
Version1.5.2
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/protobuf-c
Homepagehttps://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c
Repositoryhttps://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c
LicenseBSD-2-Clause
Source archivehttps://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c/releases/download/v1.5.2/protobuf-c-1.5.2.tar.gz
Last updated2026-09-10T10:43:12Z
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesabseil, protobuf
Build dependenciespkgconf
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Nameprotobuf-c
Version Scheme0
Revision18
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
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%

libprotobuf-c-dev 1.5.1-1

Protocol Buffers C static library and headers (protobuf-c)

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apt install libprotobuf-c-dev
  • Section: libdevel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libprotobuf-c-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

libprotobuf-c1 1.5.1-1

Protocol Buffers C shared library (protobuf-c)

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apt install libprotobuf-c1
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: libprotobuf-c1 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

protobuf-c-compiler 1.5.1-1

Protocol Buffers C compiler (protobuf-c)

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apt install protobuf-c-compiler
  • Section: devel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 5 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: protobuf-c-compiler from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Ubuntu apt95%

libprotobuf-c-dev 1.4.1-1ubuntu4

Protocol Buffers C static library and headers (protobuf-c)

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apt install libprotobuf-c-dev
  • Section: libdevel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libprotobuf-c-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

libprotobuf-c1 1.4.1-1ubuntu4

Protocol Buffers C shared library (protobuf-c)

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apt install libprotobuf-c1
  • Section: libs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libprotobuf-c1 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

protobuf-c-compiler 1.4.1-1ubuntu4

Protocol Buffers C compiler (protobuf-c)

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apt install protobuf-c-compiler
  • Section: universe/devel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 5 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: protobuf-c-compiler from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

protobuf-c 1.5.2-r3

Protocol Buffers implementation in C

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apk add protobuf-c
  • License: BSD-2-Clause
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: protobuf-c from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

protobuf-c-compiler 1.5.2-r3

Protocol Buffers C compiler

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apk add protobuf-c-compiler
  • License: BSD-2-Clause
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: protobuf-c-compiler from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

protobuf-c-dev 1.5.2-r3

Protocol Buffers implementation in C (development files)

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo apk add protobuf-c-dev
  • License: BSD-2-Clause
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: protobuf-c-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

protobuf-c 1.5.2-5.fc45

C bindings for Google's Protocol Buffers

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo dnf install protobuf-c
  • License: BSD-2-Clause
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 2 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: protobuf-c from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/652278618dec9c023176a80c435a32a2c8154869fb0eb662c267a54df28d77d9-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

protobuf-c-compiler 1.5.2-5.fc45

Protocol Buffers C compiler

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo dnf install protobuf-c-compiler
  • License: BSD-2-Clause
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 12 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: protobuf-c-compiler from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/652278618dec9c023176a80c435a32a2c8154869fb0eb662c267a54df28d77d9-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

protobuf-c-devel 1.5.2-5.fc45

Protocol Buffers C headers and libraries

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo dnf install protobuf-c-devel
  • License: BSD-2-Clause
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 4 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: protobuf-c-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/652278618dec9c023176a80c435a32a2c8154869fb0eb662c267a54df28d77d9-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

protobuf3-c 1.5.2-52.fc45

C bindings for Google's Protocol Buffers

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo dnf install protobuf3-c
  • License: BSD-2-Clause
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: protobuf3-c
  • 2 dependencies
  • 3 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: protobuf3-c from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/652278618dec9c023176a80c435a32a2c8154869fb0eb662c267a54df28d77d9-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

protobuf-c 1.5.2-14

Protocol Buffers implementation in C

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo pacman -S protobuf-c
  • License: BSD-2-Clause
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: protobuf-c from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

libprotobuf-c1 1.5.2-2.6

C bindings for Google's Protocol Buffers

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo zypper install libprotobuf-c1
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Category: System/Libraries
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 2 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libprotobuf-c1 from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/d310d5a96106e1e8872a385adf98aaa23be9db5d80937a6717314e7e7f37715065c6c748ab7ccee6475d620b46979c0fe64235fc0c46988e17edf659578fcf31-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

protobuf-c-devel 1.5.2-2.6

protobuf generator and headers

https://github.com/protobuf-c/protobuf-c

sudo zypper install protobuf-c-devel
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: protobuf-c
  • 12 dependencies
  • 4 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Protobuf C
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: protobuf-c-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/d310d5a96106e1e8872a385adf98aaa23be9db5d80937a6717314e7e7f37715065c6c748ab7ccee6475d620b46979c0fe64235fc0c46988e17edf659578fcf31-primary.xml.zst

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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source trail

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