# Install ahcpd with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix Autoconfiguration protocol for IPv6 and IPv6/IPv4 networks. Version 0.53 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-11. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install ahcpd. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:ahcpd ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install ahcpd ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install ahcpd ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: ahcpd from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install ahcpd ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ahcpd from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#ahcpd ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ah/ahcpd/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:ahcpd - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 0.53 - **Source summary:** Autoconfiguration protocol for IPv6 and IPv6/IPv4 networks - **Homepage:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-11T00:12:52-04:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - ahcpd (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 0.53 ## Project history and usage ahcpd is Juliusz Chroboczek's daemon implementation of AHCP, the Ad-Hoc Configuration Protocol. It targets IPv6 and dual-stack IPv6/IPv4 autoconfiguration for mesh and ad-hoc networks where ordinary DHCP or IPv6 router discovery is awkward because there is no conveniently placed server on every link. ### Project history The official AHCP page describes the protocol as a replacement for router discovery and DHCP in mobile ad-hoc networks, and as a companion to routing protocols such as Babel or OLSR. The ahcpd change log records an initial public release in August 2007. The implementation evolved quickly from 2007 through 2011. Early releases added NTP server configuration, IPv4 stateful configuration, daemon operation, and server redundancy features. In August 2009, ahcpd 0.50 redesigned AHCP as a client-server protocol layered over a multicast routing layer, explicitly breaking compatibility with the older protocol. ### Adoption history The official project page says AHCP was used on the PPS network and notes packages for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora Extras, Arch Linux, and OpenWrt. The supplied package facts add Homebrew, Nix, and other Linux distribution packaging, showing the daemon's life as a specialist networking package rather than a mainstream desktop utility. The official page also says AHCP was expected to be replaced eventually by an extended Homenet HNCP protocol, which helps explain its maintenance profile: useful and packaged, but tied to a specific era of mesh-network experimentation. ### How it is used Client use can be as simple as running ahcpd on an interface as root. Server use requires a configuration file; the official README shows ahcpd launched with -c /etc/ahcpd.conf and a file containing mode, IPv6 and IPv4 prefixes, lease directory, name servers, and NTP servers. The man page documents ahcpd as a daemon with client, server, and forwarder modes. It also documents operational files such as /var/lib/ahcp-unique-id and scripts under /etc/ahcp/ that perform the actual interface configuration. ### Why package nerds care ahcpd matters to package nerds as a compact example of late-2000s mesh-network plumbing: a real daemon, protocol draft, man page, distro packages, and OpenWrt relevance, but with a scope far narrower than DHCP clients or router-advertisement daemons. It is also a useful reminder that not every packaged network daemon is broadly deployed. Some packages exist because a small protocol ecosystem needs reproducible builds and service integration across Unix-like systems. ### Timeline - 2007: ahcpd 0.1 initial public release. - 2008: ahcpd added IPv4 stateful configuration and daemon operation. - 2009: ahcpd 0.50 redesigned AHCP as a client-server protocol over multicast routing. - 2010: ahcpd 0.51 added plain-text server configuration files and prefix delegation support. - 2011: ahcpd 0.53 fixed client renewal behavior and set packet TOS as network control. ### Related projects - Babel and OLSR are named by the official AHCP page as routing protocols expected to provide routes while AHCP handles address and service configuration. - HNCP is named by the official page as the Homenet protocol the author hoped would eventually replace AHCP. ### Sources - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## 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: /etc/ahcpd.conf ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - ahcpd - 0.53-3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ahcpd from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Ad-Hoc Configuration Protocol | https://www.irif.fr/~jch/software/ahcp/ - Nix - ahcpd: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ah/ahcpd/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - ahcpd - 0.53-3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ahcpd from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Ad-Hoc Configuration Protocol | https://www.irif.fr/~jch/software/ahcp/ - dnf - ahcpd - 0.53-38.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ahcpd from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Ad-hoc network configuration daemon | http://www.pps.univ-paris-diderot.fr/~jch/software/ahcp/ ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ahcpd.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/ahcpd.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph