# Install asar with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

SNES assembler for applying patches to ROM images or building ROMs. Version 1.91 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-30. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#asar.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:asar
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install asar
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install asar
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: archivers/asar/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#asar
```

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

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S asar
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: asar from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

- zypper (92%):

```sh
sudo zypper install asar
```

  Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: asar from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:asar
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.91
- **Source summary:** SNES assembler for applying patches to ROM images or building ROMs
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/RPGHacker/asar>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/RPGHacker/asar>
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-30T05:26:09Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- asar (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.91
## Project history and usage

Asar is an SNES assembler used to apply patches to existing ROM images or create new ROM images from scratch.

### Project history

The official README says Asar was originally created by Alcaro and modeled after byuu's xkas v0.06. The GitHub repository metadata describes the RPGHacker repository as the now-official home.

### Adoption history

The project publishes GitHub releases and is packaged by several Unix package managers in the supplied Homebrew-derived facts, reflecting use beyond manual downloads in ROM-hacking workflows.

### How it is used

Asar supports 65c816, SPC700, and Super FX assembly, can be run as a command-line patching tool, and can also be built as a DLL or static library for embedding in other tools.

### Why package nerds care

Asar matters to package collectors because it is niche but practical: a retro-console assembler with official manuals, binary releases, and distro packaging despite serving a specialized ROM-hacking audience.

### Timeline

- 2017: Official GitHub repository created.
- 2018: v1.60 beta 1 appears in GitHub releases.
- 2024: v1.91 appears in GitHub releases.

### Related projects

- xkas, SNES ROM hacking tools, SMW Central tooling

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/RPGHacker/asar>
- <https://github.com/RPGHacker/asar#readme>
- <https://github.com/RPGHacker/asar/blob/master/README.txt>


## Security Notes

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for asar. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.


## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - asar: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/as/asar/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman - asar - 4.2.1-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: asar from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Creating Electron app packages | https://github.com/electron/asar
- zypper - asar - 4.0.0-1.4: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: asar from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Creating atom-shell (electron) app packages | https://github.com/electron/asar
- MacPorts - asar: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: archivers/asar/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/asar.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/asar.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph