install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install bagit

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

Library for creation, manipulation, and validation of bags

Project links

Commands and aliases

bagit.py

history

Project history and usage

bagit is the Library of Congress-maintained Python library and command-line utility for creating, reading, and validating BagIt packages. Its importance comes from the BagIt format more than from the code itself: BagIt is a simple directory layout for reliable transfer and preservation of arbitrary digital content.

Project history

The BagIt format was developed in the digital-preservation community and standardized as RFC 8493 in October 2018 by contributors from the California Digital Library, Stanford Libraries, the Library of Congress, and others. The RFC describes BagIt as a filesystem hierarchy with payload files, tag files, manifests, and checksum validation rather than as a compressed archive format.

The bagit-python repository was created under the Library of Congress GitHub organization in 2013. Its README presents the package as both a Python module and a `bagit.py` command-line program for turning directories into bags, updating bag metadata, regenerating manifests, and validating bags.

Adoption history

RFC 8493 notes BagIt use across preservation organizations including the Library of Congress, Dryad Data Repository, NSF DataONE, the Rockefeller Archive Center, and university libraries including Cornell, Purdue, Stanford, Ghent University, New York University, and the University of California.

In package-manager culture, `bagit` is a small but durable archival utility: Homebrew packages it as a formula, and the formula API reported stable version 1.9.0 with 19 installs in the previous 30 days as of June 30, 2026.

How it is used

Common CLI workflows are `bagit.py /path/to/dir` to create a bag, `bagit.py --validate /path/to/bag` to validate manifests and payloads, and checksum flags such as `--sha256` or `--sha512` to control manifest generation. The module API exposes the same ideas through `bagit.make_bag`, `bagit.Bag`, `save`, and `validate`.

Why package nerds care

bagit is a package nerd's preservation tool: it turns a normal directory tree into a self-describing, checksum-verifiable transfer object without forcing data into tar or zip. It is the kind of small CLI that matters in archives, data repositories, and reproducible handoffs precisely because its format is boring and inspectable with ordinary filesystem tools.

Timeline

2013: LibraryOfCongress/bagit-python repository created on GitHub.
2018: BagIt File Packaging Format v1.0 published as RFC 8493.
2026: Homebrew formula reports stable bagit 1.9.0.

Related projects

RFC 8493 lists implementations in several languages, including Python, Ruby, Java, Perl, and PHP.
The broader BagIt ecosystem includes archival repositories and preservation workflows that exchange bags between institutions.

Sources

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 bottle metadata was recorded.

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

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`bagit.py`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.

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 generated2026-08-03

manager version1.9.0

manager updated

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:bagit
Version	1.9.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://libraryofcongress.github.io/bagit-python/
Repository	https://github.com/LibraryOfCongress/bagit-python
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none declared

package graph

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

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/bagit.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
curated package history
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install bagit with Homebrew