# Install buildifier with Homebrew, Nix

Format bazel BUILD files with a standard convention. Version 8.5.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-25. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#buildifier.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:buildifier
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install buildifier
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#buildifier
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: buildifier from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:buildifier
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 8.5.1
- **Source summary:** Format bazel BUILD files with a standard convention
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/bazelbuild/buildtools>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/bazelbuild/buildtools>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-25T14:19:44-04:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- buildifier (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 8.5.1
## Project history and usage

Buildifier is the Bazel ecosystem's standard formatter and linter for BUILD, WORKSPACE, MODULE.bazel, `.bzl`, and other Starlark-related files.

### Project history

Buildifier is part of the bazelbuild/buildtools repository, which collects developer tools for working with Google's Bazel build tool. The repository also includes related tools such as Buildozer and unused_deps.

Its role is deliberately analogous to source-code formatters such as clang-format: it gives Bazel and Starlark files a standard convention and can also report or fix lint warnings.

### Adoption history

Buildifier became common wherever Bazel is used seriously because BUILD and `.bzl` files are code-like inputs that benefit from deterministic formatting in review and CI. The tool is packaged by Homebrew and Nix according to the input and can also be installed with Go or run through Bazel rules.

Its adoption is tied directly to Bazel's adoption: monorepos and polyglot builds that standardize on Bazel often add Buildifier to presubmit checks so build metadata stays consistent.

### How it is used

Basic usage is `buildifier path/to/file`; recursive formatting uses `buildifier -r path/to/dir`. The README documents file-type detection for BUILD, WORKSPACE, `.bzl`, MODULE, and default Starlark files, with `--type` overrides for stdin or unusual filenames.

The integrated linter runs with `--lint=warn` or `--lint=fix`, and machine-readable diagnostics are available with JSON output in check mode.

### Why package nerds care

Buildifier is significant because it formats package/build metadata rather than application source. For Bazel users, BUILD files are the package graph, so a stable formatter lowers merge noise and makes automated rewrites safer.

It also sits beside Buildozer: Buildifier normalizes and checks files, while Buildozer edits them programmatically, together forming a small maintenance toolkit for large Bazel workspaces.

### Timeline

- 2010s: Buildifier developed inside the Bazel buildtools repository as Bazel's Starlark formatting tool.
- 2020s: buildtools releases continued through major versions and Buildifier gained broader linting and JSON diagnostic workflows.
- 2020s: Installation paths included Go module installation, Bazel rules, Homebrew, and Nix packages.

### Related projects

- Bazel is the build system whose BUILD, WORKSPACE, MODULE.bazel, and Starlark files Buildifier formats.
- Buildozer is the companion buildtools utility for command-line edits to Bazel files.
- unused_deps is another buildtools utility for Java dependency cleanup.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/bazelbuild/buildtools>
- <https://github.com/bazelbuild/buildtools/blob/main/buildifier/README.md>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - buildifier: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: buildifier from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix


## Combined YAML source

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


## Sources

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