# Install buildkitd with Homebrew

Concurrent, cache-efficient, and Dockerfile-agnostic builder toolkit (Daemon). Version 0.32.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-08-03.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:buildkitd
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install buildkitd
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:buildkitd
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.32.1
- **Source summary:** Concurrent, cache-efficient, and Dockerfile-agnostic builder toolkit (Daemon)
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/moby/buildkit>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/moby/buildkit>
- **Last updated:** 2026-08-03T15:09:10Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- buildkitd (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.32.1
## Project history and usage

`buildkitd` is the daemon side of BuildKit: the long-running service that executes BuildKit build graphs, manages workers and cache, and exposes the API used by `buildctl`, Docker Buildx, and other clients.

### Project history

The daemon exists because BuildKit was designed as a reusable backend rather than a monolithic CLI operation. The 2017 Moby proposal described BuildKit as a long-running service optimized for parallel execution, complex projects, and multiple builds at the same time.

In the BuildKit repository, `buildkitd` is documented as the daemon paired with the `buildctl` client. It supports OCI and containerd worker backends, rootless operation, systemd socket activation, TCP exposure, Kubernetes/containerized deployments, and daemon configuration through `buildkitd.toml`.

### Adoption history

`buildkitd` adoption followed BuildKit adoption: once Docker Buildx and then Docker Engine 23.0 made BuildKit the default build engine, the daemon became the infrastructure component behind many local, remote, and CI builder setups.

The daemon is especially visible outside Docker Desktop and Docker Engine defaults, where users run BuildKit directly on Linux hosts, in Kubernetes, in containers, or from macOS through a Linux VM such as Lima.

### How it is used

Users start `buildkitd` as root or rootless, point clients at its Unix socket or TCP endpoint, and tune behavior with `/etc/buildkit/buildkitd.toml` or `~/.config/buildkit/buildkitd.toml`. It manages worker backends, garbage collection, cache storage, network settings, entitlements, and registry configuration.

Package-manager users care about `buildkitd` when they need a real BuildKit service instead of only the `buildctl` client, for example to run local CI builders, expose a remote build farm endpoint, or experiment with non-Docker workers.

### Why package nerds care

`buildkitd` is the boring but important half of BuildKit packaging: without the daemon, `buildctl` is just a client. Splitting the Homebrew formula surface between BuildKit tools and the daemon reflects the practical difference between a portable CLI and a Linux-oriented build service.

For people who package container tooling, `buildkitd` is a case study in shipping a service-oriented build engine whose useful configuration is mostly runtime paths, sockets, workers, and cache policy rather than project-local config files.

### Timeline

- 2017: BuildKit proposal describes a long-running build service.
- 2017: Public `moby/buildkit` repository is created.
- 2023: Docker Engine 23.0 makes Buildx and BuildKit the default Docker build path.
- 2026: `buildkitd.toml` remains the documented daemon configuration surface.

### Related projects

- `buildkitd` is part of BuildKit and is used with `buildctl`, Docker Buildx, Moby/Docker, containerd, runc/crun, Lima, Kubernetes, and OCI image tooling.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/moby/buildkit>
- <https://docs.docker.com/build/buildkit/toml-configuration>
- <https://github.com/moby/buildkit#readme>
- <https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/32925>


## Security Notes

formula declares a Homebrew service.

- **Geiger risk:** orange / medium
- formula declares a Homebrew service


## 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/buildkit/buildkitd.toml, ~/.config/buildkit/buildkitd.toml

## Combined YAML source

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


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph