install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install cdogs-sdl

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

Classic overhead run-and-gun game

Project links

Commands and aliases

cdogs-sdl
cdogs-sdl-editor

history

Project history and usage

C-Dogs SDL is the modern open source SDL port of C-Dogs, a freeware DOS overhead run-and-gun game by Ronny Wester. The upstream README frames the project as both a preservation port and an actively maintained game with co-op, deathmatch, modding, and user-created campaigns.

Project history

The bundled original C-Dogs readme identifies C-Dogs v1.06 as a freeware DOS game copyrighted 1997-2001 by Ronny Wester. The C-Dogs SDL README says Wester released the source code in 2002, after which Jeremy Chin and Lucas Martin-King ported it to SDL for modern PCs.

The current project is maintained by Cong Xu and contributors, who have kept the game compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS while adding campaigns, maps, multiplayer improvements, and a level editor.

Adoption history

The project remains a niche but durable open source game package. The supplied package-manager metadata lists it across Alpine, Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, Nix, Ubuntu, winget, and openSUSE, showing the kind of cross-distro preservation footprint package maintainers care about.

How it is used

Users launch the game with cdogs-sdl and can use cdogs-sdl-editor for campaign and map editing. Upstream documentation points players to GitHub releases, itch.io downloads, custom campaigns, and a getting-started wiki for building with SDL2.

Why package nerds care

C-Dogs SDL is a tidy example of game preservation in package-manager form: a DOS freeware title became a source-available SDL game, gained portable builds, and now ships as a small native package rather than an emulator-only artifact.

Timeline

1997-2001: Original C-Dogs freeware DOS game developed by Ronny Wester.
2002: Original source released and picked up for SDL porting, according to the upstream README.
2013: GitHub releases show C-Dogs SDL 0.4.5 published on 2013-07-25.
2026: Official site shows ongoing release/news activity, including 2.4.0-era content.

Related projects

Cyberdogs preceded C-Dogs in Ronny Wester's DOS game lineage.
SDL2 is the portability layer used by the modern port.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

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.

local files

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

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cdogs-sdl/options.cnf~/.config/cdogs-sdl/options.cnf
Windows: %AppData%\C-Dogs SDL\options.cnf

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`cdogs-sdl`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`cdogs-sdl-editor`	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 version2.4.0

manager updated2026-06-18

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:cdogs-sdl
Version	2.4.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://cxong.github.io/cdogs-sdl/
Repository	https://github.com/cxong/cdogs-sdl
Last updated	2026-06-18T02:28:55-04:00
Pulse	updated
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/cdogs-sdl.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install cdogs-sdl with Homebrew