# Install cgns with Homebrew, Nix, pacman, zypper
CFD General Notation System. Version 4.5.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#cgns.
## Install
```sh
sudo av install brew:cgns
```
Additional install commands:
### macOS
- Homebrew (100%):
```sh
brew install cgns
```
Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata
### Linux
- Nix (92%):
```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#cgns
```
Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/cg/cgns/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman (92%):
```sh
sudo pacman -S cgns
```
Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: cgns from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
- zypper (92%):
```sh
sudo zypper install cgns
```
Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cgns from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst
## Package facts
- **Package key:** brew:cgns
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 4.5.2
- **Source summary:** CFD General Notation System
- **Homepage:**
- **Repository:**
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-22T14:03:00-07:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00
## Executables
- adf2hdf (alias)
- cgnscheck (alias)
- cgnscompress (alias)
- cgnsconvert (alias)
- cgnsdiff (alias)
- cgnslist (alias)
- cgnsnames (alias)
- cgnsupdate (alias)
- hdf2adf (alias)
## Install behavior
- Bottle: not available
## Freshness
- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 4.5.2
## Project history and usage
CGNS is a standard and reference software stack for storing, exchanging, and archiving computational fluid dynamics data.
### Project history
CGNS began under NASA-funded CFD data exchange work and produced both a documented standard data model and software to read, write, and modify data in that format. Version 1.0 of the Mid-Level Library was released in May 1998.
### Adoption history
The official site describes CGNS as administered by an international steering committee and as an AIAA Recommended Practice. In 1999 the CGNS Steering Committee was created as a voluntary public forum, and in January 2000 it became a subcommittee of the AIAA CFD Committee on Standards.
### How it is used
CGNS is used by CFD applications to exchange grids, boundary conditions, flow solutions, and related aerodynamic analysis data through a portable binary format and platform-independent APIs for C, C++, Fortran, and Fortran90.
### Why package nerds care
For scientific package maintainers, CGNS is notable because it is both a file/data standard and the single public C/C++/Fortran implementation referenced by the project, with command-line utilities such as cgnscheck, cgnsconvert, cgnsdiff, and format converters.
### Timeline
- 1998: Version 1.0 of the Mid-Level Library was released.
- 1999: CGNS Steering Committee was created.
- 2000: CGNS Steering Committee became a subcommittee of the AIAA CFD Committee on Standards.
- 2001: A User's Guide to CGNS was made available.
- 2011: Version 3.1 added 64-bit capability and concurrent ADF/HDF5 support.
### Related projects
- The official history names NPARC, TLNS3D, CFL3D, GMAN, OVERFLOW, and Visual3 as prototype or demonstrator applications involved in CGNS development.
### Sources
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## Security Notes
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
## Other Package-Manager Records
- Nix - cgns: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/cg/cgns/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman - cgns - 4.5.2-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: cgns from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Standard for recording and recovering computer data associated with the numerical solution of fluid dynamics equations | https://cgns.github.io/
- zypper - cgns - 4.4.0-2.10: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cgns from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | CFD General Notation System | https://cgns.github.io/index.html
- zypper - cgns-devel - 4.4.0-2.10: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cgns-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | CFD General Notation System library | https://cgns.github.io/index.html
- zypper - cgns-devel-static - 4.4.0-2.10: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cgns-devel-static from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | CFD General Notation System library | https://cgns.github.io/index.html
- zypper - libcgns4_4 - 4.4.0-2.10: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libcgns4_4 from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | CFD General Notation System library | https://cgns.github.io/index.html
## Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/cgns.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/cgns.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