macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install fastjarprovider-native install command
brew / rank 9714
Install fastjar with Homebrew
Implementation of Sun's jar tool. Version 0.98 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Implementation of Sun's jar tool
Project links
Commands and aliases
- fastjar
- grepjar
history
Project history and usage
fastjar is a free-software implementation of the Java JAR command, paired with grepjar, that survived as a small Unix package because it let GCC/GNU Java-era systems create and inspect JAR archives without depending on Sun's proprietary toolchain.
Project history
The Savannah project page records fastjar as a non-GNU project registered on March 21, 2006, with GPL-2.0-or-later licensing and a CVS source repository. GCC hosted a manual titled Guide to GNU jar utilities, documenting fastjar and grepjar as command-line utilities.
Adoption history
fastjar's adoption has been historical and distribution-driven rather than community-growth driven. It appears in Unix package managers as a compatibility tool for older Java/GNU Classpath and GCC Java workflows, while modern Java installations generally provide jar through the JDK.
How it is used
The GCC manual describes fastjar as the tool to invoke for JAR archive operations and grepjar as the companion search utility. In practice it is installed when a small, standalone jar-compatible command is needed in old build recipes or minimal packaging environments.
Why package nerds care
Package maintainers care about fastjar mostly as fossil infrastructure: it is a reminder of the period when free Java tooling had to replace proprietary pieces one command at a time, and it remains packaged because old build graphs sometimes still name fastjar explicitly.
Timeline
- 2006: fastjar project registered on Savannah.
- 2006: GCC 4.0-era online docs published the fastjar and grepjar manual.
- 2026: Homebrew still packages fastjar 0.98 as an implementation of Sun's jar tool.
Related projects
- Sun/Oracle jar is the tool fastjar implements.
- grepjar is shipped and documented as fastjar's companion utility.
- GNU Classpath and GCC Java-era packaging are the ecosystem context in which fastjar mattered most.
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.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
fastjar | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
grepjar | 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 version0.98
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:fastjar |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.98 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/fastjar |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation