# Install fbthrift with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix Facebook's branch of Apache Thrift, including a new C++ server. Version 2026.07.27.00 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-28. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#fbthrift. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:fbthrift ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install fbthrift ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install fbthrift ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/fbthrift/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#fbthrift ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/fb/fbthrift/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:fbthrift - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 2026.07.27.00 - **Source summary:** Facebook's branch of Apache Thrift, including a new C++ server - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-28T07:08:45Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - thrift1 (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 2026.07.27.00 ## Project history and usage Facebook Thrift, usually packaged as fbthrift, is Meta's open-source branch of Thrift: a serialization, code-generation, and RPC framework for service communication. The project matters to package users because it ships the `thrift1` compiler and C++/Python-oriented runtime pieces used to generate service types, clients, and servers from `.thrift` interface files. The project is significant because it is not just a repackaged Apache Thrift release. The README describes it as an evolved internal Facebook branch that was re-released to the open-source community in February 2014, with a rewritten compiler and a fully asynchronous Thrift server. ### Project history Thrift began as the cross-language service framework associated with Facebook and Apache Thrift. Apache Thrift's own site describes the framework as combining a software stack with a code-generation engine for scalable cross-language services development. Facebook maintained an internal branch for production service communication, then publicly re-released that branch as fbthrift in 2014. The public repository was created in 2013, and the project README states that the open-source release initially tracked Apache Thrift closely before diverging in new directions. ### Adoption history The strongest adoption signal is internal: the fbthrift README says most Facebook services use Thrift for RPC, and some storage systems use Thrift for serializing records on disk. Outside Meta, fbthrift is mostly adopted by developers who specifically need Meta's C++ Thrift stack rather than the Apache distribution. Package managers expose it as a compiler/runtime toolchain, with Homebrew's formula providing the `thrift1` executable. ### How it is used Users write `.thrift` files to define serializable types and service interfaces, then run the compiler to generate language-specific structures, clients, and server stubs. The README frames Thrift as a code generator, serialization framework, and RPC framework. The package is most relevant for C++ service developers because fbthrift emphasizes cpp2 support, asynchronous servers, and integration with other Meta C++ infrastructure such as Folly. ### Why package nerds care fbthrift is the package-manager face of Meta's Thrift branch: a heavy but important toolchain package for people who need compatibility with Facebook/Meta thrift definitions, C++ service infrastructure, or projects built against fbthrift rather than Apache Thrift. It also illustrates a common packaging split: the upstream concept is Thrift, but the formula name distinguishes Meta's branch from the Apache implementation so both can exist in package ecosystems without pretending they are interchangeable. ### Timeline - 2007: Apache Thrift material describes the cross-language service framework and compiler model. - 2013: The public facebook/fbthrift GitHub repository was created. - 2014: Facebook re-released its evolved internal Thrift branch to the open-source community. - 2014 onward: fbthrift diverged from Apache Thrift with a rewritten compiler and asynchronous C++ server support. ### Related projects - Apache Thrift is the upstream family and comparison point, while fbthrift is Meta's evolved branch. - Folly, Fizz, Wangle, and other Meta C++ libraries appear in the fbthrift build dependency stack. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for fbthrift. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - fbthrift: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/fb/fbthrift/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - MacPorts - fbthrift: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: devel/fbthrift/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/fbthrift.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/fbthrift.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