macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install fourstorelocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 10080
Install fourstore with Homebrew
Efficient, stable RDF database. Version 1.1.7 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-15.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Efficient, stable RDF database
Project links
Commands and aliases
- 4s-admin
- 4s-backend
- 4s-backend-copy
- 4s-backend-destroy
- 4s-backend-info
- 4s-backend-passwd
- 4s-backend-setup
- 4s-boss
- 4s-cluster-copy
- 4s-cluster-create
- 4s-cluster-destroy
- 4s-cluster-file-backup
- 4s-cluster-info
- 4s-cluster-start
- 4s-cluster-stop
- 4s-delete-model
- 4s-dump
- 4s-file-backup
- 4s-httpd
- 4s-import
- 4s-info
- 4s-query
- 4s-restore
- 4s-size
- 4s-ssh-all
- 4s-ssh-all-parallel
- 4s-update
history
Project history and usage
4store is an RDF database and SPARQL-oriented triplestore whose official README describes it as efficient, scalable, and stable. It sits in the semantic-web database niche rather than the general SQL or document-store lineage.
Project history
The project was designed by Steve Harris and developed at Garlik to support Semantic Web applications. The README says it had already served as Garlik's base platform for about three years, including databases of about 15GT and a web application used by thousands of people.
The public GitHub repository dates to 2009 and uses the 4store name for a suite of administrative, backend, import, HTTP, query, dump, restore, and cluster tools. Its changelog shows continued maintenance through the 1.1.x line, including SPARQL Update, RDF 1.1 bNode skolemisation, clustering/admin changes, HTTP output formats, and portability fixes.
Adoption history
The strongest official adoption signal is Garlik's own use: 4store was built to underpin production Semantic Web applications before being packaged as a standalone open source database. In package-manager culture it became a compact command-line triplestore option for developers who needed RDF and SPARQL without deploying a larger semantic-web stack.
How it is used
A typical workflow creates and manages knowledge bases with tools such as 4s-backend-setup and 4s-admin, imports RDF with 4s-import, queries with 4s-query or the HTTP daemon, and uses dump, restore, backup, and cluster commands for operations.
The README documents Raptor and Rasqal as RDF/SPARQL prerequisites, and notes operational details such as the store directory under /var/lib/4store and /etc/4s-cluster for clustered frontends.
Why package nerds care
4store is package-nerd interesting because it is a C-era Unixy semantic-web database delivered as many small executables rather than a single monolithic service. It exposes the operational vocabulary of RDF stores directly: import, query, update, dump, cluster copy, cluster start/stop, and HTTP serving.
It also captures a historical moment when RDF/SPARQL infrastructure was commonly distributed through native package managers and built against libraries such as Raptor and Rasqal.
Timeline
- 2009: Public GitHub repository was created.
- v1.1.3: lib4store allowed C programs to connect to 4store backends directly.
- v1.1.5: Added features including non-MDNS administration, RDF 1.1 bNode skolemisation, SPARQL Update, and access-control work.
- v1.1.7: README and build documentation were refreshed.
Related projects
- Raptor and Rasqal are closely related dependencies for RDF parsing and SPARQL parsing.
- 4store belongs to the same broad RDF triplestore and SPARQL database family as other semantic-web storage systems, but its official material emphasizes its own command-line and clustered backend tooling.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: orange
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.
Risk classifier
orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
- infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal
Signals
- text:cluster
- text:http,ssh,backup,database
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
4s-admin | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-backend | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-backend-copy | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-backend-destroy | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-backend-info | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-backend-passwd | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-backend-setup | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-boss | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-cluster-copy | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-cluster-create | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-cluster-destroy | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-cluster-file-backup | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-cluster-info | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-cluster-start | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-cluster-stop | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-delete-model | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-dump | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-file-backup | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-httpd | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-import | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-info | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-query | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-restore | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-size | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-ssh-all | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-ssh-all-parallel | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
4s-update | 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 version1.1.7
manager updated2026-06-15
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:fourstore |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.1.7 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://4store.github.io |
| Repository | https://github.com/4store/4store |
| Last updated | 2026-06-15T10:20:16-04:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| 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
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation