macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install gcablocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install gcabMacPorts ports tree · gnome/gcab/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 3766
Install gcab with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Windows installer (.MSI) tool. Version 1.6 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install gcab.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install gcabDebian stable package indexes · gcab · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install gcabFedora Rawhide package metadata · gcab · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#gcabnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/gc/gcab/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S gcabArch Linux sync databases · gcab · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install gcabopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · gcab · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Windows installer (.MSI) tool
Project links
Commands and aliases
- gcab
history
Project history and usage
gcab is a GNOME-hosted command-line tool and GObject library for creating Microsoft Cabinet files. In package-manager culture it is usually encountered near msitools, libgsf, Wine-derived Windows Installer tooling, and cross-platform packaging workflows.
Project history
The gcab repository describes GCab as a GObject library to create cabinet files. The broader GNOME msitools project describes its tool family as programs for inspecting and building Windows Installer files, based on libmsi, which in turn is a portable subset of Wine's Windows Installer implementation.
Adoption history
Official GitLab tags show gcab releases from early 2013 through the 1.x series, with v1.0 tagged in January 2018 and v1.6 tagged in July 2023. That release pattern places gcab among the small infrastructure packages that desktop distributions carry because higher-level Windows packaging tools depend on them.
How it is used
The package provides the gcab command for cabinet archive work and the libgcab library interface. It is most relevant where Unix-like build systems need to assemble or inspect Windows installer-related artifacts without using native Windows tooling.
Why package nerds care
gcab matters to package maintainers because Cabinet files are a Windows packaging primitive, while GNOME's msitools stack makes those formats scriptable from Unix packaging pipelines. It is a small package, but it sits at the awkward boundary between Linux build systems and Windows installer formats.
Timeline
- 2013: Early gcab 0.x tags published in GNOME GitLab history.
- 2018: gcab v1.0 tagged.
- 2023: gcab v1.6 tagged.
Related projects
- Related official GNOME projects include msitools and libgsf; msitools also documents its relationship to Wine's Windows Installer implementation and WiX-like tooling.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
gcab | 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 version1.6
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:gcab |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.6 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
gcab 1.6-1+b3
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation tool
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install gcab- Section: utils
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Debian apt95%
gir1.2-gcab-1.0 1.6-1+b3
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library - gir bindings
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install gir1.2-gcab-1.0- Section: introspection
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Debian apt95%
libgcab-1.0-0 1.6-1+b3
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install libgcab-1.0-0- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Debian apt95%
libgcab-dev 1.6-1+b3
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library - development files
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install libgcab-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Debian apt95%
libgcab-doc 1.6-1
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library - documentation
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install libgcab-doc- Section: doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: gcab
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Debian apt95%
libgcab-tests 1.6-1+b3
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library - as-installed tests
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install libgcab-tests- Section: misc
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Nix95%
gcab
nix profile install nixpkgs#gcab- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Ubuntu apt95%
gcab 1.6-1build2
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation tool
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install gcab- Section: universe/utils
- Architecture: amd64
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Ubuntu apt95%
gir1.2-gcab-1.0 1.6-1build2
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library - gir bindings
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install gir1.2-gcab-1.0- Section: universe/introspection
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Ubuntu apt95%
libgcab-1.0-0 1.6-1build2
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install libgcab-1.0-0- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Ubuntu apt95%
libgcab-dev 1.6-1build2
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library - development files
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install libgcab-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Ubuntu apt95%
libgcab-doc 1.6-1build2
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library - documentation
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install libgcab-doc- Section: universe/doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: gcab
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
Ubuntu apt95%
libgcab-tests 1.6-1build2
Microsoft Cabinet file manipulation library - as-installed tests
https://wiki.gnome.org/msitools
sudo apt install libgcab-tests- Section: universe/misc
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: gcab
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
dnf95%
gcab 1.6-12.fc45
Cabinet file library and tool
http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/gcab
sudo dnf install gcab- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: gcab
- 8 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
dnf95%
libgcab1 1.6-12.fc45
Library to create Cabinet archives
http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/gcab
sudo dnf install libgcab1- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: gcab
- 7 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
dnf95%
libgcab1-devel 1.6-12.fc45
Development files to create Cabinet archives
http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/gcab
sudo dnf install libgcab1-devel- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: gcab
- 5 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Gcab
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
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation