macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install harbourlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 8224
Install harbour with Homebrew, winget
Portable, xBase-compatible programming language and environment. Version 3.0.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25. Also installable with winget: winget install --id Harbour.Harbour -e.
install
Additional install commands
Windows
Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id Harbour.Harbour -eWindows Package Manager source index · Harbour.Harbour · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com
overview
Package summary
Portable, xBase-compatible programming language and environment
Project links
Commands and aliases
- harbour
- hb3rdpat.hbs
- hbi18n
- hbmk2
- hbpp
- hbtest
history
Project history and usage
Harbour is a free software implementation of a Clipper/xBase-compatible programming language, compiler, runtime, build system, and library environment. It exists to keep xBase-style business applications portable across modern systems.
Project history
The official Harbour FAQ says the idea of a free software Clipper compiler had circulated in the comp.lang.clipper community, and that actual development began in early 1999 when Antonio Linares started discussing a Clipper grammar built with Lex and Yacc.
The official homepage describes Harbour as a cross-platform, multi-threading, object-oriented, scriptable language implementation with compiler and runtime libraries, UI/database/I/O backends, its own build system, and bindings for popular APIs.
The homepage lists a stable 3.0.0 release dated 2011-07-17, while the GitHub repository remains the official source-control location for the core implementation.
Adoption history
Harbour's audience is narrower than a mainstream language runtime: it serves developers maintaining or modernizing CA-Clipper, dBase, FoxPro-like, and other xBase-family code. Its value is continuity for business/database applications that can be compiled and run on newer operating systems.
The supplied package facts show a small package-manager footprint, which fits a specialist language environment rather than a foundational system dependency.
How it is used
Users write or port xBase/Clipper-style source, compile it with Harbour tools, and link against Harbour runtime libraries and optional UI, database, networking, crypto, compression, or platform bindings.
The Homebrew package exposes compiler and tool executables such as `harbour`, `hbmk2`, `hbpp`, `hbi18n`, and `hbtest`, making it useful for rebuilding legacy applications or experimenting with xBase code on macOS.
Why package nerds care
Harbour is notable to package collectors because it preserves a business-programming lineage that otherwise belongs to DOS and early PC database tooling. It is a compatibility bridge, not just another compiler.
Packaging such a toolchain means caring about C compiler interoperability, runtime library layout, build helper tools, and cross-platform assumptions carried forward from Clipper-era source code.
Timeline
- 1999: Official FAQ says actual Harbour development began in early 1999.
- 2000s: Harbour grows into a compiler plus runtime libraries, backends, build tooling, and API bindings.
- 2011-07-17: Official homepage lists Harbour 3.0.0 stable release.
- 2020s: Official GitHub repository hosts Harbour core as a portable xBase-compatible language and environment.
Related projects
- Related projects and technologies include CA-Clipper, dBase, FoxPro, xHarbour, xBase++, FlagShip, DBF file tooling, and GUI libraries used by Harbour applications.
- Harbour also relates to C compilers because Harbour-generated or Harbour-linked programs depend on the platform C toolchain.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: yellow
generalized runtime or code generation signal.
Risk classifier
yellow risk · medium confidence · runtime
Why
- generalized runtime or code generation signal
Signals
- text:programming language
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
harbour | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
hb3rdpat.hbs | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
hbi18n | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
hbmk2 | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
hbpp | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
hbtest | 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 version3.0.0
manager updated2026-06-25
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:harbour |
|---|---|
| Version | 3.0.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://harbour.github.io |
| Repository | https://github.com/harbour/core |
| Last updated | 2026-06-25T13:37:45+02:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| 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.
winget95%
Harbour.Harbour
winget install --id Harbour.Harbour -e- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Harbour
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