Install ipmiutil with Homebrew, apk, apt, Nix, zypper

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• ialarms
• icmd
• iconfig
• idiscover
• ievents
• ifirewall
• ifru
• ifwum
• igetevent
• ihealth
• ihpm
• ilan
• ipicmg
• ipmi_port
• ipmiutil
• ireset
• isel
• iseltime
• isensor
• iserial
• isol
• iuser
• iwdt

Project history

The project began in October 2001 inside the Carrier Grade Linux effort under the name panicsel. Its first focus was practical failure handling: a Linux kernel patch that could write panic events into the IPMI firmware log, plus user-space utilities around that workflow. The User Guide records inclusion in MontaVista CGE Linux 2.1 in July 2002, OSDL CGL requirements, and later movement of panic-event functionality into OpenIPMI for Linux 2.6 kernels.

The project broadened from panic logging into a general IPMI utility suite, adding native Windows build support in January 2004, moving from panicsel.sf.net to ipmiutil.sf.net in August 2004, and adding FreeIPMI library support in November 2004. The GitHub README preserves the renamed project's positioning as an easy-to-use, cross-platform set of IPMI utilities, with driverless Linux support for boot media and embedded environments.

Adoption history

ipmiutil's adoption story is tied to commodity server administration rather than desktop popularity. Its documentation names administrators, developers, and OEMs as target users, lists tested systems from Intel, Dell, Supermicro, Sun, Tyan, NEC, Kontron, and AMI MegaRAC, and emphasizes IPMI-compliant vendor firmware support.

Package-manager presence keeps it reachable when an operator needs an IPMI tool quickly. Homebrew packages it as ipmiutil, and the input metadata also records packages in APK, Debian, Nix, Ubuntu, and zypper ecosystems.

How it is used

The suite exposes many narrow commands under the ipmiutil umbrella: isensor for sensor data records and thresholds, isel for the System Event Log, ireset for power control, ilan for BMC LAN and Platform Event Filter configuration, isol for Serial-over-LAN, iwdt for watchdog handling, and related helpers for FRU data, discovery, firmware firewall, and event monitoring.

The project matters operationally because it bridges local drivers, remote LAN access, and vendor firmware oddities. The documentation describes OpenIPMI, Intel IMB, FreeBSD, Solaris, Windows, and driverless Linux access paths, plus automation scripts for checking SEL records, reserving RMCP port 623, receiving shutdown events, and resetting watchdog timers.

Why package nerds care

For package maintainers, ipmiutil is the kind of old systems tool whose value comes from breadth and portability rather than fashion. It carries a mix of C, shell, Makefile, and platform-specific build paths; supports server hardware that may be years behind ordinary user-space expectations; and overlaps with but does not simply duplicate ipmitool, FreeIPMI, and OpenIPMI.

Timeline

• 2001: Started as panicsel in the Carrier Grade Linux effort.
• 2002: Included in MontaVista CGE Linux 2.1 and referenced by OSDL CGL requirements.
• 2004: Added Windows 2000/2003 build support, moved to the ipmiutil name, and added FreeIPMI library support.
• Linux 2.6 era: Kernel panic-event functionality moved into OpenIPMI support.
• 2026: Homebrew formula metadata packages ipmiutil 3.2.2 with macOS and Linux bottles.

Related projects

• OpenIPMI provides Linux kernel and user-space IPMI support that ipmiutil can use and historically influenced.
• FreeIPMI and ipmitool are adjacent IPMI tooling projects with overlapping server-management use cases.
• The Service Availability Forum HPI utilities and OpenHPI are related through the HPI utility code mentioned in the ipmiutil User Guide.

Sources

• Homebrew formula metadata supplies package-manager presence, formula naming, license, and bottle context.
• The GitHub README supplies the concise project positioning, panicsel rename note, cross-platform claims, and driverless Linux emphasis.
• The ipmiutil User Guide supplies the origin timeline, platform support, supported utilities, configuration path, IPMI driver context, tested server families, and related project notes.