# Install lc0 with Homebrew, Nix

Open source neural network based chess engine. Version 0.32.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#lc0.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:lc0
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install lc0
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#lc0
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/lc/lc0/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:lc0
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.32.1
- **Source summary:** Open source neural network based chess engine
- **Homepage:** <https://lczero.org/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0>
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-25T13:37:48+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- lc0 (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.32.1
## Project history and usage

lc0 is the Leela Chess Zero engine, an open source UCI-compatible chess engine that plays with neural networks from the LeelaChessZero project.

### Project history

Leela Chess Zero grew out of the post-AlphaZero wave of open source chess experimentation. The official site describes Lc0 as inspired by Google's Alpha Zero project, and the GitHub README describes the engine as the executable half of the LeelaChessZero project.

### Adoption history

The project became important beyond ordinary package installation because users could both run the engine and contribute self-play training games. The README says the training server enforces game quality using client and engine versions, and the official site separates downloading the engine from downloading a neural network.

### How it is used

Users typically run lc0 through a chess GUI or UCI-compatible interface, pairing the engine binary with a downloaded network. The README documents CPU and GPU backends including BLAS, CUDA, cuDNN, ONNX, Apple's Metal Performance Shaders, and experimental SYCL support.

### Why package nerds care

lc0 is a rare package-manager-facing chess engine whose useful artifact is not just code but a code-plus-weights ecosystem. It also represents a major open source response to AlphaZero: a reproducible, community-run neural-network chess engine distributed through source, binary releases, and operating-system package managers.

### Timeline

- 2018-05-30: GitHub lc0 repository created.
- 2018-11-19: Official blog announced lc0 v0.19.0.
- 2018-12-07: Official blog discussed AlphaZero paper details and lc0 v0.19.1.
- 2019-05-28: Official blog announced that Lc0 won TCEC 15.
- 2023-01-15: Official blog summarized 2022 progress, including contributors, search changes, network architecture changes, and new backends.
- 2025-11-23: Release v0.32.1 published.

### Related projects

- The official docs relate lc0 to AlphaZero, the LeelaChessZero training network, chess GUIs such as Nibbler, UCI-compatible chess tooling, TCEC competition, and backends such as CUDA, ONNX, BLAS, Metal, and SYCL.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/LeelaChessZero/lc0>
- <https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0>
- <https://github.com/LeelaChessZero/lc0/releases>
- <https://lczero.org/>
- <https://lczero.org/blog/2018/12/alphazero-paper-and-lc0-v0191/>
- <https://lczero.org/blog/2019/05/lc0-won-tcec-15/>
- <https://lczero.org/blog/2023/01/2022-progress/>
- <https://lczero.org/dev/wiki/what-is-lc0/>


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - lc0: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/lc/lc0/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/lc0.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/lc0.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