# Install libavif with Homebrew

Library for encoding and decoding .avif files. Version 1.4.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:libavif
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install libavif
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:libavif
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.4.2
- **Source summary:** Library for encoding and decoding .avif files
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/AOMediaCodec/libavif>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/AOMediaCodec/libavif>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- avifdec (alias)
- avifenc (alias)
- avifgainmaputil (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.4.2
## Project history and usage

libavif is AOMedia's portable C implementation of the AV1 Image File Format. It provides the library API plus the `avifenc` and `avifdec` command-line tools used to encode, decode, inspect, and test AVIF images.

### Project history

The project was created around the AVIF specification, which maps AV1 image payloads into an ISO base media file format container. The repository copyright text names Joe Drago in 2019, and the codebase grew into an AOMedia-hosted implementation with codec back ends for libaom, dav1d, libgav1, rav1e, and SVT-AV1.

The changelog shows the project moving from fast-moving 0.x releases into a 1.0.0 release on 2023-08-24, where the maintainers stated the ABI would be more stable from that point. Later releases added gain-map work, image-sequence handling, stricter parsing, and build/dependency refinements.

### Adoption history

libavif became the practical Unix package for AVIF batch conversion because it ships simple tools and a small C API. Its README documents package-manager installation across Homebrew, MacPorts, Debian-style systems, Red Hat-style systems, MSYS2, and Windows via vcpkg or release binaries.

### How it is used

Users commonly run `avifenc` to convert JPEG, PNG, or Y4M input to AVIF and `avifdec` to decode AVIF output back to common image formats. Developers link the library when they need AVIF support without embedding the full details of AV1 codec selection, metadata handling, tiling, alpha, gain maps, and color conversion.

### Why package nerds care

libavif is the tiny command-line face of a much larger codec ecosystem. Package maintainers care about it because optional codec dependencies change feature coverage, performance, binary size, and patent-policy comfort while the same `avifenc` and `avifdec` commands appear in scripts and image pipelines.

### Timeline

- 2019: Repository license text records Joe Drago copyright for libavif.
- 2020: Version 0.8.0 adds image sequence encoding and related codec-layer refactoring.
- 2023: Version 1.0.0 marks a more stable ABI.
- 2024: Version 1.1.0 adds experimental gain-map API work.
- 2025: Version 1.2.0 installs `avifgainmaputil` and turns on gain-map API support.
- 2026: Version 1.4.2 requires C11 for compilation while keeping public headers C99.

### Related projects

- AV1 Image File Format, libaom, dav1d, libgav1, rav1e, SVT-AV1, libyuv, libjpeg, libpng, and image conversion pipelines are the main adjacent projects.

### Sources

- <https://aomediacodec.github.io/av1-avif/>
- <https://github.com/AOMediaCodec/libavif>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AOMediaCodec/libavif/main/CHANGELOG.md>


## Security Notes

library-like package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- library-like package without higher-risk signals


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libavif.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libavif.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation