# Install libcap-ng with Homebrew, apk, dnf, pacman, apt, Nix, zypper

Library for Linux that makes using posix capabilities easy. Version 0.9.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install libcap-ng-dev.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:libcap-ng
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install libcap-ng
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add libcap-ng
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcap-ng from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install libcap-ng
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libcap-ng from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S libcap-ng
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: libcap-ng from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/core/os/x86_64/core.db.tar.gz

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install libcap-ng-dev
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libcap-ng-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#libcap_ng
```

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

- zypper (92%):

```sh
sudo zypper install libcap-ng-devel
```

  Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libcap-ng-devel from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:libcap-ng
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.9.3
- **Source summary:** Library for Linux that makes using posix capabilities easy
- **Homepage:** <https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/stevegrubb/libcap-ng>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- filecap (alias)
- netcap (alias)
- pscap (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.9.3
## Project history and usage

libcap-ng is Steve Grubb's Linux capability library and utility suite, designed to make POSIX capability programming easier than the older libcap API.

### Project history

The libcap-ng site states the design goal directly: make programming with POSIX capabilities easier than the traditional libcap library. Its README demonstrates common use cases such as dropping all capabilities, keeping selected capabilities, checking capability state, and retaining capabilities across UID changes.

The project paired the C library with administrative tools. netcap reports listening network processes and their capabilities, pscap reports privileged processes, filecap searches for files with file capabilities, and cap-audit can audit capability checks when built with the optional eBPF-based tooling.

### Adoption history

libcap-ng was adopted by Linux distributions because it gives application developers and packagers a smaller API for privilege dropping, while giving administrators tools to inspect capability exposure across a running system.

### How it is used

Developers use capng_clear, capng_update, capng_apply, and related calls to drop or retain Linux capabilities. Administrators use pscap, netcap, and filecap to find over-privileged processes and files.

### Why package nerds care

In package-manager terms, libcap-ng is a security plumbing package: it is rarely user-facing, but it makes least-privilege patches shorter and more reviewable. That is exactly the kind of small library that changes whether downstream packages actually drop privileges.

### Timeline

- 0.4: Initial public release, according to the upstream ChangeLog.
- 0.6: Added Python bindings and an m4 macro for autotools consumers.
- 0.8: Added ambient capability support and V3 filesystem capability support.
- 2024-04-09: The project site listed libcap-ng 0.8.5 release files.
- 0.9: The README documents a distribution move away from people.redhat.com release hosting to the GitHub page.

### Related projects

- Related projects include libcap, Linux capabilities, file capabilities, procfs capability inspection, systemd ambient capabilities, and eBPF-based capability auditing.

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libcap-ng>
- <https://github.com/stevegrubb/libcap-ng>
- <https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng>
- <https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng/ChangeLog>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stevegrubb/libcap-ng/master/README.md>


## Security Notes

library-like package without higher-risk signals.

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

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - libcap-ng-dev - 0.8.5-4+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libcap-ng-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Development and header files for libcap-ng | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng
- Debian apt - libcap-ng-utils - 0.8.5-4+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libcap-ng-utils from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Utilities for analysing and setting file capabilities | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng
- Debian apt - libcap-ng0 - 0.8.5-4+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libcap-ng0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | alternate POSIX capabilities library | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng
- Debian apt - python3-cap-ng - 0.8.5-4+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: python3-cap-ng from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Python3 bindings for libcap-ng | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng
- Nix - libcap_ng: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libcap_ng/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - libcap-ng-dev - 0.8.4-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libcap-ng-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Development and header files for libcap-ng | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng
- Ubuntu apt - libcap-ng-utils - 0.8.4-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libcap-ng-utils from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Utilities for analysing and setting file capabilities | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng
- Ubuntu apt - libcap-ng0 - 0.8.4-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libcap-ng0 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | alternate POSIX capabilities library | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng
- Ubuntu apt - python3-cap-ng - 0.8.4-2build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: python3-cap-ng from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Python3 bindings for libcap-ng | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng
- apk - libcap-ng - 0.8.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcap-ng from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | POSIX capabilities library | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng/index.html
- apk - libcap-ng-dev - 0.8.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcap-ng-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | POSIX capabilities library (development files) | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng/index.html
- apk - libcap-ng-doc - 0.8.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcap-ng-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | POSIX capabilities library (documentation) | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng/index.html
- apk - libcap-ng-static - 0.8.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcap-ng-static from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | POSIX capabilities library (static library) | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng/index.html
- apk - libcap-ng-utils - 0.8.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcap-ng-utils from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | posix capabilities utils | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng/index.html
- apk - py3-libcap-ng - 0.8.5-r2: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: py3-libcap-ng from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | python bindings for libcap-ng | https://people.redhat.com/sgrubb/libcap-ng/index.html
- dnf - libcap-ng - 0.9.3-4.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libcap-ng from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Alternate posix capabilities library | https://github.com/stevegrubb/libcap-ng


## Combined YAML source

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