macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libcpucycleslocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 10573
Install libcpucycles with Homebrew, dnf, Nix, apt
Microlibrary for counting CPU cycles. Version 20260625 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install cpucycles.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libcpucyclesFedora Rawhide package metadata · libcpucycles · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libcpucyclesnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libcpucycles/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install cpucyclesDebian stable package indexes · cpucycles · source: deb.debian.org
overview
Package summary
Microlibrary for counting CPU cycles
Project links
Commands and aliases
- cpucycles-info
- cpucycles-open
history
Project history and usage
libcpucycles is a small timing library for counting CPU cycles across multiple CPU and operating-system counter mechanisms. It comes from the cr.yp.to ecosystem associated with Daniel J. Bernstein's performance-oriented cryptographic and systems software.
Project history
The official introduction describes libcpucycles as a microlibrary for cycle counting, with a simple API: include `cpucycles.h`, call `cpucycles()`, and link with `-lcpucycles`. The project abstracts machine-level counters such as amd64 TSC/PMC, ARM counters, RISC-V counters, and OS fallbacks such as `mach_absolute_time`, `perf_event`, `CLOCK_MONOTONIC`, and `gettimeofday`.
The release notes visible in the 20250925 documentation show active portability work after the early 2023 tarballs, including s390x counter support, FreeBSD support, arm32-1176 support, a `cpucycles-info` man page, and macOS build fixes.
Adoption history
Adoption is concentrated among developers who need reproducible low-overhead timing for cryptography, benchmarking, and systems tuning. Its appearance in Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora-family packages, and Nix reflects a package-manager role as a tiny measurement primitive rather than an end-user application.
How it is used
Programmers use libcpucycles when they want an architecture-aware cycle counter without writing per-platform assembly and fallback code. Package users also get tools such as `cpucycles-info` and `cpucycles-open`, which help inspect available counters and support benchmarking workflows.
Why package nerds care
libcpucycles is package-nerd interesting because it packages the messy hardware reality of cycle counters into a minimal library. It is deliberately small, but its value is in the portability table: one dependency handles CPU families and OS timing APIs that would otherwise become build-system conditionals in every benchmark.
Timeline
- 2023-01-10: Release notes document `cpucycles_version()` and s390x counter work.
- 2023-01-15: Release notes mention behavior alignment for `cpucycles_version()`.
- 2024-01-14: Release notes add arm32-1176 counter support, FreeBSD support, and install/license documentation updates.
- 2024-03-18: Release notes mention macOS porting fixes and the `cpucycles-info` man page.
- 2025-09-25: Documentation tree published for libcpucycles-20250925.
Related projects
- Related projects include the broader cr.yp.to software family, architecture-specific cycle counters such as TSC and PMC, Linux `perf_event`, POSIX clocks, and benchmarking code in cryptographic libraries.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
library-like package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- library-like package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:library-like
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
cpucycles-info | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
cpucycles-open | 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 version20260625
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:libcpucycles |
|---|---|
| Version | 20260625 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://cpucycles.cr.yp.to/ |
| 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.
Debian apt95%
cpucycles 0~20240318-2
command-line tool for counting CPU cycles (libcpucycles)
sudo apt install cpucycles- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Debian apt95%
libcpucycles-dev 0~20240318-2
library for counting CPU cycles - development files
sudo apt install libcpucycles-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Debian apt95%
libcpucycles1 0~20240318-2
library for counting CPU cycles
sudo apt install libcpucycles1- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Nix95%
libcpucycles
nix profile install nixpkgs#libcpucycles- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Ubuntu apt95%
cpucycles 0~20240114-1
command-line tool for counting CPU cycles (libcpucycles)
sudo apt install cpucycles- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Ubuntu apt95%
libcpucycles-dev 0~20240114-1
library for counting CPU cycles - development files
sudo apt install libcpucycles-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
Ubuntu apt95%
libcpucycles1 0~20240114-1
library for counting CPU cycles
sudo apt install libcpucycles1- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
dnf95%
libcpucycles 20260625-2.fc45
Library for counting CPU cycles
sudo dnf install libcpucycles- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain OR 0BSD OR MIT-0 OR MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
dnf95%
libcpucycles-devel 20260625-2.fc45
Development files for libcpucycles
sudo dnf install libcpucycles-devel- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain OR 0BSD OR MIT-0 OR MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
dnf95%
libcpucycles-static 20260625-2.fc45
Static version of the libcpucycles library
sudo dnf install libcpucycles-static- License: LicenseRef-Fedora-Public-Domain OR 0BSD OR MIT-0 OR MIT
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libcpucycles
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libcpucycles
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