# Install libgcrypt with Homebrew Cryptographic library based on the code from GnuPG. Version 1.12.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:libgcrypt ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install libgcrypt ``` Evidence: provider-native install command ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:libgcrypt - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.12.2 - **Source summary:** Cryptographic library based on the code from GnuPG - **Homepage:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00 ## Executables - dumpsexp (alias) - hmac256 (alias) - libgcrypt-config (alias) - mpicalc (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.12.2 ## Project history and usage Libgcrypt is the GnuPG project's standalone cryptographic building-block library, split out so applications could use GnuPG-derived primitives without embedding the OpenPGP implementation itself. It matters in package ecosystems because it is a low-level C library whose ABI promises, security releases, and CPU-specific optimizations ripple into many security-sensitive applications. ### Project history The GnuPG project describes Libgcrypt as a general-purpose cryptographic library originally based on GnuPG code. GnuPG news and release material show the library becoming a separately versioned component by the early 2000s, with a 2003 alpha-series announcement for Libgcrypt 1.1.42 and later 1.2.x, 1.4.x, 1.5.x, 1.7.x, 1.8.x, 1.10.x, and 1.12.x release lines. Its scope grew from the cryptographic code needed by GnuPG into a broad primitive library covering symmetric ciphers, hashes, MACs, public-key algorithms, multi-precision integers, random-number generation, S-expressions, FIPS-related behavior, and helper tools. The project page also records a packaging-relevant compatibility policy: Libgcrypt versions since 1.2 keep API and ABI compatibility. ### Adoption history Libgcrypt's adoption follows GnuPG's split-library architecture: GnuPG and related projects can share a maintained cryptographic core while packagers ship it as an independent system library. Homebrew, Linux distributions, Nix, MacPorts, and other package managers expose it as a separate package because many consumers need the library without installing or rebuilding the whole GnuPG stack. The GnuPG release stream treats Libgcrypt security updates as first-class events. Multiple GnuPG news entries call out Libgcrypt releases for side-channel fixes, stable-branch compatibility, new algorithms, and random-number-generator work, which is why downstream maintainers track it closely. ### How it is used Developers link against Libgcrypt when they need a C API for cryptographic primitives, MPI arithmetic, random bytes, or S-expression-based public-key operations. The command-line helpers packaged with it, such as hmac256 and mpicalc, are secondary to the library but useful for testing and small operational tasks. The library intentionally does not provide a complete OpenPGP protocol implementation; it supplies lower-level cryptographic operations. That boundary is important for users choosing between Libgcrypt, GPGME, and the GnuPG command-line tools. ### Why package nerds care For package maintainers, Libgcrypt is a classic shared-library dependency: small on the surface, but security-critical, ABI-sensitive, and tied to CPU feature detection, FIPS behavior, and distribution hardening policies. Its separate release branches let downstreams apply fixes without forcing an application-level GnuPG upgrade. Its long API/ABI compatibility promise since 1.2 is unusually package-friendly for a cryptographic C library and helps explain why it appears broadly across Unix-like package sets. ### Timeline - 2003: Libgcrypt 1.1.42 announced as a general-purpose cryptography library based on GnuPG code. - 2005: Libgcrypt 1.2.1 announced in the GnuPG news stream. - 2007: Libgcrypt 1.4.0 announced as a stable branch compatible with the 1.2 series. - 2011: Libgcrypt 1.5.0 announced as a stable branch compatible with the 1.4 series. - 2016: Libgcrypt 1.7.0 announced with new algorithms, curves, and performance work. - 2017: Libgcrypt 1.8.0 announced with Blake2 support, XTS mode, random-number-generator work, and ARM performance improvements. - 2022: Libgcrypt 1.10.1 announced as a stable branch with API and ABI compatibility to the 1.9 series. - 2026: Libgcrypt 1.12.2, 1.11.3, and 1.10.4 announced for security advisory T8211. ### Related projects - GnuPG is the parent ecosystem and original source of the code lineage. GPGME sits at a higher level for applications that want GnuPG integration rather than raw cryptographic primitives. Libgpg-error is commonly paired with GnuPG libraries for shared error handling. ### Sources - - - - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for libgcrypt. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libgcrypt.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libgcrypt.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation