# Install libheif with Homebrew

ISO/IEC 23008-12:2017 HEIF file format decoder and encoder. Version 1.23.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:libheif
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install libheif
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:libheif
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.23.1
- **Source summary:** ISO/IEC 23008-12:2017 HEIF file format decoder and encoder
- **Homepage:** <https://www.libde265.org/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/strukturag/libheif>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- heif-convert (alias)
- heif-dec (alias)
- heif-enc (alias)
- heif-info (alias)
- heif-thumbnailer (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.23.1
## Project history and usage

libheif is a C/C++ library and set of command-line tools for HEIF-family still-image formats. Its package-manager value comes from sitting at the awkward but important boundary between container formats, patent-heavy video codecs, and desktop image tooling.

The project is associated with Struktur AG and Dirk Farin, and the public repository describes it as an ISO/IEC 23008-12 HEIF and AVIF file-format decoder and encoder.

### Project history

The v1.0.0 release in February 2018 was billed as the first still-image decoder release and already covered HEIF features such as tiled images, alpha channels, thumbnails, EXIF/XMP metadata, depth channels, multiple images, image transformations, and overlays.

The v1.7.0 release in June 2020 added AVIF reading and writing through libaom and described a plugin architecture that let encoders reuse HEIF infrastructure while selecting AV1 compression.

The v1.12.0 release in May 2021 added MIAF conformance handling, premultiplied-alpha signaling, AV1 sequence-header parsing for the av1C box, and AVIF pixi-box writing. The v1.22.0 release in May 2026 broadened the library toward generic image components and a reworked ISO/IEC 23001-17 lossless-image codec implementation.

### Adoption history

libheif became a common Unix package because it gave image applications and shell workflows a reusable way to read HEIC files from Apple-oriented ecosystems and AVIF files from web-image ecosystems without each application implementing the container stack itself.

Homebrew ships it with user-facing tools such as heif-convert, heif-enc, heif-dec, heif-info, and heif-thumbnailer, which made it useful both as a library dependency and as a command-line conversion utility.

### How it is used

Typical package use is format conversion, image inspection, thumbnail generation, and linking higher-level image software against a shared HEIF/AVIF implementation. Codec details are delegated to companion libraries or plugins such as libaom for AV1 support.

### Why package nerds care

libheif matters to packagers because the visible package is small, but its usefulness depends on codec policy, optional dependencies, plugin choices, and file-format brands. It is the sort of package where build options decide whether users get HEIC-only, AVIF-capable, or broader modern-image support.

It also marks the shift from classic single-image formats toward containerized image formats that carry auxiliary images, metadata, sequences, depth, alpha, HDR, and codec-specific boxes.

### Timeline

- 2018: v1.0.0 released as the first still-image decoder release.
- 2020: v1.7.0 added AVIF reading and writing through libaom.
- 2021: v1.12.0 added MIAF conformance and AVIF metadata refinements.
- 2026: v1.22.0 expanded generic image components and ISO/IEC 23001-17 lossless-image support.

### Related projects

- libde265 and x265 are closely related through HEVC/HEIC workflows.
- libaom and other AV1 codec projects are related through AVIF encoding and decoding.
- ImageMagick, GIMP, thumbnailers, and desktop file managers are typical downstream consumers of HEIF/AVIF libraries.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/strukturag/libheif/releases/tags/v1.0.0>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/strukturag/libheif/releases/tags/v1.12.0>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/strukturag/libheif/releases/tags/v1.22.0>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/strukturag/libheif/releases/tags/v1.7.0>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libheif>
- <https://github.com/strukturag/libheif>


## Security Notes

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for libheif. 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/libheif.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libheif.yml)


## Sources

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