# Install libilbc with Homebrew, Nix, pacman

Packaged version of iLBC codec from the WebRTC project. Version 3.0.4 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#libilbc.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:libilbc
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install libilbc
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#libilbc
```

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

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S libilbc
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: libilbc from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:libilbc
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 3.0.4
- **Source summary:** Packaged version of iLBC codec from the WebRTC project
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/TimothyGu/libilbc>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/TimothyGu/libilbc>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- ilbc_test (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 3.0.4
## Project history and usage

libilbc is a packaging-focused standalone copy of the Internet Low Bit Rate Codec implementation from the WebRTC project. Its package value is that it turns a codec otherwise embedded in a much larger communications stack into a small system library and test utility.

### Project history

The underlying iLBC codec was specified for the IETF in RFC 3951, published in December 2004, with RFC 3952 defining the RTP payload format for carrying iLBC speech. The libilbc repository packages WebRTC's implementation as a distributable library rather than requiring consumers to vendor a WebRTC source subtree.

Timothy Gu took over maintainership for the standalone package in the 2.0.0 release dated November 17, 2014, updated the bundled WebRTC source, cleaned the Autotools files, and added CMake support. Version 3.0.0 on December 18, 2020 updated again to WebRTC source r32829, removed Autotools, made CMake the build system, and introduced the installed ilbc_test utility.

### Adoption history

Adoption is mainly through distribution packaging and projects that need the iLBC codec without a full WebRTC dependency. The README explicitly targets packagers, and Homebrew, Nix, and Arch package metadata all carry the package under the libilbc name.

### How it is used

Typical use is linking against the C library for iLBC encode and decode support or running ilbc_test against raw 8 kHz mono PCM samples. The codec remains relevant where narrowband speech compatibility and packet-loss behavior matter more than modern wideband audio quality.

### Why package nerds care

For package maintainers, libilbc is a classic extraction package: it keeps a small, ABI-versioned codec library available without forcing each downstream to track WebRTC internals. The 2020 CMake-only release also made the package easier to integrate into cross-platform build systems.

### Timeline

- 2004-12: RFC 3951 specified iLBC as an experimental Internet codec, and RFC 3952 specified its RTP payload format.
- 2014-11-17: libilbc 2.0.0 moved under Timothy Gu's maintainership and refreshed the WebRTC source snapshot.
- 2014-12-14: libilbc 2.0.2 fixed release-tarball and shared-library packaging details.
- 2020-12-18: libilbc 3.0.0 updated to WebRTC source r32829 and made CMake the only build system.
- 2020-12-31: libilbc 3.0.4 fixed a Chromium issue and upstreamed local patches to WebRTC.

### Related projects

- Related projects include WebRTC, which supplies the codec implementation packaged here; the IETF iLBC RFCs that define the codec and RTP payload; and downstream multimedia or telephony packages that prefer a small standalone codec library.

### Sources

- <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3952>
- <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc3951/>
- <https://github.com/TimothyGu/libilbc>
- <https://github.com/TimothyGu/libilbc/releases>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TimothyGu/libilbc/main/NEWS.md>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TimothyGu/libilbc/main/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

- Nix - libilbc: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libilbc/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman - libilbc - 3.0.4-4: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: libilbc from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | A friendly copy of the iLBC codec from the WebRTC project | https://github.com/TimothyGu/libilbc/


## Combined YAML source

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