install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install libsail

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Missing small and fast image decoding library for humans (not for machines)

Project links

Commands and aliases

sail-imaging

history

Project history and usage

libsail is the library component of SAIL, the Squirrel Abstract Imaging Library, a cross-platform C11 image decoding and encoding library with C, C++, and Python APIs. Its history is thinner than older desktop libraries, but the project documents a predecessor relationship to ksquirrel-libs.

Project history

The SAIL FAQ says SAIL is a rebranded ksquirrel-libs rewritten in C, improved, and enhanced with high-level APIs, and dates the SAIL/ksquirrel-libs lineage to 2003. The GitHub repository was created in March 2020 and the release tags show pre-release development through the 0.9.0 series before 1.0.0 tags in June 2026.

Adoption history

The README positions SAIL for image viewers, game developers, and applications that need a clean API for many image formats. It also documents installation through PyPI, Homebrew, Conan, and vcpkg, which is the main source-backed evidence for cross-platform packaging adoption.

How it is used

Users link libsail from C or C++, use the Python binding, or invoke the sail command-line utility for conversion, resizing, frame extraction, and codec-tuning operations. The library loads codecs on demand and exposes multiple API levels for simple and advanced image handling.

Why package nerds care

SAIL is interesting to packagers because it tries to sit between tiny single-header image loaders and large desktop imaging stacks: codec plugins, C11 portability, Python bindings, and package recipes all meet in one relatively young image-library package.

Timeline

2003: The project's FAQ dates the SAIL/ksquirrel-libs lineage to this year.
2020: The GitHub repository was created in March and the v0.9.0-pre1 tag was made in June.
2023: The v0.9.0 tag was made in November.
2026: The v1.0.0 tag was published in June.

Related projects

Related projects include ksquirrel-libs, KSquirrel, FreeImage, DevIL, SDL_image, stb_image, Boost.GIL, gdk-pixbuf, imlib2, CImg, Conan, vcpkg, and sailpy.

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
`sail-imaging`	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 version1.1.0

manager updated

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:libsail
Version	1.1.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://sail.software
Repository	https://github.com/HappySeaFox/sail
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none declared

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/libsail.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
pkg.so package database
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install libsail with Homebrew