# Install libsql with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix

Fork of SQLite that is both Open Source, and Open Contributions. Version 0.24.32 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with macports: sudo port install libsql.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:libsql
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install libsql
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install libsql
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: databases/libsql/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#sqld
```

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

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:libsql
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.24.32
- **Source summary:** Fork of SQLite that is both Open Source, and Open Contributions
- **Homepage:** <https://turso.tech/libsql>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/tursodatabase/libsql>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- sqld (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.24.32
## Project history and usage

libSQL is Turso's open-source, open-contribution fork of SQLite. In package-manager terms it is interesting because it repackages the SQLite model with networked server pieces, embedded replicas, remote access, vector search, and a contribution workflow that differs from upstream SQLite.

### Project history

Turso documentation describes libSQL as a production-ready fork of SQLite, created because SQLite is open-source but not open-contribution. The project README says libSQL is created and maintained by Turso.

A Turso blog post dated October 3, 2023 says the libSQL project had been announced one year earlier as a fork of SQLite. GitHub release metadata records libsql-0.1.0 on November 22, 2022, matching that origin window.

### Adoption history

libSQL adoption is tied to Turso's hosted database service and SDK ecosystem. Turso's docs distinguish libSQL from Turso Database, describing libSQL as the fork that keeps SQLite's file format and API while adding features such as embedded replicas, remote access, and native vector search.

### How it is used

Homebrew's libsql package exposes sqld, the server component. Developers use libSQL either as a SQLite-compatible engine with extensions or as part of Turso's remote/replicated SQLite workflow rather than as a general-purpose command-line replacement for sqlite3.

### Why package nerds care

libSQL matters to package nerds because it is a high-profile fork of one of the most depended-on libraries in software. It raises practical packaging questions around SQLite compatibility, server packaging, language SDKs, migration paths, and how far a downstream fork can evolve while preserving the SQLite contract.

### Timeline

- 2022-11-22: GitHub release metadata records libsql-0.1.0.
- 2023-10-03: Turso wrote that libSQL had been announced one year earlier and was being brought into the Turso family.
- 2025-01-21: Turso announced a strategic move toward a ground-up SQLite rewrite while describing libSQL as the earlier fork that proved the open-contribution thesis.

### Related projects

- SQLite is the upstream database project and compatibility target.
- Turso Cloud was built on the libSQL foundation.
- Turso Database, formerly discussed as a rewrite path, is the same team's separate SQLite-compatible rewrite.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/tursodatabase/libsql/releases?per_page=100>
- <https://docs.turso.tech/libsql>
- <https://github.com/tursodatabase/libsql>
- <https://turso.tech/blog/we-will-rewrite-sqlite-and-we-are-going-all-in>
- <https://turso.tech/blog/were-bringing-libsql-into-the-turso-family-8cc1a653448e>
- <https://www.sqlite.org/copyright.html>


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

## Other Package-Manager Records

- MacPorts - libsql: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: databases/libsql/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Nix - sqld: installed executable or alias match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/sq/sqld/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

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