pkg.sopackage field notes

brew / rank 9196

Install libtar with Homebrew

C library for manipulating POSIX tar files. Version 1.2.20 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libtar

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

C library for manipulating POSIX tar files

Commands and aliases

  • libtar

history

Project history and usage

libtar is a small C library for manipulating POSIX tar archives. Its history is thinly documented, but the maintained source page identifies it as a Mark Roth project kept alive through a maintenance repository for packagers and downstream users.

Project history

The package is associated with Mark Roth and the University of Illinois era of late-1990s and early-2000s Unix utility code. The repo.or.cz project page describes the hosted tree as a maintenance repository for libtar, temporarily run by Chris Frey until Mark Roth resumed development.

The maintained repository shifted the project from tarball-style upstream releases toward tagged source snapshots. The page explicitly says no tarball releases would be done from that maintenance repo and directs users to grab tagged sources instead.

Adoption history

libtar's adoption is mostly downstream and infrastructural rather than user-facing. The input metadata shows packaging in Homebrew, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Ubuntu, and openSUSE families, which matches its niche as a C library that other software can link when it needs tar archive operations without invoking the tar command.

How it is used

The library is used by C programs that need to read, write, append, or extract tar archives through an API. Its appeal is that it gives applications direct archive manipulation while preserving familiar POSIX tar semantics.

Why package nerds care

libtar is package-nerd glue: a small C dependency that exists so build systems and applications do not need to shell out or vendor tar handling. Its repo.or.cz maintenance status also illustrates a common packaging reality: useful libraries can outlive their original release process because distributions still need a canonical source.

Timeline

  • 1998-2003: Copyright ranges in downstream source copies identify the original Mark Roth and University of Illinois development period.
  • 2013: The repo.or.cz maintenance repository records libtar 1.2.20 and a short burst of portability and correctness fixes.
  • 2013: The maintained repository states that tagged source snapshots, rather than new tarball releases from that tree, are the distribution path.

Related projects

  • GNU tar and libarchive occupy adjacent archive-handling territory; libtar is narrower, with a C API focused on tar files.

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

CommandKindExposureNote
libtarexecutableindexed executableDiscovered 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 version1.2.20
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:libtar
Version1.2.20
Package managerHomebrew
Homepagehttps://repo.or.cz/libtar.git
Bottlenot recorded
Servicenone 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.

Used sources

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