# Install libtool with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper Generic library support script. Version 2.6.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install libltdl-dev. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:libtool ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install libtool ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install libtool ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/libtool/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add libtool ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libtool from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install libtool ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libtool from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install libtool ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libtool from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#libtool ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: libtool from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S libtool ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: libtool from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/core/os/x86_64/core.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install libtool ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: libtool from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:libtool - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 2.6.2 - **Source summary:** Generic library support script - **Homepage:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - glibtool (alias) - glibtoolize (alias) - libtool (alias) - libtool-next-version (alias) - libtoolize (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 2.6.2 ## Project history and usage GNU Libtool is the GNU portable library tool: a shell-script based layer that hides the platform-specific details of building, linking, installing, and loading shared libraries behind a consistent interface. ### Project history The Libtool manual describes the project as a response to a mid-1990s portability problem in GNU packages: shared-library support mattered, but each Unix and Unix-like platform had different compiler flags, linker behavior, filename conventions, runtime search paths, and dynamic loading rules. Libtool standardized those mechanics for package authors and was designed to integrate with Autoconf and Automake while remaining usable outside the GNU build system. By 1999, Libtool 1.3 had added maintainers, a GNU-hosted home page, portable dlopen support through libltdl, convenience archives, export-symbol controls, and many platform fixes. The old GNU news page also notes that March 15, 1999 was treated by the team as Libtool's third birthday, placing the project origin in March 1996. ### Adoption history Libtool became a standard part of Autotools-era source distributions, especially for C and C++ libraries that needed to build both static and shared artifacts across GNU/Linux, BSD systems, commercial Unix variants, Cygwin, and macOS/Darwin. Its adoption is visible less as a user-facing application than as generated build infrastructure embedded in countless source tarballs. On macOS through Homebrew, GNU Libtool is installed with prefixed executable names such as glibtool and glibtoolize to avoid colliding with Apple's system libtool command. ### How it is used Package maintainers use libtool through make rules, Autoconf macros, and libtoolize-generated support files. End users usually encounter it indirectly when compiling source packages: it creates libtool object files, links libtool archives, manages PIC/non-PIC builds, and emits platform-specific install or runtime-linking commands. ### Why package nerds care Libtool is package-nerd famous because it solved a real portability mess and also became a recognizable source of noisy build logs, relinking steps, .la files, and platform edge cases. Understanding it explains a large slice of classic Unix packaging, Autotools conventions, and why Homebrew exposes GNU Libtool as glibtool. ### Timeline - 1996: GNU Libtool project origin, inferred from the GNU news page's March 15, 1999 third-birthday note. - 1998: GNU Libtool 1.1-era documentation described the tool as generic shared-library support for GNU packages. - 1999: GNU Libtool 1.3 added libltdl and broader platform support. - 2000: GNU's old news page recorded continued 1.3.x maintenance releases. - 2024: GNU Libtool 2.5.4 documentation described the maintained manual edition. ### Related projects - GNU Autoconf and GNU Automake are the companion build-system tools with which Libtool was designed to integrate. - GNU libltdl is distributed with Libtool to abstract dynamic module loading. - slibtool is a later independent implementation in the same problem space. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes library-like package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - library-like package without higher-risk signals ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - libltdl-dev - 2.5.4-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libltdl-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | System independent dlopen wrapper for GNU libtool (headers) | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Debian apt - libltdl7 - 2.5.4-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libltdl7 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | System independent dlopen wrapper for GNU libtool | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Debian apt - libtool - 2.5.4-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libtool from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Generic library support script | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Debian apt - libtool-bin - 2.5.4-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libtool-bin from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Generic library support script (libtool binary) | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Debian apt - libtool-doc - 2.5.4-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libtool-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Generic library support script (documentation) | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Nix - libtool: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: libtool from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix - Ubuntu apt - libltdl-dev - 2.4.7-7build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libltdl-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | System independent dlopen wrapper for GNU libtool (headers) | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Ubuntu apt - libltdl7 - 2.4.7-7build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libltdl7 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | System independent dlopen wrapper for GNU libtool | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Ubuntu apt - libtool - 2.4.7-7build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libtool from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Generic library support script | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Ubuntu apt - libtool-bin - 2.4.7-7build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libtool-bin from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Generic library support script (libtool binary) | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - Ubuntu apt - libtool-doc - 2.4.7-7build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libtool-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Generic library support script (documentation) | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - apk - libltdl - 2.6.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libltdl from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Runtime libraries for GNU Libtool Dynamic Module Loader | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - apk - libltdl-static - 2.6.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libltdl-static from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Generic library support script (static library) | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - apk - libtool - 2.6.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libtool from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Generic library support script | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - apk - libtool-doc - 2.6.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libtool-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Generic library support script (documentation) | https://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ - dnf - libtool - 2.5.4-11.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libtool from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | The GNU Portable Library Tool | http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libtool.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/libtool.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