# Install mbw with Homebrew, apt

Memory Bandwidth Benchmark. Version 2.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install mbw.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:mbw
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install mbw
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install mbw
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: mbw from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:mbw
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.0
- **Source summary:** Memory Bandwidth Benchmark
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/raas/mbw/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/raas/mbw>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- mbw (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.0
## Project history and usage

MBW is a compact command-line memory bandwidth benchmark. It times copies between large in-memory arrays to provide a quick estimate of available memory throughput.

### Project history

The upstream manpage is dated April 2006, while the GitHub repository was imported in March 2012. The repository has maintained a small tagged release series through v2.0, reflecting the project's long-lived, single-purpose design.

### Adoption history

The supplied package metadata records MBW packages for Homebrew, Debian, and Ubuntu. This modest cross-platform distribution suits a small benchmark intended for quick local checks rather than a comprehensive profiling suite.

### How it is used

Users give mbw an array size in MiB and may select tests for memcpy, a simple element-by-element copy, or arbitrary-block copies. The manpage advises avoiding paging and busy systems so the reported throughput better represents memory copying.

### Why package nerds care

MBW appeals to package users because it is easy to build, easy to audit, and quick to invoke when a full benchmark suite would be excessive.

### Timeline

- 2006: The upstream manpage documents MBW's benchmark interface.
- 2012: The code is imported into the public GitHub repository and v1.2 is tagged.
- 2022: v1.5 is tagged.
- 2023: v2.0 is tagged.

### Related projects

- MBW occupies the same package niche as small memory and system benchmarks such as STREAM and lmbench, while remaining focused on copy throughput.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/raas/mbw#readme>
- <https://github.com/raas/mbw/blob/master/mbw.1>
- <https://github.com/raas/mbw/tags>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - mbw - 1.2.2-1.2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: mbw from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | memory bandwidth benchmark program | http://ahorvath.web.cern.ch/ahorvath/mbw/
- Ubuntu apt - mbw - 1.2.2-1.2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mbw from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | memory bandwidth benchmark program | http://ahorvath.web.cern.ch/ahorvath/mbw/


## Combined YAML source

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