macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install mtbllocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 13908
Install mtbl with Homebrew, apt
Immutable sorted string table library. Version 1.7.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install libmtbl-dev.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libmtbl-devDebian stable package indexes · libmtbl-dev · source: deb.debian.org
overview
Package summary
Immutable sorted string table library
Project links
Commands and aliases
- mtbl_dump
- mtbl_info
- mtbl_merge
- mtbl_verify
history
Project history and usage
mtbl is a Farsight Security C library that packages the Sorted String Table idea as a small Unix-style library rather than as a full database. Its README describes the design as based on the SSTable implementation in Google LevelDB: immutable files map sorted byte-string keys to byte-string values, with an index at the end for lookup. The project deliberately leaves database duties such as update handling, deletion, and coordinating search results across tables to the caller, exposing primitives for creating, searching, and merging SSTable files instead.
Project history
In practice mtbl is used where a program wants compact, immutable, searchable key-value files and wants to control the surrounding data-management workflow itself. Writers accept already sorted, duplicate-free key-value pairs and write in a single sequential pass; readers support exact-key, prefix, and range iteration; sorter and merger interfaces support bulk-load and multi-table merge workflows with caller-provided duplicate-key merge logic. The file format changed at version 1.0.0, with newer releases retaining read support for older files.
How it is used
Its ecosystem role is clearest in Farsight/Internet-measurement software. CAIDA slides from ISC described mtbl alongside dnstable as an SSTable implementation for scalable, compact, sequential-I/O construction. FreeBSD's 2015 addition of dnstable records dnstable as a passive-DNS encoding library and utilities that store records in SSTable files and depend on libmtbl. For package managers, mtbl is a low-level C dependency rather than an end-user application; Homebrew exposes the companion utilities mtbl_dump, mtbl_info, mtbl_merge, and mtbl_verify for inspecting, merging, and checking table files.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
mtbl_dump | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
mtbl_info | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
mtbl_merge | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
mtbl_verify | 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 version1.7.1
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:mtbl |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.7.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/farsightsec/mtbl |
| Repository | https://github.com/farsightsec/mtbl |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
libmtbl-dev 1.6.1-1+b1
immutable sorted string table library (development files)
sudo apt install libmtbl-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: mtbl
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mtbl
Debian apt95%
libmtbl1 1.6.1-1+b1
immutable sorted string table library
sudo apt install libmtbl1- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: mtbl
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mtbl
Debian apt95%
mtbl-bin 1.6.1-1+b1
immutable sorted string table library (utilities)
sudo apt install mtbl-bin- Section: utils
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: mtbl
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mtbl
Ubuntu apt95%
libmtbl-dev 1.3.0-1
immutable sorted string table library (development files)
sudo apt install libmtbl-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: mtbl
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mtbl
Ubuntu apt95%
libmtbl1 1.3.0-1
immutable sorted string table library
sudo apt install libmtbl1- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: mtbl
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mtbl
Ubuntu apt95%
mtbl-bin 1.3.0-1
immutable sorted string table library (utilities)
sudo apt install mtbl-bin- Section: universe/utils
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: mtbl
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mtbl
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.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation