# Install ncview with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix
Visual browser for netCDF format files. Version 2.1.11 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-22. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install ncview.
## Install
```sh
sudo av install brew:ncview
```
Additional install commands:
### macOS
- Homebrew (100%):
```sh
brew install ncview
```
Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata
- MacPorts (94%):
```sh
sudo port install ncview
```
Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: science/ncview/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
### Linux
- Debian apt (92%):
```sh
sudo apt install ncview
```
Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: ncview from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
- dnf (92%):
```sh
sudo dnf install ncview
```
Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ncview 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#ncview
```
Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/nc/ncview/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
## Package facts
- **Package key:** brew:ncview
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.1.11
- **Source summary:** Visual browser for netCDF format files
- **Homepage:**
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-22T16:43:57-04:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00
## Executables
- ncview (alias)
## Install behavior
- Bottle: not available
## Freshness
- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.1.11
## Project history and usage
ncview is David W. Pierce's X11 visual browser for netCDF files, aimed at quick inspection rather than full analysis. The official page describes it as a way to get a push-button look at netCDF data, animate time slices, browse dimensions, inspect values, and change colormaps.
### Project history
The distributed README for ncview 1.75 is dated March 20, 1999 and states copyright from 1993 through 1999, so the project belongs to the early scientific Unix/X11 era around netCDF. The README explicitly frames ncview as a lightweight viewer for movies and simple plots, not as a replacement for commercial analysis packages.
The project remained tied to the netCDF ecosystem: its build instructions require the netCDF library and optionally UDUNITS, and the official page says version 2.1.11 was updated on November 26, 2024.
### Adoption history
ncview has persisted because climate, ocean, atmospheric, and HPC users still need a fast graphical sanity check for array-oriented scientific files. Debian packages it under science, and Homebrew lists binary bottle support for macOS and Linux.
On July 1, 2026, Homebrew Formulae listed ncview 2.1.11 with 670 installs in its 365-day analytics window, which is modest but real usage for an X11 scientific utility.
### How it is used
Package nerd usage is simple: install netCDF/X11 dependencies, run `ncview file.nc`, then scrub through dimensions or time steps to see whether a model or instrument output looks sane before doing heavier analysis in Python, NCO, CDO, Panoply, MATLAB, or domain-specific tooling.
The official page's notes on missing values, units, long_name, title, add_offset, scale_factor, dimensional variables, and UDUNITS support explain why ncview works best on netCDF files that follow common metadata conventions.
### Why package nerds care
ncview is a classic small scientific Unix tool: old UI stack, narrow purpose, durable because the file format and workflow survived. It is especially useful in package indexes because its dependencies signal the netCDF plus X11 visualization niche.
### Timeline
- {'date': '1993', 'event': 'Earliest copyright year listed in the ncview 1.75 README.'}
- {'date': '1999-03-20', 'event': 'ncview 1.75 README date.'}
- {'date': '2024-11-26', 'event': 'Official page says ncview 2.1.11 was updated.'}
- {'date': '2026-07-01', 'event': 'Homebrew Formulae listed stable 2.1.11 and 670 installs in the 365-day analytics window.'}
### Related projects
- netCDF
- UDUNITS
- X11 Athena Widget Set
- Panoply
- NCO
- CDO
### Sources
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## 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 - ncview - 2.1.11+ds-1+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ncview from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | X11 visual browser for NetCDF format files | https://cirrus.ucsd.edu/ncview/
- Nix - ncview: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/nc/ncview/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - ncview - 2.1.8+ds-5build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ncview from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | X11 visual browser for NetCDF format files | http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~pierce/ncview_home_page.html
- dnf - ncview - 2.1.11-8.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ncview from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | A visual browser for netCDF format files | https://cirrus.ucsd.edu/ncview/
- MacPorts - ncview: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: science/ncview/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
## Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ncview.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/ncview.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