macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install numdifflocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install numdiffMacPorts ports tree · science/numdiff/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 12244
Install numdiff with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix
Putative files comparison tool. Version 5.9.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install numdiff.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install numdiffDebian stable package indexes · numdiff · source: deb.debian.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#numdiffnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/nu/numdiff/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Putative files comparison tool
Project links
Commands and aliases
- ndselect
- numdiff
history
Project history and usage
Numdiff is a small, long-lived NonGNU utility by Ivano Primi for comparing files that contain numeric fields. Its reason to exist is simple: ordinary `diff`, `cmp`, and `wdiff` do not know that two textual representations may be numerically equivalent, nor can they ignore numeric changes below a requested tolerance.
Project history
The official manual for Numdiff 5.9 carries copyrights from 2005 through 2017 and documents a mature Unix-style C program built with the usual `configure`, `make`, and `make install` workflow. The 5.9 manual also notes that older 5.x releases accepted fewer options and that 4.0.0 and 3.x used a different output format, so the package has a real pre-5.x history even though public narrative sources are sparse.
Adoption history
Numdiff has modest adoption: it is packaged by Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, MacPorts, Nix, and GNU Guix, but it is not a broad ecosystem cornerstone. Homebrew's formula page listed only 43 installs over 365 days on July 1, 2026, which fits the profile of a specialist testing/scientific utility that users reach for when normal diffs are too literal.
How it is used
The practical workflow is comparing generated numeric output line by line and field by field while setting absolute or relative tolerances and accepting equivalent numeric notation. Numdiff also ships `ndselect` for selecting lines and fields, and version 5.9 added a raw output format intended for machine parsing.
Why package nerds care
Numdiff is the classic package-manager long tail: tiny, stable, GPL-licensed, and exactly useful when validating numerical programs whose outputs vary by rounding, notation, platform, compiler, or BLAS implementation. It is most likely to appear in regression-test scripts, scientific-code QA, and packaging test fixtures.
Timeline
- 2005-2017: Years covered by the official manual copyright range.
- 5.9: Adds compact raw output intended for parsing by other programs.
Related projects
- GNU diffutils
- wdiff
- cmp
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
ndselect | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
numdiff | 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 version5.9.0
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:numdiff |
|---|---|
| Version | 5.9.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://www.nongnu.org/numdiff |
| 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%
numdiff 5.9.0-2
Compare similar files with numeric fields
sudo apt install numdiff- Section: science
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Numdiff
Nix95%
numdiff
nix profile install nixpkgs#numdiff- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Numdiff
Ubuntu apt95%
numdiff 5.9.0-1
Compare similar files with numeric fields
sudo apt install numdiff- Section: universe/science
- Architecture: amd64
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Numdiff
MacPorts95%
numdiff
sudo port install numdiff- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Numdiff
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