brew / rank 7173

Install objfw with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, Nix

Portable, lightweight framework for the Objective-C language. Version 1.5.7 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-04. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install libobjfw1.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install objfw

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add objfw

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · objfw · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install objfw

Debian stable package indexes · objfw · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install objfw

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · objfw · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#objfw

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ob/objfw/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Portable, lightweight framework for the Objective-C language

Project links

Homepage

Commands and aliases

objfw-compile
objfw-config
objfw-embed
objfw-new
ofarc
ofdns
ofgctester
ofhash
ofhttp

history

Project history and usage

ObjFW is a portable Objective-C framework and runtime aimed at developers who want Objective-C without binding their application to Apple Foundation or GNUstep. Its own README describes the project as intentionally incompatible with Foundation so that ObjFW can provide consistent behavior across supported platforms rather than preserve Foundation quirks.

Project history

The project reached its first stable API and ABI in ObjFW 1.0 on 2023-08-29 after a long pre-1.0 period; the ChangeLog notes that 1.0 followed nearly six years after the previous 0.90.2 release. Later 1.x releases continued to expand the runtime, TLS, archive, DNS, filesystem, terminal, Unicode, and platform-support surface.

Adoption history

ObjFW is packaged in Homebrew and in several Unix-style distribution ecosystems under names such as objfw, libobjfw1, and libobjfw. Its package split in some distributions reflects the project structure: core framework, Objective-C runtime, TLS support, HID support, documentation, and small utilities built on top of the framework.

How it is used

Developers use ObjFW either as a library framework or through its helper tools. The README documents objfw-new for creating an application skeleton, objfw-compile for compiling ObjFW applications without a larger build system, and objfw-config for obtaining compiler and linker flags for custom builds.

Why package nerds care

ObjFW is interesting because it packages a non-Foundation Objective-C world: a framework, runtime, build helpers, and command-line utilities. For package indexers it is a reminder that Objective-C runtime support is not only an Apple-platform concern, and that one source project can publish both libraries and user-facing executables.

Timeline

2017-08-01: ObjFW 0.90 added new classes and support for Nintendo 3DS and MorphOS.
2023-08-29: ObjFW 1.0 delivered the first stable API and ABI.
2024-04-14: ObjFW 1.1 changed the license to LGPL-3.0-only and added ObjFWTest, associated objects, DNS caching, Mbed TLS support, and more archive functionality.
2025-08-03: ObjFW 1.4 moved object memory management into the runtime and added runtime optimizations.
2026-02-22: ObjFW 1.5 added color-space and image support.

Related projects

ObjFW sits beside Foundation-compatible projects such as GNUstep rather than replacing them directly. The project explicitly chooses portability-through-ObjFW over Foundation compatibility, which makes it a distinct packaging target for Objective-C applications.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for objfw. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

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
`objfw-compile`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`objfw-config`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`objfw-embed`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`objfw-new`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`ofarc`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`ofdns`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`ofgctester`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`ofhash`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`ofhttp`	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 version1.5.7

manager updated2026-07-04

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:objfw
Version	1.5.7
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://objfw.nil.im/
Last updated	2026-07-04T02:31:18Z
Pulse	updated
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%

libobjfw1 1.3-1

ObjFW library