# Install ocamlbuild with Homebrew, apk, apt, pacman Generic build tool for OCaml. Version 0.16.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-13. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install ocamlbuild. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:ocamlbuild ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install ocamlbuild ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add ocamlbuild ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: ocamlbuild from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install ocamlbuild ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: ocamlbuild from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S ocamlbuild ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: ocamlbuild from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:ocamlbuild - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 0.16.1 - **Source summary:** Generic build tool for OCaml - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-13T05:11:31Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - ocamlbuild (alias) - ocamlbuild.byte (alias) - ocamlbuild.native (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 0.16.1 ## Project history and usage ocamlbuild is the legacy OCaml build manager: a rule-based tool that automates compilation of OCaml libraries and programs with minimal project metadata. It predates Dune's dominance and remains packaged for older projects, tutorials, and build systems that still invoke ocamlbuild. ### Project history ocamlbuild was included in the OCaml compiler distribution from OCaml 3.10.0 in May 2007 through OCaml 4.02.3 in July 2015, according to the project's Changes file. OCaml 4.03 split ocamlbuild out as an independent project hosted at github.com/ocaml/ocamlbuild, part of a broader effort to move tools out of the compiler distribution. ### Adoption history For years, ocamlbuild was the standard bundled answer for medium-sized OCaml projects that needed more automation than raw Makefiles. The upstream README documents the later ecosystem shift: between January and June 2019, 77 newly released public OCaml packages used ocamlbuild while 544 used Dune. ### How it is used Developers use ocamlbuild by asking it to build targets such as native executables, bytecode executables, or libraries; it infers dependencies and applies built-in OCaml compilation rules. More complex projects customize behavior with small text files and OCaml plugin code. ### Why package nerds care ocamlbuild is significant because it shows the OCaml toolchain's unbundling path. A tool that used to ship with the compiler became an opam and distro package, so package managers had to make explicit what older compiler installations provided implicitly. ### Timeline - 2007-05: OCaml 3.10.0 began shipping ocamlbuild in the compiler distribution. - 2015-07: OCaml 4.02.3 was the last compiler release in the bundled ocamlbuild period documented by the ocamlbuild Changes file. - 2016: OCaml 4.03 split ocamlbuild into an independent project. - 2019-01 to 2019-06: The ocamlbuild README recorded 77 new public packages using ocamlbuild versus 544 using Dune. - 2025-02-13: The GitHub releases page lists OCamlbuild 0.16.1. ### Related projects - Dune is the successor build system recommended by the ocamlbuild README for new projects. ocamlfind/findlib integrates with ocamlbuild-era projects by supplying package flags, while opam installs ocamlbuild as a separate package for compiler switches that need it. ### Sources - - - - - - ## Security Notes generalized runtime or code generation signal. - **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium - generalized runtime or code generation signal ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - ocamlbuild - 0.16.1-1+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ocamlbuild from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Build tool for building OCaml libraries and programs | https://github.com/ocaml/ocamlbuild/ - Ubuntu apt - ocamlbuild - 0.14.3-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ocamlbuild from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Build tool for building OCaml libraries and programs | https://github.com/ocaml/ocamlbuild/ - apk - ocaml-ocamlbuild - 0.14.1-r6: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: ocaml-ocamlbuild from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Generic build tool with built-in rules for building OCaml library and programs (library & development files) | https://github.com/ocaml/ocamlbuild - apk - ocamlbuild - 0.14.1-r6: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: ocamlbuild from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Generic build tool with built-in rules for building OCaml library and programs | https://github.com/ocaml/ocamlbuild - apk - ocamlbuild-doc - 0.14.1-r6: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: ocamlbuild-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Generic build tool with built-in rules for building OCaml library and programs (documentation) | https://github.com/ocaml/ocamlbuild - pacman - ocamlbuild - 0.16.1-7: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: ocamlbuild from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Build tool that has built-in rules for building OCaml libraries and programs | https://github.com/ocaml/ocamlbuild ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ocamlbuild.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/ocamlbuild.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