install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install octomap

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

Efficient probabilistic 3D mapping framework based on octrees

Project links

Commands and aliases

binvox2bt
bt2vrml
compare_octrees
convert_octree
edit_octree
eval_octree_accuracy
graph2tree
log2graph

history

Project history and usage

OctoMap is a C++ framework for probabilistic 3D occupancy mapping with octrees, aimed especially at robotics. It became a standard package because it combines a compact volumetric representation with explicit occupied, free, and unknown space, which is exactly the shape of data many robots need for navigation and exploration.

Project history

OctoMap was developed by Kai M. Wurm and Armin Hornung at the University of Freiburg, with project copyright listed for 2009-2014 in the repository README. The journal paper "OctoMap: An Efficient Probabilistic 3D Mapping Framework Based on Octrees" was published in Autonomous Robots in 2013 and is the canonical technical reference.

The public GitHub repository was created on 2012-12-18. Its top-level package includes the core octomap library, octovis visualization tools, and dynamicEDT3D, and the project documentation points users to API docs, ROS integration, issue tracking, and example datasets.

Adoption history

OctoMap's adoption is strongest in robotics research and ROS workflows. The official site links to ROS usage, asks researchers to cite the 2013 Autonomous Robots paper, and publishes example maps and datasets; the README also documents package-manager routes such as vcpkg.

The changelog shows long maintenance across compiler, CMake, ROS, and packaging concerns. Releases from the 1.6 line in 2013 through 1.10.0 on 2024-03-19 include API changes, ROS compatibility updates, Qt/octovis maintenance, C++17/C++20 fixes, and vcpkg installation instructions.

How it is used

Robotics developers feed point clouds or scans into OctoMap to build and update a multi-resolution octree occupancy map. The representation supports probabilistic updates for noisy sensors, dynamic expansion when the mapped area is not known in advance, compressed storage, and queries that distinguish occupied, free, and unknown cells.

The command-line tools in the package convert, compare, edit, and visualize octrees, while C++ users link the library into mapping, navigation, exploration, and simulation systems.

Why package nerds care

OctoMap is package-nerd interesting because it is both an academic reference implementation and a practical system package. Its presence across Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, Nix, and ROS-style ecosystems reflects how research software becomes infrastructure when its data format and library API stabilize.

Timeline

2009-2014: repository README lists the original University of Freiburg development copyright span.
2012-12-18: GitHub repository created.
2013: Autonomous Robots paper published as the canonical OctoMap reference.
2024-03-19: OctoMap 1.10.0 changelog entry documented compiler, CMake, ROS, octovis, and vcpkg-related maintenance.

Related projects

Related projects named by the official site include OctoMap-RT, a GPU-accelerated ray tracing variant, and PyOctoMap Python bindings. The package also intersects with ROS packages and visualization tools through octovis.

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
`binvox2bt`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`bt2vrml`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`compare_octrees`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`convert_octree`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`edit_octree`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`eval_octree_accuracy`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`graph2tree`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`log2graph`	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 version1.10.0

manager updated

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:octomap
Version	1.10.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://octomap.github.io/
Repository	https://github.com/OctoMap/octomap
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none declared

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/octomap.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
curated package history
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install octomap with Homebrew