install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install protoc-gen-go-grpc

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add protoc-gen-go-grpc

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · protoc-gen-go-grpc · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install protoc-gen-go-grpc

Debian stable package indexes · protoc-gen-go-grpc · source: deb.debian.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#protoc-gen-go-grpc

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/pr/protoc-gen-go-grpc/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Protoc plugin that generates code for gRPC-Go clients

Project links

Commands and aliases

protoc-gen-go-grpc

history

Project history and usage

protoc-gen-go-grpc is the official gRPC-Go protoc plugin. It reads protobuf service declarations and generates typed Go clients, server interfaces, registration helpers, and streaming support.

Project history

gRPC was announced in 2015 as an open-source RPC framework based on Protocol Buffers and HTTP/2, and its Go implementation was among the language stacks declared production-ready at gRPC 1.0 in August 2016.

protoc-gen-go-grpc became the dedicated protoc plugin in the grpc-go project for generating Go client and server bindings from protobuf service definitions, complementing protoc-gen-go's message generation.

Adoption history

gRPC reached its 1.0 production milestone in 2016 for Go and several other languages after being publicly announced in 2015. The official announcement cited adoption by infrastructure projects including etcd, containerd, and CockroachDB.

The Go gRPC generator is distributed through Go tooling and several operating-system package managers listed in source_facts.package-manager. It is commonly paired with protoc-gen-go so that one protoc invocation produces message types and RPC service bindings.

How it is used

Install protoc-gen-go-grpc and protoc-gen-go, put both on PATH, and invoke protoc with --go_out and --go-grpc_out. Options such as paths=source_relative control generated-file placement. The generated service code is compiled with the grpc-go runtime. No persistent configuration or credentials file is documented for the generator itself.

Why package nerds care

The separate generator embodies a deliberate packaging boundary: protobuf message generation belongs to protoc-gen-go, while gRPC service generation belongs to protoc-gen-go-grpc. Build recipes therefore need both binaries and compatible runtime modules.

Because generated interfaces encode client, server, streaming, and forward-compatibility conventions, generator upgrades can change source-level expectations even when the wire protocol remains stable.

Timeline

2015: gRPC was publicly announced.
2016: gRPC 1.0 declared the Go implementation production-ready.
Later grpc-go releases distribute protoc-gen-go-grpc as the dedicated Go service-code generator.

Related projects

protoc-gen-go generates Go protobuf message types used by the generated RPC bindings.
grpc-go supplies the Go runtime, transports, interceptors, credentials APIs, and the protoc-gen-go-grpc source.
protoc invokes the plugin through --go-grpc_out and --go-grpc_opt.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for protoc-gen-go-grpc. Package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

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
`protoc-gen-go-grpc`	cli	global executable

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 generated2026-09-19

manager version1.6.2

manager updated2026-09-11

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedcmd/protoc-gen-go-grpc/v1.6.2

https://github.com/grpc/grpc-go

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:protoc-gen-go-grpc
Version	1.6.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/protoc-gen-go-grpc
Homepage	https://grpc.io
Repository	https://github.com/grpc/grpc-go
Upstream docs	https://grpc.io
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://github.com/grpc/grpc-go/archive/refs/tags/cmd/protoc-gen-go-grpc/v1.6.2.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-09-11T04:50:27Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	protobuf
Build dependencies	go
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	protoc-gen-go-grpc
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

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%

protoc-gen-go-grpc 1.64.0-7+b2

gRPC plugin for protobuf compiler

https://godoc.org/google.golang.org/grpc

sudo apt install protoc-gen-go-grpc

Section: golang
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: golang-google-grpc
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Protoc Gen Go Grpc

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: protoc-gen-go-grpc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

protoc-gen-go-grpc

nix profile install nixpkgs#protoc-gen-go-grpc

normalized package name match
Matched by: Protoc Gen Go Grpc

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/pr/protoc-gen-go-grpc/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Ubuntu apt95%

protoc-gen-go-grpc 1.38.0+really1.33.3-1build1

gRPC plugin for protobuf compiler

https://godoc.org/google.golang.org/grpc

sudo apt install protoc-gen-go-grpc

Section: universe/golang
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: golang-google-grpc
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Protoc Gen Go Grpc

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: protoc-gen-go-grpc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

apk95%

protoc-gen-go-grpc 1.80.0-r3

protoc plugin to generate Go language bindings of services in protobuf definition files for gRPC

https://github.com/grpc/grpc-go

sudo apk add protoc-gen-go-grpc

License: Apache-2.0
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: protoc-gen-go-grpc
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Protoc Gen Go Grpc

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: protoc-gen-go-grpc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

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/protoc-gen-go-grpc.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment
pkg.so package database
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install protoc-gen-go-grpc with Homebrew, apk, apt, Nix