pkg.sopackage field notes

brew / rank 2055

Install spice-gtk with Homebrew

GTK client/libraries for SPICE. Version 0.42 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-13.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install spice-gtk

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

GTK client/libraries for SPICE

Commands and aliases

  • spicy
  • spicy-screenshot
  • spicy-stats

history

Project history and usage

spice-gtk is the GTK client library and widget for SPICE remote desktop sessions. It gives Linux desktop and virtualization tools a reusable client-side component for connecting to SPICE-enabled virtual machines.

Project history

The SPICE project documentation frames SPICE as an open remote computing solution for remote display and device access, with a 2009 Red Hat copyright on the introductory architecture document. The download page describes spice-gtk as a GTK+3 SPICE widget with glib-based protocol objects, a GTK display widget, and Python and Vala bindings.

Adoption history

spice-gtk became important through virtualization desktops rather than through end-user CLI fame. The official download page names virt-manager and GNOME Boxes as applications that embed the widget, and recommends virt-viewer as the client application for connecting to virtual machines using SPICE.

How it is used

Packaged installations commonly expose tools such as spicy, spicy-screenshot, and spicy-stats, while applications can use the library and widget directly. Users encounter it when opening a VM console, testing SPICE display behavior, or integrating SPICE support into a GTK application.

Why package nerds care

Package nerds care about spice-gtk because it sits in the practical dependency chain for desktop virtualization: QEMU/KVM hosts, SPICE protocol components, virt-viewer, virt-manager, GNOME Boxes, USB redirection, and guest tools all meet at package boundaries. Keeping spice-gtk current affects whether graphical VM consoles, clipboard support, and device redirection work cleanly on distro desktops.

Timeline

  • 2009: Red Hat copyright appears on the SPICE introductory documentation.
  • 2010s: spice-gtk becomes the GTK client widget used by virtualization tools such as virt-manager and GNOME Boxes.
  • 2020s: Official downloads continue to publish spice-gtk source releases from freedesktop.org GitLab.

Related projects

  • SPICE protocol and spice-server provide the remote display protocol and server side.
  • virt-viewer is the recommended client application.
  • virt-manager and GNOME Boxes embed or use SPICE client functionality.
  • QEMU commonly provides the virtualization host side for SPICE sessions.

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

  • broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

  • text:client

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

CommandKindExposureNote
spicyexecutableindexed executableDiscovered from the local executable index.
spicy-screenshotexecutableindexed executableDiscovered from the local executable index.
spicy-statsexecutableindexed executableDiscovered 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 version0.42
manager updated2026-07-13
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:spice-gtk
Version0.42
Package managerHomebrew
Homepagehttps://www.spice-space.org
Last updated2026-07-13T17:31:47+09:00
Pulseupdated
Bottlenot recorded
Servicenone 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.

Used sources

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