# Install ssss with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix

Shamir's secret sharing scheme implementation. Version 0.5 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install ssss.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:ssss
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install ssss
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install ssss
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: security/ssss/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add ssss
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: ssss from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install ssss
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: ssss from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install ssss
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ssss from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#ssss
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ss/ssss/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:ssss
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.5
- **Source summary:** Shamir's secret sharing scheme implementation
- **Homepage:** <http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- ssss-combine (alias)
- ssss-split (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.5
## Project history and usage

ssss is a small Unix-oriented command-line implementation of Shamir's Secret Sharing Scheme. Its package-manager identity is unusually literal: it ships two commands, ssss-split and ssss-combine, for turning a secret into threshold shares and reconstructing it from enough shares.

### Project history

The official project page says ssss was written in 2006 by B. Poettering, licensed under GPL v2, linked against GNU libgmp, and designed for UNIX/Linux machines using /dev/random as an entropy source. The homepage distributes release tarballs from 0.1 through 0.5 rather than pointing to a public source-control repository.

### Adoption history

The project page notes a Debian package and Freshmeat announcements, reflecting the mid-2000s Unix packaging path for small security tools. The supplied package facts show it later remained available across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora/DNF, Alpine, MacPorts, and Nix, which is the sort of long-tail packaging that keeps old but useful CLI cryptography tools reachable.

### How it is used

Typical usage is interactive: ssss-split prompts for a secret and emits numbered shares for a threshold scheme, while ssss-combine reads enough shares to reconstruct the secret. The manpage also documents hex mode for binary material, quiet modes for scripts, and a hybrid pattern where large data is encrypted with tools such as OpenSSL or GPG and only the key is shared.

### Why package nerds care

Package maintainers care about ssss because it is a compact, classic Unix security utility with stable command names and few moving parts. Its continued presence in multiple package managers makes it a reference point for threshold-secret workflows even when newer tools wrap Shamir sharing with additional authentication or modern cryptographic framing.

### Timeline

- 2006: Official project page says ssss was written by B. Poettering.
- 2006: ssss 0.1 through 0.5 tarballs were published on the project homepage.
- 2018: Official homepage copyright and last-modified metadata show the page was still maintained.

### Related projects

- The homepage links ssss to the broader Shamir secret sharing tradition and mentions seccure as another cryptography project by the same author. Its usage notes also point to OpenSSL and GPG for encrypting larger payloads before splitting only the symmetric key.

### Sources

- <http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/>
- <http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/ssss.1.html>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - ssss - 0.5-5: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ssss from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Shamir's secret sharing scheme implementation | http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/
- Nix - ssss: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ss/ssss/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - ssss - 0.5-5: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ssss from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Shamir's secret sharing scheme implementation | http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/
- apk - ssss - 0.5.7-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: ssss from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | ssss is an implementation of Shamir's secret sharing scheme for UNIX systems | http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/
- apk - ssss-doc - 0.5.7-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: ssss-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | ssss is an implementation of Shamir's secret sharing scheme for UNIX systems (documentation) | http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/
- dnf - ssss - 0.5-37.fc45.2: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ssss from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Shamir's secret sharing scheme | http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss
- MacPorts - ssss: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: security/ssss/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ssss.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/ssss.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