# Install suite-sparse with Homebrew

Suite of Sparse Matrix Software. Version 7.12.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-28.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:suite-sparse
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install suite-sparse
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:suite-sparse
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 7.12.3
- **Source summary:** Suite of Sparse Matrix Software
- **Homepage:** <https://people.engr.tamu.edu/davis/suitesparse.html>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/DrTimothyAldenDavis/SuiteSparse>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-28T02:03:12Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- suitesparse_mongoose (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 7.12.3
## Project history and usage

SuiteSparse is a long-running suite of sparse-matrix algorithms and libraries by Tim Davis and collaborators. For package managers it is a classic scientific-computing dependency: users may only notice one binary, but many numerical, graph, and language ecosystems care about the libraries underneath.

### Project history

The official SuiteSparse page describes a collection including GraphBLAS, Mongoose, UMFPACK, CHOLMOD, SPQR, KLU, ordering methods such as AMD and COLAMD, CSparse/CXSparse, and other sparse-matrix packages. The GitHub README identifies SuiteSparse as sparse-matrix-related packages written or co-authored by Tim Davis.

SuiteSparse's history is tied to numerical linear algebra and MATLAB as well as C/C++ libraries. The official page notes that UMFPACK, CHOLMOD, SPQR, ordering methods, and sparse multiplication components appear in MATLAB operations such as LU, Cholesky, QR, `x=A\b`, and `C=A*B`.

### Adoption history

The Homebrew input records SuiteSparse availability through Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, and openSUSE-family package managers. Its adoption is less about a flashy CLI and more about being a foundational dependency that downstream packages link against for sparse direct solvers, ordering, graph partitioning, and GraphBLAS-style graph algorithms.

### How it is used

Users install SuiteSparse to build or run software that needs sparse matrix factorization, ordering, graph partitioning, GraphBLAS operations, or MATLAB/Octave-adjacent numerical routines. The Homebrew package exposes `suitesparse_mongoose`, but the broader package value is the installed library suite and headers.

### Why package nerds care

Package nerds care about SuiteSparse because it is dependency plumbing at scientific scale: mixed licenses across subpackages, BLAS/LAPACK integration, optional CUDA acceleration, language bindings, and ABI-sensitive library packaging. It is exactly the sort of package where a manager's build flags and dependency graph matter.

### Timeline

- 2000s: SuiteSparse components such as UMFPACK, CHOLMOD, SPQR, AMD, COLAMD, CSparse, and CXSparse become established sparse-matrix building blocks.
- 2016: The official page references SuiteSparse 4.6.0 beta with multi-GPU CHOLMOD presented at NVIDIA GTC16.
- 2021: SuiteSparse 5.10.1 includes GraphBLAS, SLIP_LU, and a new SuiteSparse Matrix Collection interface.
- 2026: The official GitHub README lists SuiteSparse 7.12.2.

### Related projects

- Related upstream components include SuiteSparse:GraphBLAS, Mongoose, UMFPACK, CHOLMOD, SPQR, KLU, BTF, AMD, CAMD, COLAMD, CCOLAMD, CSparse, CXSparse, and the SuiteSparse Matrix Collection.

### Sources

- Input package-manager data: source_facts.package-manager
- Official GitHub README: https://github.com/DrTimothyAldenDavis/SuiteSparse#readme
- Official SuiteSparse page: https://people.engr.tamu.edu/davis/suitesparse.html
- Official SuiteSparse:GraphBLAS page: https://github.com/DrTimothyAldenDavis/GraphBLAS


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

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


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/suite-sparse.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/suite-sparse.yml)


## Sources

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