# Install uhubctl with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper USB hub per-port power control. Version 2.6.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install uhubctl. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:uhubctl ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install uhubctl ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install uhubctl ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/uhubctl/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add uhubctl ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: uhubctl from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install uhubctl ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: uhubctl from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install uhubctl ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: uhubctl 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#uhubctl ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/uh/uhubctl/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install uhubctl ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: uhubctl from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:uhubctl - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 2.6.0 - **Source summary:** USB hub per-port power control - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - uhubctl (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 2.6.0 ## Project history and usage uhubctl is a command-line utility for controlling per-port power on USB hubs that implement USB per-port power switching. ### Project history The public uhubctl repository was created in 2015. Its README credits hub-ctrl.c by Niibe Yutaka as the original inspiration and defines the target hardware as smart USB hubs that can switch power per port. The project grew around a practical compatibility table rather than only a codebase. The README tracks known working hubs, monitors, docks, keyboards, Raspberry Pi boards, and embedded devices, and asks users to report working hardware with uhubctl output and VBUS-off test results. Release metadata shows v1.8 in 2017, v2.0.0 in 2018, a series of 2.x releases through 2022, and v2.6.0 in 2024. ### Adoption history uhubctl's adoption is closely tied to lab automation, embedded development, Raspberry Pi work, USB device testing, and remote recovery workflows where physically unplugging a device is inconvenient. The README documents Raspberry Pi models and many external hubs and docks as compatible or partially compatible devices. The supplied package data records uhubctl in Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, Alpine, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora/dnf, and openSUSE. The official README likewise lists package-manager install commands for macOS, Debian-family systems, Red Hat-family systems, openSUSE, and FreeBSD. ### How it is used The common command form is to list supported hubs, then turn a selected port off, on, toggle it, or cycle it with a configurable delay. The README documents location selection for multi-hub systems and cautions that switching built-in USB ports can disconnect keyboards or mice. On Linux, the README documents udev rules for non-root access and notes that Linux kernel 6.0 and later provide a standard interface for disabling hub ports, which uhubctl tries to use instead of libusb where possible. The README also explains USB 3.0 duality: a USB 3 hub can appear as separate USB2 and USB3 virtual hubs, and power changes may need to be applied to both for the physical port state to match the user's expectation. ### Why package nerds care uhubctl is significant because it turns a hardware capability that is inconsistently implemented by consumer devices into a scriptable package-manager tool. That makes it useful for test rigs, CI benches with attached hardware, home labs, and headless systems. For packagers, the interesting part is not just compiling a small C program; it is carrying libusb behavior, OS-specific permissions, kernel interface changes, and documentation for hardware quirks that determine whether the command actually cuts power. ### Timeline - 2015: Public GitHub repository created. - 2017: v1.8 release published. - 2018: v2.0.0 release published. - 2020: v2.2.0 and v2.3.0 releases published. - 2022: v2.5.0 release published. - 2024: v2.6.0 release published. ### Related projects - The README names hub-ctrl.c by Niibe Yutaka as the original inspiration. - uhubctl depends on libusb for portable USB access and, on newer Linux kernels, can use the kernel port-disable interface. ### Sources - - - - - 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 - uhubctl - 2.6.0-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: uhubctl from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | USB hub per-port power control | https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl - Nix - uhubctl: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/uh/uhubctl/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - uhubctl - 2.5.0-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: uhubctl from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | USB hub per-port power control | https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl - apk - uhubctl - 2.5.0-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: uhubctl from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | USB hub per-port power control | https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl - dnf - uhubctl - 2.6.0-6.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: uhubctl from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | USB hub per-port power control | https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl - zypper - uhubctl - 2.6.0-1.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: uhubctl from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | USB hub per-port power control | https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl - MacPorts - uhubctl: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/uhubctl/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/uhubctl.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/uhubctl.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