macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install unxiplocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install unxipMacPorts ports tree · archivers/unxip/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 3640
Install unxip with Homebrew, MacPorts
Fast Xcode unarchiver. Version 3.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-10. Also installable with macports: sudo port install unxip.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Fast Xcode unarchiver
Project links
Commands and aliases
- unxip
history
Project history and usage
unxip is a purpose-built Swift command-line extractor for Apple's Xcode XIP archives. It belongs to the small but practical class of tools made for developers who regularly download, unpack, test, and archive large Xcode releases.
Project history
The GitHub repository was created in February 2022. Its README describes the goal as outperforming Apple's Bom-based xip and Archive Utility path both in decompression time and disk usage, using a design specialized around the Xcode XIP format, pbzx content, cpio reconstruction, APFS compression, Swift Concurrency, and streaming backpressure.
The project later grew from a single command into reusable internals. Release notes for v3.0 in October 2023 added libunxip, a Swift stream-based API for transforming XIP input into decompressed chunks, files, and write completions. Later releases continued to track compiler, concurrency, OS-support, and output-directory behavior.
Adoption history
The README points users to precompiled macOS binaries and names MacPorts and Homebrew as package-manager installations. GitHub repository metadata showed 958 stars and 46 forks when checked on July 2, 2026, indicating meaningful but specialized adoption among Xcode-heavy macOS developers.
How it is used
The intended command-line use is direct extraction of an Apple Xcode.xip into Xcode.app, either from a local file or from a stream into a target directory. The README warns that unxip does not perform signature verification, so users should validate downloads by another mechanism and prefer trusted sources such as Apple.
Why package nerds care
For package nerds, unxip matters because Xcode distribution is unusually large and slow to unpack, and toolchain managers often need repeatable extraction during CI image builds, local Xcode switching, and cache preparation. A packaged fast extractor is attractive precisely because it narrows one painful platform-specific step.
Timeline
- 2022: GitHub repository created.
- 2023: v2.2 release notes added Linux support.
- 2023: v3.0 release notes added libunxip.
- 2026: v3.3 release notes lowered minimum macOS requirements and added output-directory support.
Related projects
- The README contrasts unxip with Bom, xip(1), Archive Utility, Apple's compression_tool-documented pbzx format, cpio archives, and APFS transparent compression.
Sources
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:archive
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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
unxip | executable | indexed executable | Discovered 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 version3.3
manager updated2026-05-10
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:unxip |
|---|---|
| Version | 3.3 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/saagarjha/unxip |
| Repository | https://github.com/saagarjha/unxip |
| Last updated | 2026-05-10T22:45:31-04:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
MacPorts95%
unxip
sudo port install unxip- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Unxip
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.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation