install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install volk

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

Vector Optimized Library of Kernels

Project links

Commands and aliases

volk-config-info
volk_modtool
volk_profile

history

Project history and usage

VOLK, the Vector-Optimized Library of Kernels, is a GNU Radio sub-project that packages hand-written SIMD kernels behind portable C/C++ APIs. Its niche is digital signal processing code that wants architecture-specific speedups without scattering SSE, AVX, NEON, or generic fallback implementations across application code.

Project history

GNU Radio developer Tom Rondeau announced VOLK in December 2010 as a new library pushed into the GNU Radio tree. The motivation was practical: GNU Radio had used hand optimization in places such as FIR filters, but lacked a convenient way to use SIMD routinely in everyday signal-processing blocks.

VOLK's design separated a public kernel call from multiple architecture-specific proto-kernels. At runtime, VOLK can select the best implementation for the processor, while users call an architecture-agnostic function. The project later became a separately usable GNU Radio sub-project with its own website, documentation, GitHub repository, and release stream.

Adoption history

VOLK's adoption followed GNU Radio's ecosystem: it became part of the performance toolbox for software-defined radio and DSP applications that need portable vector math. The official README still frames VOLK as a GNU Radio sub-project and directs users to GNU Radio for broader project context.

Stewardship moved with GNU Radio's modern open-source workflow. The contributing documentation notes that copyright was historically owned by the Free Software Foundation and that the project now uses the Developer Certificate of Origin process, with pull requests tested across Linux, macOS, Windows, x86_64, armv7, and aarch64.

How it is used

Typical users link against VOLK kernels for vector math operations and run `volk_profile` after installation so VOLK can benchmark and select the fastest implementation for the local CPU. Developers add new proto-kernels when a platform or instruction set needs a tuned implementation, while keeping a generic version for portability.

Why package nerds care

VOLK matters to package maintainers because it is small but hardware-sensitive: the same source package exposes optional acceleration paths across CPU families, and runtime profiling means the installed package can adapt to the machine rather than baking in one best answer at build time.

Timeline

2010-12-11: Tom Rondeau announced VOLK as a new library in the GNU Radio tree.
2020: The libvolk.org website identified VOLK as a GNU Radio sub-project with GitHub-based source, documentation, issues, and contributing workflow.
2026-02-08: The project website listed VOLK v3.3.0 as a recent release.

Related projects

GNU Radio is the parent ecosystem and original integration point for VOLK.
FFTW is a common comparison point in VOLK's early explanation because it demonstrated how much SIMD can matter for numerical signal processing.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

library-like package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

library-like package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:library-like

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.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.volk/volk_config

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`volk-config-info`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`volk_modtool`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`volk_profile`	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 version3.3.0

manager updated2026-07-14

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:volk
Version	3.3.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://www.libvolk.org/
Repository	https://github.com/gnuradio/volk
Last updated	2026-07-14T20:07:14+09:00
Pulse	updated
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none 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.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/volk.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install volk with Homebrew