capnp ☆

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Description:
Data interchange format and capability-based RPC system

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 1.2.0@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: rpc serialization protocol capnproto data-format performance

Install: brew install capnp

About:
Cap'n Proto is a fast data interchange format and capability-based RPC system. It allows you to define data structures in a schema language, which generates efficient code for multiple languages. Its key advantage is zero-copy data access, enabling extremely high performance for serialization and inter-process communication.

Key Features:

Zero-copy data access for extreme performance
Capability-based security model for RPC
Multi-language code generation (C++, Rust, Go, etc.)
Efficient binary serialization format
In-place object traversal without parsing

Use Cases:

High-performance microservices communication
Efficient data serialization for storage or transmission
Inter-process communication (IPC) in system software
Real-time data streaming applications

Alternatives:

Protocol Buffers – Similar serialization format but requires parsing/deserialization, making it slower than Cap'n Proto's zero-copy approach.
Apache Thrift – Multi-language RPC framework with similar goals, but Cap'n Proto emphasizes zero-copy and capability-based security more strongly.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 10, 2025 5:12pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	1b86312b
Dec 21, 2024 11:51pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	35df553d