protobuf ☆
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Description:
Protocol buffers (Google's data interchange format)
Type: Formula  |  Latest Version: 11@1  |  Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  @protocolbuffers  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Developer tools
Tags: serialization protocol grpc data-format api
Install: brew install protobuf
About:
Protocol Buffers is a language-neutral, platform-neutral extensible mechanism for serializing structured data. It offers efficient binary serialization, making it ideal for high-performance communication and data storage. The tool also generates code for over 20 programming languages from .proto definition files.
Key Features:
  • Efficient binary serialization
  • Language-neutral interface definition
  • Auto-generated code for 20+ languages
  • Backward and forward compatibility
Use Cases:
  • Efficient data exchange between microservices
  • Persistent storage of structured application data
  • Defining APIs for gRPC communication
Alternatives:
  • JSON – Human-readable text format, generally larger and slower to parse than Protobuf.
  • Apache Avro – Row-based format often preferred for Hadoop ecosystems, relies on schema registry.
  • MessagePack – Binary JSON serializer, schema-less and more compact than JSON but less type-safe.
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Sep 10, 2025 6:53pm 11 1 VERSION_BUMP 7ceb66d5
Jan 10, 2025 5:04am 0 VERSION_BUMP 3808bc88
Nov 27, 2024 3:06am 0 VERSION_BUMP d103eac2
Sep 26, 2024 5:19am 0 VERSION_BUMP bc533967
Sep 14, 2024 7:50am 0 VERSION_BUMP 6d1eeacc
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