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chainsaw for Mac

Rapidly Search and Hunt through Windows Forensic Artefacts

Quick answer: chainsaw is a command-line tool for macOS. Install it with brew install chainsaw. It is distributed under the GPL-3.0-only licence. It has 52 Homebrew installs in the last 30 days.

What chainsaw is

chainsaw is a command-line tool for macOS: rapidly Search and Hunt through Windows Forensic Artefacts.

It is distributed as a Homebrew formula, which builds or pours a binary and puts it on your PATH. The project is open source and lives at https://github.com/WithSecureLabs/chainsaw.

How to install chainsaw

  1. Open Terminal (press ⌘ + Space and type “Terminal”).
  2. If Homebrew is not installed yet, run the installer below once.
  3. Run brew install chainsaw.

Homebrew installer, if you need it:

Prefer a graphical installer? Download it from the official site. MacPicks never hosts or mirrors binaries — the Homebrew command always pulls from the vendor's own release.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I install chainsaw on Mac?

Run brew install chainsaw in Terminal. This requires Homebrew; if you do not have it, install it first with the command below.

Is chainsaw open source?

Yes — Homebrew distributes it under the GPL-3.0-only licence.

Does chainsaw run on Apple silicon?

Homebrew publishes this formula for macOS. If upstream does not ship an Apple silicon build, Rosetta 2 handles the Intel binary.

How popular is chainsaw?

It was installed 52 times in the last 30 days according to Homebrew analytics, ranking #4506 in this catalogue.

What version of chainsaw is current?

The latest packaged version is 2.17.1.