GNU Units is a cross-platform computer program for conversion of units of quantities. It has a database of measurement units, including esoteric and historical units. This for instance allows conversion of velocities specified in furlongs per fortnight, and pressures specified in tons per acre. Output units are checked for consistency with the input, allowing verification of conversion of complex expressions.
GNU Units was written by Adrian Mariano as an implementation of the units utility included with the Unix operating system. It was originally available under a permissive license. The GNU variant is distributed under the GPL although the FreeBSD project maintains a free fork of units from before the license change.
The original units program has been a standard part of Unix since the early Bell Laboratories versions. Source code for a version very similar to the original is available from the Heirloom Project.
What is GNU Units?
GNU Units is an open-source program for Windows from Free Software Foundation, Inc. (developed by GNU Project). It is written in C. Besides Windows, it is available for GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS and Unix-like operating system.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 32-bit as EXE (Inno Setup). The main installer is 3.0 MB. Installation asks for administrator rights. The installer supports unattended (silent) installation.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 816 times. Wikipedia has an article about it in 3 of our languages.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Small download (3.0 MB)
- Also runs on GNU/Linux, BSD and macOS
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- 32-bit only
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: GNU Units is an open-source Windows tool for 32-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is GNU Units safe to download?
- The file is served by ftp.gnu.org, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
DB7A0BF90A20FCF9EC6A3DE8EB10B798F7F61FEE1EFC4B4BF89F01B4B6D83DA2· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link answered when we last checked it (October 22, 2026)
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 1 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.27Latest | March 31, 2026 | 3.0 MB | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id GNU.Units -echoco install gnu-units -yunits-2.27-setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP-Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install gnu-unitsInformation
- Publisher
- Free Software Foundation, Inc.
- Developer
- GNU Project
- Licence
- GPLv3
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- ftp.gnu.org
- Written in
- C
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 32-bit
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Other platforms
- GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS, Unix-like operating system
- Version
- 2.27
- Released
- March 31, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- May 4, 2026
- Versions listed
- 1
- Chocolatey downloads
- 816
- Website
- gnu.org
- winget ID
- GNU.Units
- Chocolatey package
- gnu-units
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Frequently asked questions
Is GNU Units free?
Yes. GNU Units is open-source software under the GPLv3 licence.
Is GNU Units safe to download?
The download comes from ftp.gnu.org, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install GNU Units with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can GNU Units be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does GNU Units run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 32-bit version through emulation.