Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install abcl with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix

Armed Bear Common Lisp: a full implementation of Common Lisp. Version 1.9.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-26.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install abcl

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install abcl

MacPorts ports tree · lang/abcl/Portfile · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Armed Bear Common Lisp: a full implementation of Common Lisp

Commands and aliases

  • abcl

history

Project history and usage

Armed Bear Common Lisp is an ANSI Common Lisp implementation for the Java Virtual Machine. The official homepage describes it as providing both an interpreter and compiler, compiling Lisp to Java bytecode, and supporting Java integration.

Project history

The official homepage says ABCL was originally started as a scripting language for the J editor. It later grew into a standalone Common Lisp implementation on the JVM, with support for JSR-223 so it can act as a Java scripting engine and with Java-to-Lisp integration APIs for embedding Lisp in Java applications.

Adoption history

ABCL occupies a particular niche among Common Lisp implementations: it lets Lisp code run where a JVM is already the deployment target. The supplied package-manager metadata lists it in APK, Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, Nix, and Ubuntu, reflecting its role as both a language runtime and a Java ecosystem bridge.

How it is used

Official documentation shows ABCL being run as a jar with java -jar abcl.jar, used as an interactive REPL, embedded from Java, and connected to Common Lisp tooling such as ASDF, Quicklisp, and SLIME.

Why package nerds care

Package maintainers care about ABCL because it is a Common Lisp runtime whose runtime contract is Java rather than a native Lisp image. That makes Java version support, jar layout, wrappers, ASDF integration, and contrib artifacts central packaging concerns.

Timeline

  • 2016: Official GitHub mirror/repository metadata shows the armedbear/abcl repository created.
  • 2026: Official ABCL release archive lists 1.10.0 artifacts, including abcl.jar and abcl.pdf.

Related projects

  • ABCL is tied historically to the J editor and operationally to the JVM, Java scripting APIs, ASDF, Quicklisp, and SLIME.

Sources

  • Official homepage, FAQ repository section, README, releases index, GitHub repository metadata, and source_facts.package-manager.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 12 platform targets.
  • Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
  • Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
abclcliglobal executable

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 generated2026-07-08
manager version1.9.2
manager updated2026-06-26
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://abcl.org/

  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://abcl.org/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:abcl
Version1.9.2
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/abcl
Homepagehttps://abcl.org/
Repositoryhttps://github.com/armedbear/abcl
Upstream docshttps://abcl.org/
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
Source archivehttps://abcl.org/releases/1.9.2/abcl-src-1.9.2.tar.gz
Last updated2026-06-26T12:30:42-04:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesopenjdk, rlwrap
Build dependenciesant
Bottleavailable (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Nameabcl
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • head
  • stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

abcl 1.9.2-2

Common Lisp implementation in the Java Virtual Machine

https://abcl.org/

sudo apt install abcl
  • Section: lisp
  • Architecture: all
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcl
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: abcl from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

abcl

nix profile install nixpkgs#abcl
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcl
nixpkgs package indexes · raw.githubusercontent.com · nixpkgs package indexes: abcl from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
Ubuntu apt95%

abcl 1.9.0-1

Common Lisp implementation in the Java Virtual Machine

https://abcl.org/

sudo apt install abcl
  • Section: universe/lisp
  • Architecture: all
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcl
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: abcl from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

abcl 1.10.0-r0

Armed Bear Common Lisp

https://abcl.org/

sudo apk add abcl
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: abcl
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcl
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: abcl from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
MacPorts95%

abcl

sudo port install abcl
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcl
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: lang/abcl/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • openjdkRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • rlwrapRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • antBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • clispShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, common-lisp, compiler, interpreter, language-runtime.
  • eclShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, common-lisp, compiler, interpreter, language-runtime.
  • gclShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, common-lisp, compiler, language-runtime.
  • clozure-clShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, common-lisp, compiler, language-runtime.
  • sbclShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, common-lisp, compiler, language-runtime.
  • ghcShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compiler, interpreter, language-runtime.

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.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment