Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install abcmidi with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman

Converts abc music notation files to MIDI files. Version 2026.06.09 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-09.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install abcmidi

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install abcMIDI

MacPorts ports tree · audio/abcMIDI/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install abcmidi

Debian stable package indexes · abcmidi · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install abcMIDI

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · abcMIDI · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#abcmidi

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ab/abcmidi/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S abcmidi

Arch Linux sync databases · abcmidi · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Converts abc music notation files to MIDI files

Commands and aliases

  • abc2abc
  • abc2midi
  • abcmatch
  • mftext
  • midi2abc
  • midicopy
  • midistats
  • yaps

history

Project history and usage

abcMIDI is a long-running suite of C command-line tools for working with abc music notation and MIDI. Its core programs convert abc text notation to MIDI, transpose abc files, derive abc from MIDI, inspect MIDI, and support older PostScript-oriented notation workflows.

Project history

The official README says James Allwright created abcMIDI in the early 1990s and that Seymour Shlien later took over maintenance. Shlien's project page describes abc notation as a plain-text music language introduced by Chris Walshaw in 1993 and places abcMIDI among the early tools built around that ecosystem.

The package grew beyond its original tools as Shlien added programs such as abcmatch and midicopy. The current official page names the ifdo.ca site as the latest source for abcMIDI and notes that SourceForge is updated less frequently; the GitHub repository mirrors this current maintained source.

Adoption history

abcMIDI became part of the abc notation toolchain used by graphical front ends and music editors. The README says components of the package are included in numerous applications for creating and editing abc files, and the input package-manager facts show it packaged across Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, and Ubuntu.

How it is used

Package users mostly encounter abcMIDI as small Unix-style filters: abc2midi converts abc notation to MIDI, midi2abc works in the reverse direction, abc2abc rewrites notation, and the companion tools inspect or copy MIDI data. The official README also documents traditional configure/make installation and a newer CMake build.

Why package nerds care

abcMIDI is package-nerd interesting because it is a specialist plain-text music toolkit with decades of continuity, many small binaries, and a release cadence still tied to individual tool versions. It sits at the intersection of old Unix filter culture, MIDI, TeX/PostScript-era notation workflows, and modern package-manager distribution.

Timeline

  • 1993: Chris Walshaw introduces abc notation, according to Shlien's official project page.
  • Early 1990s: James Allwright creates the abcMIDI package in C, according to the official README.
  • 2000s: Seymour Shlien takes over support and maintenance, described on the official project page as about 20 years before its 2026 update.
  • 2019: The current GitHub repository is created.
  • 2022: Earliest GitHub tag in the current repository is 2022.02.13.
  • 2026: The official project page lists abcMIDI 2026.06.24 as the latest stable zip.

Related projects

  • Related projects include runabc, EasyABC, abcm2ps, abc2svg, abc2ps, abcnotation.com, and the ABC Plus project. These projects form the broader abc notation editing, rendering, and playback ecosystem referenced by the official README and project page.

Sources

  • Official README, official project page, GitHub repository metadata, and source_facts.package-manager.

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for abcmidi. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.

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
abc2abccliglobal executable
abc2midicliglobal executable
abcmatchcliglobal executable
mftextcliglobal executable
midi2abccliglobal executable
midicopycliglobal executable
midistatscliglobal executable
yapscliglobal 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 version2026.06.09
manager updated2026-06-09
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/top.html

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:abcmidi
Version2026.06.09
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/abcmidi
Homepagehttps://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/top.html
Repositoryhttps://github.com/sshlien/abcmidi
Upstream docshttps://abcmidi.sourceforge.io/
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/abcMIDI-2026.06.09.zip
Last updated2026-06-09T17:53:24Z
Pulseupdated
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

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

abcmidi 20250216+ds-1

converter from ABC to MIDI format and back

https://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/top.html

sudo apt install abcmidi
  • Section: sound
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 1 dependencies
  • 4 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcmidi
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: abcmidi from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

abcmidi

nix profile install nixpkgs#abcmidi
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcmidi
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ab/abcmidi/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

abcmidi 20240222+ds1-1

converter from ABC to MIDI format and back

https://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/top.html

sudo apt install abcmidi
  • Section: universe/sound
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 1 dependencies
  • 4 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcmidi
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: abcmidi from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
dnf95%

abcMIDI 2025.02.16-5.fc44

ABC to/from MIDI conversion utilities

https://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/top.html

sudo dnf install abcMIDI
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Category: Applications/Multimedia
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: abcMIDI
  • 4 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcmidi
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: abcMIDI from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

abcmidi 2026_06_06-1

Tools for ABC and MIDI files

https://github.com/sshlien/abcmidi

sudo pacman -S abcmidi
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcmidi
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: abcmidi from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
MacPorts95%

abcMIDI

sudo port install abcMIDI
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Abcmidi
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: audio/abcMIDI/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.

Same workflow

  • wildmidiShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, midi.
  • abcm2psShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, converter, media, music-notation.
  • ccmShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, music.
  • chordiiShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, music.
  • dzrShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, music.
  • midicsvShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, converter, media, midi.

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