macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install autogenlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install autogenMacPorts ports tree · devel/autogen/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install autogen with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Automated text file generator. Version 5.18.16 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-19.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install autogenDebian stable package indexes · autogen · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install autogenFedora Rawhide package metadata · autogen · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#autogennixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/au/autogen/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S autogenArch Linux sync databases · autogen · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install autogenopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · autogen · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Automated text file generator
Project links
Commands and aliases
- autogen
- autoopts-config
- columns
- getdefs
- xml2ag
history
Project history and usage
GNU AutoGen is a GNU code and text generation utility built around definition files and templates. Its package identity is very Unixy: a command-line generator for maintainers who want repeatable source, option, or configuration files instead of hand-editing generated boilerplate.
Project history
AutoGen is associated with Bruce Korb and the GNU project; the GNU manual and AutoGen pages present it as a general automated text-file generator rather than a language-specific compiler tool. The package also includes related commands such as AutoOpts tooling, getdefs, columns, and xml2ag, which made it useful in build and release workflows beyond a single executable.
The project lived in the GNU/Savannah ecosystem and also maintained a SourceForge-facing homepage, reflecting a common early-2000s free-software distribution pattern: GNU project page, Savannah source control, tarball releases, and downstream packaging by Unix distributions.
Adoption history
AutoGen is packaged across traditional Unix package managers including Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, MacPorts, Nix, and openSUSE according to the batch input. That breadth signals long-tail adoption in developer-tool stacks even though the project is much less visible than the Autotools packages it often sits near.
Its adoption has mostly been indirect: users encounter it as a dependency or maintainer-side generator in source releases, not as a fashionable end-user CLI.
How it is used
AutoGen users write definitions and templates, then run the autogen command to emit source or text files. Package users also see the auxiliary tools listed by the Homebrew formula, including autoopts-config, columns, getdefs, and xml2ag.
It is not a credentials-oriented tool and the official curation does not document a single user configuration path.
Why package nerds care
For package maintainers, AutoGen matters as one of the older GNU-era generator utilities that can appear in bootstrap chains. It is the kind of package that explains why source builds sometimes need more than a compiler and make: generated files may come from project-specific template systems.
Timeline
- 1990s-2000s: AutoGen develops as a GNU automated text and program generation tool.
- 2010s: GNU manual and Savannah repository remain the official documentation/source-control surfaces.
- 2020s: AutoGen remains packaged in multiple Unix package managers, mostly as a maintainer/developer utility.
Related projects
- AutoOpts is distributed with AutoGen and provides option-processing support generated from definitions.
- GNU Autoconf, Automake, and Libtool occupy the neighboring build-bootstrap space where generated project files are common.
Sources
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 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 2 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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
autogen | cli | global executable | |
autoopts-config | cli | global executable | |
columns | cli | global executable | |
getdefs | cli | global executable | |
xml2ag | cli | global 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 version5.18.16
manager updated2026-06-19
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://autogen.sourceforge.net/
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://autogen.sourceforge.net/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:autogen |
|---|---|
| Version | 5.18.16 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/autogen |
| Homepage | https://autogen.sourceforge.net/ |
| Repository | https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/autogen.git |
| Upstream docs | https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/gnu/autogen/rel5.18.16/autogen-5.18.16.tar.xz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-19T12:30:02-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | bdw-gc, guile |
| Build dependencies | coreutils, pkgconf |
| Uses from macOS | libxml2 |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | autogen |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 3 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
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%
autogen 1:5.18.16-7
automated text file generator
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo apt install autogen- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 6 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
Debian apt95%
autogen-doc 1:5.18.16-7
automated text file generator - documentation
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo apt install autogen-doc- Section: doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: autogen
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
Debian apt95%
libopts25 1:5.18.16-7
automated option processing library based on autogen
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo apt install libopts25- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: autogen
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
Debian apt95%
libopts25-dev 1:5.18.16-7
automated option processing library based on autogen
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo apt install libopts25-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: autogen
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
Nix95%
autogen
nix profile install nixpkgs#autogen- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
Ubuntu apt95%
autogen 1:5.18.16-5build1
automated text file generator
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo apt install autogen- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 6 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
Ubuntu apt95%
autogen-doc 1:5.18.16-5build1
automated text file generator - documentation
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo apt install autogen-doc- Section: universe/doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: autogen
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
Ubuntu apt95%
libopts25 1:5.18.16-5build1
automated option processing library based on autogen
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo apt install libopts25- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: autogen
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
Ubuntu apt95%
libopts25-dev 1:5.18.16-5build1
automated option processing library based on autogen
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo apt install libopts25-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: autogen
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
dnf95%
autogen 5.18.16-32.fc43
Automated text file generator
http://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo dnf install autogen- License: GPL-3.0-or-later AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-2-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-1.0-or-later AND (LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: autogen
- 9 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
dnf95%
autogen-libopts 5.18.16-32.fc43
Automated option processing library based on autogen
http://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo dnf install autogen-libopts- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: autogen
- 2 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
dnf95%
autogen-libopts-devel 5.18.16-32.fc43
Development files for libopts
http://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo dnf install autogen-libopts-devel- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: autogen
- 7 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
pacman95%
autogen 5.18.16-6
A tool designed to simplify the creation and maintenance of programs that contain large amounts of repetitious text
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo pacman -S autogen- License: GPL3
- Architecture: x86_64
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
zypper95%
autogen 5.18.16-9.3
Automated Text File Generator
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo zypper install autogen- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Development/Tools/Building
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: autogen
- 5 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
zypper95%
autoopts 5.18.16-9.3
Automated Option Processing
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo zypper install autoopts- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Development/Languages/C and C++
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: autogen
- 5 dependencies
- 5 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
zypper95%
libopts25 5.18.16-9.3
Shared library libopts
https://www.gnu.org/software/autogen/
sudo zypper install libopts25- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: System/Libraries
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: autogen
- 2 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Autogen
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.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
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