# Install bnfc with Homebrew, apt, pacman BNF Converter. Version 2.9.6.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:bnfc ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install bnfc ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install bnfc ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: bnfc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S bnfc ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: bnfc from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:bnfc - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 2.9.6.3 - **Source summary:** BNF Converter - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** BSD-3-Clause - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - bnfc (cli) - bnfc (alias) ## Dependencies - gmp ## Build dependencies - cabal-install - ghc - sphinx-doc ## Uses from macOS - libffi ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 2.9.6.3 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/BNFC/bnfc - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage BNFC, the BNF Converter, is a compiler-construction tool that turns a Labelled BNF grammar into a compiler front end: abstract syntax, lexer, parser, pretty-printer, test bench, and documentation. ### Project history BNFC started at Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg. A 2004 Haskell workshop demonstration by Markus Forsberg and Aarne Ranta says Forsberg and Ranta began development in 2002 as a tool generating Haskell. The same source records that Michael Pellauer retargeted BNFC to C, C++, and Java in 2003, moving it from a Haskell-only generator toward a multilingual compiler-front-end generator. Modern BNFC documentation describes the LBNF formalism independently of any one output language, and the project now advertises generation for Haskell, Agda, C, C++, Java, OCaml, XML representations, and Pygments syntax highlighters. ### Adoption history BNFC found adoption in programming-languages courses, research prototypes, and small language implementations where the grammar is the most stable artifact and hand-written front ends would be repetitive. Its package-manager footprint is narrower than mainstream parser generators but meaningful: Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Arch, and Haskell package ecosystems carry it for developers who want an executable generator rather than a library-only parser toolkit. ### How it is used A user writes an LBNF grammar, runs bnfc, and then compiles the generated lexer/parser and abstract-syntax code with the target language's usual parser tooling, such as Alex and Happy for Haskell or Flex/Bison-style tools for C-family output. BNFC is especially useful when the same grammar should produce both implementation artifacts and a readable language specification, keeping parser code, AST constructors, pretty printers, and documentation aligned. ### Why package nerds care BNFC is package-nerd-significant because it packages an academic compiler-construction idea as a practical command-line generator. It is not just yacc with another syntax; its labeled grammar rules become typed abstract syntax across target languages. For language-tooling nerds, BNFC sits in the interesting space between parser generators, syntax-specification formalisms, and teaching tools. It makes a grammar file the source of truth for several generated artifacts that are otherwise easy to let drift. Its long survival in package managers matters because many compiler-course and research tools depend on old but useful grammar generators being installable without reconstructing a Chalmers-era toolchain by hand. ### Timeline - 2002: Forsberg and Ranta start BNFC as a Haskell-generating tool. - 2003: BNFC is retargeted to C, C++, and Java by Michael Pellauer. - 2004: BNFC is demonstrated at the ACM SIGPLAN Haskell workshop. - 2010s: BNFC migrates into modern package managers and public GitHub maintenance. - 2020s: BNFC documentation lists target-language support including Haskell, Agda, C, C++, Java, and OCaml. ### Related projects - Alex and Happy: Haskell lexer and parser tools often used with BNFC's Haskell backend. - Flex and Bison: traditional lexer/parser tools related to BNFC's C/C++ style generated front ends. - ANTLR, yacc, and Menhir: parser-generator neighbors with different grammar models and target ecosystems. - LBNF: the Labelled BNF grammar formalism used by BNFC. ### Sources - - - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** bnfc - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - bnfc - 2.9.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: bnfc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Compiler front-end generator based on Labelled BNF | https://bnfc.digitalgrammars.com/ - Ubuntu apt - bnfc - 2.9.5-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: bnfc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Compiler front-end generator based on Labelled BNF | https://bnfc.digitalgrammars.com/ - pacman - bnfc - 2.9.6.3-18: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: bnfc from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | A compiler front-end generator. | https://bnfc.digitalgrammars.com/ ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [cabal-install](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cabal-install/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [ghc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ghc/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [sphinx-doc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sphinx-doc/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [aarch64-elf-gcc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aarch64-elf-gcc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compilers, developer-tools. - [adaptivecpp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/adaptivecpp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compilers, developer-tools. - [arm-linux-gnueabihf-binutils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/arm-linux-gnueabihf-binutils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compilers, developer-tools. - [arm-none-eabi-binutils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/arm-none-eabi-binutils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compilers, developer-tools. - [arm-none-eabi-gcc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/arm-none-eabi-gcc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compilers, developer-tools. - [bunster](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bunster/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compilers, developer-tools. - [cloog](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cloog/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compilers, developer-tools. - [creduce](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/creduce/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, compilers, developer-tools. - [foma](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/foma/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, compiler, compilers, developer, developer-tools. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/bnfc.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/bnfc.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph