brew

Install clisp with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

GNU CLISP, a Common Lisp implementation. Version 2.49.92 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install clisp

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install clisp

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

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add clisp

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · clisp · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install clisp

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

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install clisp

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#clisp

nixpkgs package indexes · clisp · source: raw.githubusercontent.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S clisp

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

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install clisp

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · clisp · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

GNU CLISP, a Common Lisp implementation

Project links

Commands and aliases

clisp
clisp-link

history

Project history and usage

GNU CLISP is an ANSI Common Lisp implementation that provides an interpreter, compiler, debugger, command-line REPL, bytecode compilation, scripting support, and a broad set of implementation extensions.

Project history

CLISP began in Germany in 1987 with Bruno Haible and Michael Stoll; its own implementation notes describe the first version as an Atari ST system written in 68000 assembly language and Common Lisp. Bruno Haible remained the original long-time maintainer, and Sam Steingold became a co-maintainer in 1998.

The project became a portable GPL implementation in the early 1990s, with release 2.1 shipping source for Atari ST, Amiga, DOS, OS/2, and Unix systems. Its official notes trace a long sequence of 2.x releases that added CLOS, modules, Unicode work, FFI improvements, POSIX interfaces, GNU build-system alignment, and experimental thread support.

Adoption history

CLISP's own homepage lists official distribution through SourceForge and GNU FTP, plus packages or ports for Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Gentoo, Arch, Ubuntu, FreeBSD, pkgsrc, OpenBSD, Fink, MacPorts, Homebrew, Cygwin, and Solaris CSW. The batch input also records package-manager coverage across Alpine, Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Ubuntu, and openSUSE.

By the late 2000s CLISP had settled into the role of a widely packaged, portable Common Lisp runtime rather than the highest-performance implementation. Its long availability in Unix package managers made it a familiar command-line Lisp for scripts, teaching, and portability testing.

How it is used

Users run `clisp` interactively as a Common Lisp REPL, compile Lisp files to portable bytecode with `-c`, execute expressions with `-x`, or use Lisp files as scripts. The manual documents `~/.clisprc.lisp` and `~/.clisprc.fas` as startup rc files and `-norc` to suppress them.

The companion `clisp-link` executable is used for linking modules, while CLISP itself is often used with Emacs, SLIME, ILISP, and shell-style scripting workflows.

Why package nerds care

CLISP is package-nerd notable because it is one of the old, portable Common Lisp implementations that distributions carried for decades. It exercises hard packaging surfaces: generated memory images, optional modules, readline, FFI, libffcall, architecture portability, and Lisp startup files.

Its later unreleased 2.50 notes explicitly discuss distribution concerns such as memory-image compatibility options, which is exactly the kind of runtime/package-manager boundary that maintainers care about.

Timeline

1987: CLISP project starts with Bruno Haible and Michael Stoll.
1992: Release 2.0 announced for Linux binaries.
1993: Release 2.1 becomes the first portable GPL source release.
1998: Sam Steingold becomes co-maintainer.
2007: Release 2.43 aligns the build process with GNU standards.
2010: Version 2.49 is released and documented as the current stable release on the official homepage.
2018: The official GitLab project is created for GNU CLISP source and wiki.

Related projects

Related Common Lisp implementations include SBCL, CMUCL, ECL, GNU CL, and Clozure CL. Related CLISP-adjacent tools include SLIME and ILISP for editor integration, GNU libffcall for FFI support, and the Common Lisp HyperSpec as the language reference.

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 3 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

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

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.clisprc.lisp~/.clisprc.fas

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`clisp`	cli	global executable
`clisp-link`	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 version2.49.92

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://clisp.sourceforge.io/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://clisp.sourceforge.io/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:clisp
Version	2.49.92
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/clisp
Homepage	https://clisp.sourceforge.io/
Repository	https://gitlab.com/gnu-clisp/clisp
Upstream docs	https://clisp.sourceforge.io/impnotes.html
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/clisp/clisp-2.49.92.tar.bz2
Dependencies	libffcall, libsigsegv, readline
Uses from macOS	libxcrypt, ncurses
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	clisp
Version Scheme	0
Revision	1
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
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%

clisp 1:2.49.20241228.gitc3ec11b-2