macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install clozure-cllocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install clozure-cl with Homebrew
Common Lisp implementation with a long history. Version 1.13 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Common Lisp implementation with a long history
Project links
Commands and aliases
- ccl64
history
Project history and usage
Clozure CL is a free Common Lisp implementation with roots in Macintosh Common Lisp and OpenMCL.
Project history
The official history traces CCL back to Coral Software's 1984 work on Coral Common Lisp for the Macintosh. CCL 1.0 shipped in 1987 for the Macintosh Plus, then the line passed through Macintosh Allegro Common Lisp and Apple's Macintosh Common Lisp.
Apple transferred MCL to Digitool in 1994 during the PowerPC transition, and Digitool released a PowerPC version around 1995. A JPL effort later licensed MCL source for PowerPC robotics and flight-system work; Gary Byers ported the compiler and runtime to VxWorks and LinuxPPC in 1998.
Digitool agreed in 2001 to open source the JPL work, creating OpenMCL. In 2007, OpenMCL was renamed Clozure CL to avoid confusion with the newly open sourced original MCL code.
Adoption history
The official site describes Clozure CL as available across macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, illumos, and Windows, which made it a portable Common Lisp for users who wanted native threads, fast compilation, a compacting generational garbage collector, and a foreign-function interface.
For package managers, Clozure CL matters as a long-lived Lisp runtime that exposes a simple `ccl64` executable while carrying decades of Mac Lisp lineage into Unix-style packaging.
How it is used
Users run `ccl64` for the Clozure CL listener/compiler and can build CCL from source using an already-working CCL, because the implementation is written in itself.
The project documents user support through the ccl-devel mailing list, IRC, GitHub issues, and release downloads from GitHub.
Why package nerds care
Clozure CL is unusually interesting to package maintainers because it is self-hosting, historically tied to Macintosh Lisp, and packaged as a full language runtime rather than a small utility.
Its init-file behavior and architecture-specific binaries are the sort of details that make Lisp implementations visible in Homebrew and other Unix packaging ecosystems.
Timeline
- 1984: Coral Software began Coral Common Lisp for the Macintosh.
- 1987: CCL 1.0 was released for a 1 MB Macintosh Plus.
- 1988: Coral was acquired by Apple, and the Lisp became Macintosh Common Lisp.
- 1994: Apple transferred MCL to Digitool.
- 1998: A JPL-backed port of the MCL compiler and runtime reached VxWorks and LinuxPPC.
- 2001: Digitool agreed to open source the JPL work, creating OpenMCL.
- 2007: OpenMCL was renamed Clozure CL.
- 2017: GitHub releases include Clozure CL 1.11.
Related projects
- Coral Common Lisp, Macintosh Allegro Common Lisp, Macintosh Common Lisp, and OpenMCL are direct predecessors in the official history.
- CCLDoc is the documentation format/project referenced by the official Clozure CL site.
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 4 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.
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
~/ccl-init.lisp~/.ccl-init.lisp
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
ccl64 | 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 version1.13
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv1.13
https://github.com/Clozure/ccl
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:clozure-cl |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.13 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/clozure-cl |
| Homepage | https://ccl.clozure.com |
| Repository | https://github.com/Clozure/ccl |
| Upstream docs | https://ccl.clozure.com/docs |
| License | Apache-2.0 |
| Source archive | https://github.com/Clozure/ccl/archive/refs/tags/v1.13.tar.gz |
| Bottle | available (on monterey, sonoma, ventura, 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 | clozure-cl |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Requirements |
|
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | yes |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
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 configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment