Install dvisvgm with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, pacman

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• dvisvgm

Project history

The public GitHub repository was created in April 2013, and GitHub release metadata records release 1.9 in February 2015. The project is maintained by Martin Gieseking and has grown from a DVI-to-SVG converter into a broader TeX graphics conversion tool with EPS and PDF modes.

The manual page reflects the project's close relationship with TeX internals: it supports classic DVI, pTeX vertical-mode DVI, XeTeX/XDV, specials, font embedding choices, WOFF/WOFF2 output for DVI-derived fonts, and path conversion for PDF and PostScript text.

dvisvgm also maintains a practical local cache for converted bitmap fonts under XDG cache locations, showing the sort of engineering needed to bridge old TeX font formats and modern web/vector output.

Adoption history

dvisvgm's adoption comes from the TeX and documentation ecosystem, where SVG output is useful for web pages, generated docs, previews, and math-heavy publishing workflows. The input package metadata lists broad distribution packaging across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, Arch, and MacPorts.

That cross-distribution packaging matters because dvisvgm is often installed as part of a larger TeX workflow rather than discovered as a standalone graphics app. Package managers make it available beside TeX Live, Ghostscript, and font tooling where automated document builds can call it.

How it is used

Users typically run dvisvgm on DVI/XDV files produced by TeX engines, or on EPS/PDF inputs using the corresponding modes. The common package-manager surface is a single CLI executable, dvisvgm, with options for page selection, bounding boxes, font conversion, bitmap embedding, color behavior, and output portability.

The manpage documents an XDG-style font cache at $XDG_CACHE_HOME/dvisvgm/ or $HOME/.cache/dvisvgm, which is important for repeat conversions of Metafont-derived bitmap fonts.

Why package nerds care

dvisvgm is important package plumbing because it connects a decades-old TeX output format to browser-native SVG without requiring a full graphical application. It sits at a useful intersection of TeX engines, font libraries, Ghostscript/PostScript/PDF handling, and reproducible documentation builds.

For packagers, dvisvgm is also a dependency-sensitive converter: its useful behavior depends on the TeX installation, font availability, Ghostscript support, and optional image/font formats. That makes it more interesting than a simple file-format filter.

Timeline

• 2013: The official GitHub repository is created.
• 2015: GitHub release metadata records dvisvgm 1.9.
• 2025: GitHub release metadata records dvisvgm 3.6.

Related projects

• TeX, LaTeX, pTeX, and XeTeX/XDV are direct input-producing ecosystems documented in the manual page.
• Ghostscript, PostScript, PDF, SVG, Metafont, and modern font formats such as PFB, TTF, OTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 are adjacent technologies named in the manual.

Sources

• https://dvisvgm.de/Manpage
• https://api.github.com/repos/mgieseki/dvisvgm
• https://api.github.com/repos/mgieseki/dvisvgm/releases