install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install fairymax

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install fairymax

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#fairymax

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/fa/fairymax/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

AI for playing Chess variants

Project links

Commands and aliases

fairymax
maxqi
shamax

history

Project history and usage

Fairy-Max is H.G. Muller's free, open-source chess-variant engine. It is derived from micro-Max and replaces fixed move tables with definitions loaded from fmax.ini, making it useful for experimenting with fairy pieces and variant rule sets.

Project history

The project was created to empirically evaluate fairy pieces by letting them play in checkmating chess games against orthodox pieces. Its design keeps the engine textual and protocol-oriented rather than graphical: Fairy-Max communicates through the WinBoard protocol and expects a GUI such as WinBoard or XBoard to handle display and game interaction.

Fairy-Max also produced or shipped alongside specialized variants such as ShaMax for Shatranj-like behavior and MaxQi for Xiangqi-specific constraints, reflecting the same small-engine approach applied to variants that do not fit the generic fmax.ini model.

Adoption history

The official documentation says Fairy-Max became included in the standard WinBoard install as a ready-to-run engine. In package-manager culture it is notable because a small, configurable chess engine can be installed as a command-line program while still serving GUI users through the long-running WinBoard/XBoard engine ecosystem.

How it is used

Users edit fmax.ini to define piece moves, board sizes, and variant setups, then run Fairy-Max as a WinBoard-compatible engine. The same package commonly exposes related binaries such as fairymax, maxqi, and shamax for the generic engine and dedicated variant engines.

Why package nerds care

Fairy-Max is the sort of package that rewards distribution packaging: it is small, old-school, text-configurable, and useful only when installed together with the right data files and GUI protocol expectations. The fmax.ini file is part of the program's behavior, not just optional sample configuration.

Timeline

Undated: H.G. Muller creates Fairy-Max as a chess-variant engine derived from micro-Max.
Undated: Fairy-Max is included with the standard WinBoard install as a ready-to-run engine.
Undated: Dedicated variants such as ShaMax and MaxQi are distributed with the Fairy-Max downloads.

Related projects

Fairy-Max is closely related to micro-Max, WinBoard/XBoard, ShaMax, MaxQi, and other WinBoard-compatible chess-variant engines.

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 10 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: fmax.ini

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure
`fairymax`	cli	global executable
`maxqi`	cli	global executable
`shamax`	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 version5.0b

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://www.chessvariants.com/index/msdisplay.php?itemid=MSfairy-max

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.chessvariants.com/index/msdisplay.php?itemid=MSfairy-maxnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:fairymax
Version	5.0b
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/fairymax
Homepage	https://www.chessvariants.com/index/msdisplay.php?itemid=MSfairy-max
Repository	https://hgm.nubati.net/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?p=fairymax.git%3Ba%3Dsummary
Upstream docs	https://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/CVfairy.html
License	LicenseRef-Homebrew-public-domain
Source archive	https://deb.debian.org/debian/pool/main/f/fairymax/fairymax_5.0b.orig.tar.gz
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, 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	fairymax
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	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%

fairymax 5.0b-2

xboard compatible chess and chess-variant engine

https://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/CVfairy.html

sudo apt install fairymax

Section: games
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Fairymax

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: fairymax from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

fairymax

nix profile install nixpkgs#fairymax

normalized package name match
Matched by: Fairymax

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/fa/fairymax/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Ubuntu apt95%

fairymax 5.0b-1build1

xboard compatible chess and chess-variant engine

http://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/CVfairy.html

sudo apt install fairymax

Section: universe/games
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Fairymax

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: fairymax from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/fairymax.yml

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
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install fairymax with Homebrew, apt, Nix