macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install fordlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install ford with Homebrew, Nix
Automatic documentation generator for modern Fortran programs. Version 7.0.13 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#fordnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/fo/ford/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Automatic documentation generator for modern Fortran programs
Project links
Commands and aliases
- ford
history
Project history and usage
FORD is an automatic documentation generator for modern Fortran programs. The README expands the name as FORtran Documenter and frames the project as a Fortran-oriented alternative to Doxygen and other documentation generators.
Project history
FORD was written because the maintainer found Doxygen's Fortran handling poor and other alternatives limited, proprietary, unattractive, or difficult to extend. The README specifically compares it with ROBODoc, f90doc, and Doxygen and states the goal of producing modern Fortran documentation that is informative, attractive, easy to write, and non-obtrusive.
The documentation site later formalized the user guide around project files, Markdown metadata, fpm.toml integration, command-line options, generated pages, and API documentation. The changelog shows an active 6.x and 7.x period, including Sphinx/Read the Docs documentation work and a v7.0.0 breaking-change release.
Adoption history
The README documents pip as the simplest installation path, Homebrew as a macOS package-manager route, and additional system package availability. It also displays badges for PyPI, Homebrew, package status, downloads, GitHub license, and Zenodo, indicating packaging and citation concerns common in scientific Fortran projects.
How it is used
Users write a Markdown project file, optionally put settings in fpm.toml, and run ford against the project file. FORD extracts documentation from Fortran comments, supports Markdown, MathJax, search, Bootstrap-based output, source links, static pages, and external project references.
Why package nerds care
FORD matters to package and scientific-computing maintainers because it fills a language-specific documentation gap for modern Fortran while fitting normal Python packaging and Homebrew workflows. It also bridges Fortran Package Manager projects through fpm.toml support.
Timeline
- 2022: changelog entry v6.1.17 includes adding Sphinx docs and a Read the Docs website.
- 2023: v6.2.5 released with fixes around bound procedure declarations and call graphs.
- v7.0.0: changelog records a breaking release updating Bootstrap to 5.3 and changing project-file metadata behavior.
Related projects
- The README discusses Doxygen, ROBODoc, and f90doc as related documentation tools. The user guide also connects FORD to fpm.toml, Markdown, MathJax, Lunr Search, Bootstrap, and external FORD documentation projects.
Sources
- https://forddocs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user_guide/project_file_options.html
- https://forddocs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user_guide/writing_documentation.html
- https://github.com/Fortran-FOSS-Programmers/ford
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Fortran-FOSS-Programmers/ford/master/CHANGELOG.md
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Fortran-FOSS-Programmers/ford/master/README.md
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 2 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
./*.md
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
ford | 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 generated2026-07-10
manager version7.0.13
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/Fortran-FOSS-Programmers/ford
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/Fortran-FOSS-Programmers/fordnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:ford |
|---|---|
| Version | 7.0.13 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ford |
| Homepage | https://github.com/Fortran-FOSS-Programmers/ford |
| Repository | https://github.com/Fortran-FOSS-Programmers/ford |
| Upstream docs | https://forddocs.readthedocs.io/en/latest |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/7e/22/c9688672022dc47456a0dd0a51e0f4310e5c69ef4cd8243c141420421dc9/ford-7.0.13.tar.gz |
| Dependencies | graphviz, python@3.14 |
| 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 | ford |
| 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 |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix95%
ford
nix profile install nixpkgs#ford- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ford
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
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment