Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install glulxe with Homebrew, apt

Portable VM like the Z-machine. Version 0.6.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install glulxe

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install glulxe

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

overview

Package summary

Portable VM like the Z-machine

Commands and aliases

  • glulxe

history

Project history and usage

Glulxe is Andrew Plotkin's reference-style interpreter for Glulx, the 32-bit virtual machine used by many interactive-fiction works. Package users install it to run `.ulx` Glulx game files from the command line or through Glk front ends.

Project history

Glulx was designed as a portable interactive-fiction virtual machine similar to the Z-machine, but with 32-bit data and addresses and native Glk I/O support. Glulxe, short for Glulx Execute, implements that VM in C and is maintained by Andrew Plotkin under the `erkyrath` GitHub account.

The Glulxe README and version history show a long, conservative evolution: profiling and acceleration work appeared in 2009, floating-point support in 2010, memory checks and Glk dispatch improvements followed, the project switched from an older ad hoc license to MIT in 2016, and later releases added debugger and autosave support for RemGlk-oriented use.

Adoption history

Glulxe's adoption is tied to the Inform and Glulx interactive-fiction ecosystem rather than to general gaming. The official Glulx page links the interpreter, the VM specification, Inform compiler support, sample game files, Quixe for browser execution, and Lectrote for desktop apps, placing Glulxe among the reference tools that keep older and newer IF works runnable.

Distribution through Homebrew, Debian, and Ubuntu makes Glulxe accessible outside IF Archive downloads, which helps authors, archivists, and players test Glulx story files with a standard interpreter.

How it is used

Practitioners build Glulxe against a Glk library such as CheapGlk, GlkTerm, or RemGlk, then run `glulxe filename.ulx` to execute a Glulx game file. The README also documents autosave, autorestore, single-turn operation, RNG seeding, debugger builds, and platform-specific Glk library integration.

Interactive-fiction authors use it to test Inform-generated Glulx works; preservation-minded users use it as a dependable VM runner; and UI authors pair it with Glk libraries or RemGlk to connect text-adventure execution to terminal, desktop, or web-facing interfaces.

Why package nerds care

Glulxe is package-worthy because it turns a niche literary-computing runtime into a stable command-line executable. Its significance is less about popularity metrics and more about archival durability: a small VM interpreter lets decades of Glulx IF artifacts remain executable on ordinary Unix-like systems.

Timeline

  • 2009: Public GitHub repository created.
  • 2009: Version 0.4.4 added profiling code and function acceleration.
  • 2010: Version 0.4.6 added floating-point math support.
  • 2016: Version 0.5.3 switched the project to the MIT license.
  • 2022: Version 0.6.0 added Glulx spec 3.1.3 opcode support and Unix autosave support.
  • 2023: Version 0.6.1 added RNG seeding and Windows configuration improvements.

Related projects

  • Glk provides the I/O abstraction Glulxe depends on.
  • Inform 6 and Inform 7 can produce Glulx game files.
  • Quixe and Lectrote are related Glulx interpreters or wrappers for browser and desktop use.

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.
  • Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

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

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
glulxecliglobal 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 version0.6.1
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://www.eblong.com/zarf/glulx/

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.eblong.com/zarf/glulx/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:glulxe
Version0.6.1
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/glulxe
Homepagehttps://www.eblong.com/zarf/glulx/
Repositoryhttps://github.com/erkyrath/glulxe
Upstream docshttps://github.com/erkyrath/glulxe#readme
LicenseMIT
Source archivehttps://eblong.com/zarf/glulx/glulxe-061.tar.gz
Build dependenciesglktermw
Uses from macOSncurses
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Nameglulxe
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
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%

glulxe 0.6.1-1

Interpreter for glulx interactive fiction

https://www.eblong.com/zarf/glulx/

sudo apt install glulxe
  • Section: games
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 3 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Glulxe
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: glulxe from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Ubuntu apt95%

glulxe 0.5.4-1.1

Interpreter for glulx interactive fiction

https://www.eblong.com/zarf/glulx/

sudo apt install glulxe
  • Section: universe/games
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 3 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Glulxe
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: glulxe 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.

Same workflow

  • fizmoShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction, interpreter, z-machine.
  • frotzShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction, interpreter, z-machine.
  • git-ifShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, glulx, interactive-fiction, interpreter.
  • dmagneticShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction, interpreter.
  • dungeonShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction.
  • qtadsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction.

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.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment