macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install html2textlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install html2textMacPorts ports tree · textproc/html2text/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install html2text with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Advanced HTML-to-text converter. Version 2.4.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add html2textAlpine Linux edge package indexes · html2text · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install html2textDebian stable package indexes · html2text · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install python3-html2textFedora Rawhide package metadata · python3-html2text · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#html2textnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ht/html2text/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S python-html2textArch Linux sync databases · python-html2text · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install python311-html2textopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · python311-html2text · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Advanced HTML-to-text converter
Project links
Commands and aliases
- html2text
history
Project history and usage
html2text renders HTML into terminal- and email-friendly plain text. The grobian-maintained project is a continuation of Martin Bayer's older html2text, with a focus on mail clients, terminal width, links, tables, character sets, and ANSI rendering.
Project history
The README states that the repository continues the project formerly hosted at mbayer.de/html2text and carries patches that were no longer available from the original sources. It also states that version 2.0 made the GitLab repository the official home.
GitLab tag metadata places v2.0.0 in 2020, followed by v2.1.x in 2022, v2.2.x in 2023, and v2.3.0 and v2.4.0 in 2025. The ChangeLog shows that later work added autotools-based builds, compatibility flags, whitespace normalization, ANSI escape output, color handling, and direct URL retrieval.
Adoption history
The tool is packaged across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, and Fedora-family ecosystems. Its adoption is helped by a stable command name and by mailcap integration examples for text-mode mail clients such as Mutt.
How it is used
The README's central workflow is rendering text/html parts for terminal email. It shows a mailcap entry using html2text with ANSI output, link references, charset conversion, and terminal-width wrapping, plus Mutt configuration that auto-views HTML mail through the converter.
Why package nerds care
html2text is package-nerd material because it solves a stubborn Unix desktop problem: making HTML email tolerable in text-mode tools. It is small enough for a mailcap line, but specialized enough to preserve tables, links, alignment, and character-set behavior better than a bare text dump.
Timeline
- Pre-2020: Martin Bayer's html2text provided the original project line.
- 2020: v2.0.0 established the grobian GitLab repository as the official home.
- 2022: v2.1.x releases continued the 2.x series.
- 2023: v2.2.0 moved the build system to autotools and added compatibility and whitespace work.
- 2025: v2.3.0 added ANSI and color handling; v2.4.0 added direct remote URL retrieval.
Related projects
- Related tools include lynx -dump, w3m -dump, pandoc, Python html2text, and mailcap-driven HTML viewers used by Mutt and similar text mail clients.
Sources
- Homebrew and distribution package metadata support package-manager adoption.
- The GitLab ChangeLog and tag API document the 2.x release evolution.
- The GitLab README documents origin, email-focused usage, and official-home status from version 2.0.
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.
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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
html2text | 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 version2.4.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://gitlab.com/grobian/html2text
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://gitlab.com/grobian/html2textnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:html2text |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.4.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/html2text |
| Homepage | https://gitlab.com/grobian/html2text |
| Repository | https://gitlab.com/grobian/html2text |
| Upstream docs | https://gitlab.com/grobian/html2text#readme |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://gitlab.com/-/project/48313341/uploads/8526650dd42218b3493ce7ca0a3eeb1e/html2text-2.4.0.tar.gz |
| 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 | html2text |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| 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.
Debian apt95%
html2text 2.2.3-3
advanced HTML to text converter
https://gitlab.com/grobian/html2text
sudo apt install html2text- Section: web
- Architecture: amd64
- 3 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
Nix95%
html2text
nix profile install nixpkgs#html2text- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
Ubuntu apt95%
html2text 1.3.2a-28
advanced HTML to text converter
https://github.com/grobian/html2text
sudo apt install html2text- Section: universe/web
- Architecture: amd64
- 3 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
apk95%
html2text 2.4.0-r0
html2text is a command line utility, written in C++, that converts HTML documents into plain text.
https://github.com/grobian/html2text/
sudo apk add html2text- License: GPL
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: html2text
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
apk95%
html2text-doc 2.4.0-r0
html2text is a command line utility, written in C++, that converts HTML documents into plain text. (documentation)
https://github.com/grobian/html2text/
sudo apk add html2text-doc- License: GPL
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: html2text
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
dnf95%
python3-html2text 2025.4.15-7.fc45
Convert HTML to Markdown-formatted text
https://github.com/Alir3z4/html2text/
sudo dnf install python3-html2text- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: python-html2text
- 2 dependencies
- 6 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
pacman95%
python-html2text 2025.4.15-2
A HTML to markdown-structured text converter
https://github.com/Alir3z4/html2text
sudo pacman -S python-html2text- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Architecture: any
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
zypper95%
python311-html2text 2025.4.15-1.4
Python script for turning HTML into Markdown text
https://github.com/Alir3z4/html2text/
sudo zypper install python311-html2text- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: python-html2text
- 4 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
zypper95%
python313-html2text 2025.4.15-1.4
Python script for turning HTML into Markdown text
https://github.com/Alir3z4/html2text/
sudo zypper install python313-html2text- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: python-html2text
- 4 dependencies
- 5 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
zypper95%
python314-html2text 2025.4.15-1.4
Python script for turning HTML into Markdown text
https://github.com/Alir3z4/html2text/
sudo zypper install python314-html2text- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: python-html2text
- 4 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
MacPorts95%
html2text
sudo port install html2text- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Html2text
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 package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment