Install jnethack with Homebrew, MacPorts

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• jnethack

Project history

The JNetHack release README describes the project as a Japanization of NetHack and lists Issei Numata, Shigehiro Miyashita, Naoki Hamada, Kentaro Shirakata, and other contributors as copyright holders for the localized portions. That history places JNetHack in the long tradition of NetHack ports and localizations rather than as a separate game engine.

The GitHub release repository focuses on release artifacts and tags. Its tag stream shows NetHack 3.6.0-based JNetHack tags from 2016, NetHack 3.6.1-based tags in 2018, NetHack 3.6.6-based tags in 2020-2022, and a NetHack 3.6.7-based tag in 2023.

Adoption history

Homebrew and MacPorts package JNetHack, which makes it a niche but durable package-manager entry for Japanese NetHack players on Unix-like systems. Its adoption is tied less to broad upstream marketing and more to the persistence of NetHack culture, localization work, and terminal-game packaging.

How it is used

Users run JNetHack as a terminal roguelike, with gameplay inherited from NetHack and localized text supplied by the JNetHack patch set. The package is most useful for players who already know the NetHack command vocabulary or want a Japanese-language path into that ecosystem.

Why package nerds care

JNetHack is package-nerd interesting because it preserves a language-specific fork of a historically important Unix game. It also illustrates a common packaging pattern for old-school games: a small formula wraps a culturally important patch set, while the upstream cadence follows the base game's release line.

Timeline

• 1993: JNetHack localization copyright range begins in the project README.
• 2016: GitHub tags record NetHack 3.6.0-based JNetHack release artifacts.
• 2018: Tags move to NetHack 3.6.1-based release artifacts.
• 2020: Tags move to NetHack 3.6.6-based release artifacts.
• 2023: v3.6.7-0.1 tag appears for the NetHack 3.6.7 base.

Related projects

• NetHack is the base game and upstream code lineage for JNetHack.
• The jnethack organization also maintains Japanese NetHack documentation projects such as jguidebook.

Sources

• Homebrew and MacPorts package pages support the package-manager adoption note.
• The GitHub tag pages supply the 3.6-era release sequence.
• The JNetHack README supplies the localization statement, copyright ranges, and contributor list.