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brew

Install jsdoc3 with Homebrew, Nix

API documentation generator for JavaScript. Version 4.0.5 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install jsdoc3

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#jsdoc

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

overview

Package summary

API documentation generator for JavaScript

Commands and aliases

  • jsdoc

history

Project history and usage

JSDoc is the long-running documentation-generator line for JavaScript source comments: a command-line tool scans `/** ... */` annotations and emits browsable API documentation. The Homebrew `jsdoc3` formula name reflects the JSDoc 3 generation, which moved the tool into the Node.js and npm ecosystem while preserving the older JavaDoc-inspired annotation culture.

Project history

The JSDoc project traces its modern implementation to Michael Mathews and contributors; the JSDoc repository states copyright beginning in 2011, and its change history starts with version 3.0.0. The documentation describes JSDoc 3 as an API documentation generator for JavaScript, similar to Javadoc and phpDocumentor, with comments stored beside the source code.

JSDoc 3 became the package-manager-facing generation: installable through npm and Homebrew, runnable as `jsdoc`, and configurable with JSON or JavaScript configuration files. Later 3.x releases tracked JavaScript syntax changes, including ES2015 classes, modules, async functions, generators, and Babel-era parsing support. JSDoc 4.0.0 in November 2022 adopted semantic versioning and removed the `taffydb` dependency, marking a cleanup of the older template-data model.

Adoption history

JSDoc was adopted both as a documentation generator and as a comment syntax understood by editors, build tools, templates, and downstream processors. The project README lists community templates, Grunt and Gulp integrations, a GitHub Action, and tools such as `jsdoc-to-markdown`, which shows the package's role as an ecosystem hub rather than a single output format.

The package remained useful even as TypeScript grew: JSDoc comments became a bridge for JavaScript projects that wanted better generated docs, editor hints, or type-aware tooling without rewriting code as TypeScript.

How it is used

Typical usage is to install `jsdoc`, run it against JavaScript source files, and optionally supply a configuration file such as `conf.json` or `conf.js` to control source paths, plugins, templates, and output. By default the tool writes generated documentation into an `out` directory unless a destination option is provided.

Why package nerds care

For package-maintainer culture, `jsdoc3` is a classic example of a formula name encoding a major upstream generation. It also represents the era when JavaScript documentation tooling moved from browser/Rhino-adjacent tooling into npm-driven command-line workflows, while still producing plain static documentation that Unix package managers could ship.

Timeline

  • 2011: JSDoc copyright and the GitHub-hosted JSDoc 3 generation begin according to the upstream README.
  • 2012: JSDoc 3.0.0 appears as the first version covered by the upstream change history.
  • 2017: JSDoc 3.5.0 switches to the Babylon parser and expands support for newer JavaScript syntax.
  • 2019: JSDoc 3.6.0 adds Node.js 12 compatibility and recognizes documented Closure Compiler tags.
  • 2022: JSDoc 4.0.0 adopts semantic versioning and removes the `taffydb` package.

Related projects

  • JSDoc's syntax was inspired by JavaDoc-style documentation. Its ecosystem includes templates such as DocStrap, minami, docdash, and better-docs, build integrations for Grunt and Gulp, and converters such as `jsdoc-to-markdown`.

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 1 platform targets.
  • Installs with 1 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
conf.jsonconf.js

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
jsdoccliglobal 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 version4.0.5
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://jsdoc.app/

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://jsdoc.app/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:jsdoc3
Version4.0.5
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/jsdoc3
Homepagehttps://jsdoc.app/
Repositoryhttps://github.com/jsdoc/jsdoc
Upstream docshttps://jsdoc.app/
LicenseApache-2.0
Source archivehttps://registry.npmjs.org/jsdoc/-/jsdoc-4.0.5.tgz
Dependenciesnode
Bottleavailable (on all)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namejsdoc3
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
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.

Nix92%

jsdoc

nix profile install nixpkgs#jsdoc
  • installed executable or alias match
  • Matched by: Jsdoc
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/js/jsdoc/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

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

Related tools

  • nodeRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • gtk-docShares av.db curated category or tags: api-docs, cli, developer-tools, documentation.
  • dashingShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, documentation, documentation-generator.
  • docfxShares av.db curated category or tags: api-docs, cli, developer-tools, documentation.
  • doxygenShares av.db curated category or tags: api-docs, cli, developer-tools, documentation.
  • gi-docgenShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, documentation, documentation-generator.
  • helm-docsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, documentation, documentation-generator.

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 configuration and credential file locations
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment