Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install lfe with Homebrew, apk

Concurrent Lisp for the Erlang VM. Version 2.2.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install lfe

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Concurrent Lisp for the Erlang VM

Commands and aliases

  • lfe
  • lfe-first-try
  • lfe-test
  • lfec
  • lfedoc
  • lfeexec
  • lfescript

history

Project history and usage

LFE, Lisp Flavoured Erlang, is a Lisp syntax front end for Erlang and the BEAM virtual machine. Its package appeal comes from making Erlang/OTP concurrency, fault-tolerance, and library interoperability available through Lisp forms, macros, and a REPL.

Project history

The LFE project credits Robert Virding with releasing the first version in 2008, after early 2007 experiments with parsing and implementing a Lisp. Virding's stated goals were to explore a Lisp designed for BEAM, to compile through Core Erlang into the Erlang compiler backend, and to keep full interaction with Erlang/OTP.

The version history shows early 0.x releases evolving the language from basic shell/compiler support into a Lisp-2 design, macro system, Core Erlang generation, records, binary syntax, Query List Comprehensions, and match-specification features. The 1.0 and 2.x release lines later made LFE look more like a maintained language runtime package than a one-off experiment.

Adoption history

The LFE website describes production use beginning in 2015 and frames the language as part of the Erlang community's own Lisp ecosystem. Package-manager adoption is narrower than Erlang itself, but Homebrew and Alpine packaging make it easy for BEAM and Lisp-curious developers to install the language tools without building from a clone.

How it is used

Typical package usage is interactive or developer-facing: install the package, run the `lfe` REPL, compile with `lfec`, generate docs with `lfedoc`, or run scripts with `lfescript`. The README emphasizes compatibility with normal Erlang code, so LFE modules can sit beside Erlang modules rather than requiring a separate runtime world.

Why package nerds care

LFE is interesting to package nerds because it is both a language implementation and an Erlang ecosystem bridge: one formula brings in a Lisp REPL, compiler tooling, script runner, and documentation commands for BEAM. It also preserves the long tradition of alternate syntaxes targeting mature VMs.

Timeline

  • 2007: Robert Virding experimented with parsing and implementing a Lisp.
  • 2008: The first LFE version was released.
  • 2015: The project website describes stable production use beginning in this year.
  • 2021: LFE 2.0 was published as a GitHub release.
  • 2025: LFE 2.2.0 was published as a GitHub release.

Related projects

  • LFE is directly related to Erlang, Core Erlang, OTP, BEAM, and other Lisp-family languages. In packaging terms it sits near Erlang language tools, alternative BEAM languages, and REPL-oriented development packages.

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 8 platform targets.
  • Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
  • 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
lfecliglobal executable
lfe-first-trycliglobal executable
lfe-testcliglobal executable
lfeccliglobal executable
lfedoccliglobal executable
lfeexeccliglobal executable
lfescriptcliglobal 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 version2.2.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv2.2.0

https://github.com/lfe/lfe

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:lfe
Version2.2.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/lfe
Homepagehttps://lfe.io/
Repositoryhttps://github.com/lfe/lfe
Upstream docshttps://github.com/lfe/lfe#readme
LicenseApache-2.0
Source archivehttps://github.com/lfe/lfe/archive/refs/tags/v2.2.0.tar.gz
Dependencieserlang
Build dependenciesemacs
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namelfe
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.

apk95%

lfe 2.2.0-r2

Lisp Flavoured Erlang

https://lfe.io/

sudo apk add lfe
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: lfe
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Lfe
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: lfe from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

lfe-doc 2.2.0-r2

Lisp Flavoured Erlang (documentation)

https://lfe.io/

sudo apk add lfe-doc
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: lfe
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Lfe
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: lfe-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

package graph

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

Related tools

  • erlangRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • emacsBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • elixirShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, erlang-vm, language-runtime, programming-language.
  • fennelShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, language-runtime, lisp, programming-language.
  • hyShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, language-runtime, lisp, programming-language.
  • janetShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, language-runtime, lisp, programming-language.
  • minimal-racketShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, language-runtime, lisp, programming-language.
  • newlispShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, language-runtime, lisp, programming-language.

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