macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install link-grammarlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install link-grammarMacPorts ports tree · textproc/link-grammar/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install link-grammar with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser. Version 5.13.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install liblink-grammar-devDebian stable package indexes · liblink-grammar-dev · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install link-grammarFedora Rawhide package metadata · link-grammar · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#link-grammarnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/link-grammar/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S link-grammarArch Linux sync databases · link-grammar · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install liblink-grammar5openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · liblink-grammar5 · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser
Project links
Commands and aliases
- link-generator
- link-parser
history
Project history and usage
Link Grammar is the CMU Link Grammar natural-language parser packaged as libraries, dictionaries, and command-line tools. It turns sentences into graph-like typed links between words, with conversions to more conventional phrase-structure and dependency views.
Project history
The theory was developed in 1991 by Davy Temperley, John Lafferty, and Daniel Sleator at Carnegie Mellon University. The project's README points to the original 1991 CMU technical report, a 1993 parsing workshop paper, and a 1995 robust parsing paper as the foundational publications.
The modern package is a continuation of the original CMU parser but has diverged substantially from the early code base. The README describes major engineering evolution: extensive bug fixes, orders-of-magnitude performance work, full multithreading, UTF-8 support, security cleanup for cloud deployment, improved English coverage, and added languages including Thai and Russian.
Adoption history
Link Grammar has persisted as a niche but long-lived NLP package because it combines an academic grammar formalism with runnable dictionaries and a small interactive parser. Its presence in Unix package managers keeps the CMU parser available for experiments, symbolic NLP systems, dictionary work, and regression tests even as statistical and neural NLP methods became dominant.
How it is used
The package includes language dictionaries, APIs for multiple programming languages, and command-line tools such as link-parser and link-generator. The interactive parser is useful for inspecting linkages and costs by hand, while the library form lets other NLP systems consume the parser programmatically.
Why package nerds care
Link Grammar is package-nerd catnip because it is an old academic parser that still builds as a normal Unix package. It carries dictionaries, generated data, C libraries, bindings, man pages, and CLI tools, preserving a pre-deep-learning branch of NLP in a form that can still be installed with a package manager.
Timeline
- 1991: Temperley, Lafferty, and Sleator developed the Link Grammar theory at Carnegie Mellon University.
- 1991: The CMU-CS-91-196 technical report Parsing English with a Link Grammar was published.
- 1993: Sleator and Temperley presented Parsing English with a Link Grammar at the Third International Workshop on Parsing Technologies.
- 1995: Grinberg, Lafferty, and Sleator published A Robust Parsing Algorithm for Link Grammars.
- 5.9.0: The package added an experimental sentence-generation system exposed through link-generator.
Related projects
- Related projects include the original CMU Link Grammar parser, OpenCog Language Learning, the link-generator tool, and downstream NLP systems that prefer symbolic grammar structures over purely statistical parsers.
Sources
- https://github.com/opencog/link-grammar
- https://github.com/opencog/link-grammar/blob/master/AUTHORS
- https://github.com/opencog/link-grammar/blob/master/README.md
- https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/link/pub/www/papers/ps/LG-IWPT93.ps
- https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/link/pub/www/papers/ps/tr95-125.ps
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.
- Build metadata lists 8 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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
link-generator | cli | global executable | |
link-parser | 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 version5.13.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedlink-grammar-5.13.0
https://github.com/opencog/link-grammar
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:link-grammar |
|---|---|
| Version | 5.13.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/link-grammar |
| Homepage | https://github.com/opencog/link-grammar |
| Repository | https://github.com/opencog/link-grammar |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/opencog/link-grammar |
| License | LGPL-2.1-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/opencog/link-grammar/archive/refs/tags/link-grammar-5.13.0.tar.gz |
| Build dependencies | ant, autoconf, autoconf-archive, automake, libtool, pkgconf, python@3.14, swig |
| Uses from macOS | libedit, sqlite |
| 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 | link-grammar |
| 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%
liblink-grammar-dev 5.12.5~dfsg-1+b3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (development headers)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install liblink-grammar-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Debian apt95%
liblink-grammar-java 5.12.5~dfsg-1+b3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (JNI library)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install liblink-grammar-java- Section: java
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Debian apt95%
liblink-grammar5t64 5.12.5~dfsg-1+b3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (libraries)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install liblink-grammar5t64- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 6 dependencies
- 1 provides
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Debian apt95%
link-grammar 5.12.5~dfsg-1+b3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install link-grammar- Section: text
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Debian apt95%
link-grammar-dictionaries-all 5.12.5~dfsg-1
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (all dictionaries)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install link-grammar-dictionaries-all- Section: text
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Debian apt95%
link-grammar-dictionaries-en 5.12.5~dfsg-1
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (English dictionary)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install link-grammar-dictionaries-en- Section: text
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: link-grammar
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Debian apt95%
python-link-grammar-examples 5.12.5~dfsg-1
CMU's link grammar parser (Python examples)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install python-link-grammar-examples- Section: python
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: link-grammar
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Debian apt95%
python3-link-grammar 5.12.5~dfsg-1+b3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (Python 3)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install python3-link-grammar- Section: python
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 6 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Nix95%
link-grammar
nix profile install nixpkgs#link-grammar- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Ubuntu apt95%
liblink-grammar-dev 5.12.3~dfsg-1build3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (development headers)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install liblink-grammar-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Ubuntu apt95%
liblink-grammar-java 5.12.3~dfsg-1build3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (JNI library)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install liblink-grammar-java- Section: universe/java
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Ubuntu apt95%
liblink-grammar5 5.12.3~dfsg-1build3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (libraries)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install liblink-grammar5- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 6 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Ubuntu apt95%
link-grammar 5.12.3~dfsg-1build3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install link-grammar- Section: universe/text
- Architecture: amd64
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Ubuntu apt95%
link-grammar-dictionaries-all 5.12.3~dfsg-1build3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (all dictionaries)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install link-grammar-dictionaries-all- Section: universe/text
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: link-grammar
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Ubuntu apt95%
link-grammar-dictionaries-en 5.12.3~dfsg-1build3
Carnegie Mellon University's link grammar parser (English dictionary)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install link-grammar-dictionaries-en- Section: universe/text
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: link-grammar
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
Ubuntu apt95%
python-link-grammar-examples 5.12.3~dfsg-1build3
CMU's link grammar parser (Python examples)
https://www.abisource.com/projects/link-grammar/
sudo apt install python-link-grammar-examples- Section: universe/python
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: link-grammar
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Link Grammar
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