install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install makensis

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

System to create Windows installers

Project links

Commands and aliases

makensis

history

Project history and usage

NSIS, exposed in Homebrew through the `makensis` compiler executable, is the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System: a small, script-driven open source system for producing Windows installers. Its official documentation emphasizes compact output, flexible scripting, and internet distribution, which is why it became a recurring tool in cross-platform release pipelines even though the target artifact is a Windows installer.

Project history

NSIS grew out of Nullsoft's installer work and reached public release as NSIS v1.0f on July 31, 2000, according to the official release notes. The project later moved through SourceForge-hosted development and kept its own scripting language, plug-in model, compression backends, and Windows-focused installer conventions.

The 3.0 release in July 2016 was a major modernization point: the official notes describe it as adding optional Unicode support, Windows 10 support, and a long list of compatibility and feature work while keeping support for the same Windows family. Subsequent releases continued the practical package-maintainer work of keeping installers small, signed, localizable, and compatible with modern Windows behavior.

Adoption history

NSIS became popular with open source and shareware projects because it produced a single redistributable `.exe` installer from text scripts and bundled files. For Unix-like package managers, `makensis` matters because maintainers can build Windows release artifacts from CI or developer machines without installing the full Windows GUI workflow.

The official wiki and download pages show a long-running project with current releases, archived NSIS 1 and 2 releases, documentation, examples, and a plug-in ecosystem. That long tail made NSIS scripts a package-maintainer artifact in their own right: projects often carry `.nsi` files next to source code, and build systems invoke `makensis` as a release step.

How it is used

`makensis` compiles `.nsi` installer scripts. The scripting reference describes `.nsi` files as text files containing commands, comments, variables, sections, pages, and installer behavior; build systems typically pass the script to `makensis` and publish the generated Windows installer.

Why package nerds care

Package nerds care about `makensis` because it is a bridge between source packaging and Windows distribution: the same project can publish tarballs, native packages, and a Windows installer from checked-in release recipes. It also explains why a Windows installer compiler appears in Unix package managers such as Homebrew.

Timeline

2000: NSIS v1.0f is first publicly released.
2016: NSIS 3.0 is released with optional Unicode support and Windows 10 support.
2020: NSIS 3.06.1 marks the project's 20th anniversary.
2026: The official download page lists NSIS 3.12 as a current release.

Related projects

Related installer systems include Inno Setup, WiX Toolset, Windows Installer/MSI tooling, and cross-platform packaging flows that invoke `makensis` from release automation.

Sources

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 2 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
`makensis`	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 version3.12

manager updated2026-06-25

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://nsis.sourceforge.net/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://nsis.sourceforge.net/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:makensis
Version	3.12
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/makensis
Homepage	https://nsis.sourceforge.net/
Repository	https://sourceforge.net/p/nsis/code/HEAD/tree
Upstream docs	https://nsis.sourceforge.io/Docs
License	Zlib
Source archive	https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/nsis/NSIS%203/3.12/nsis-3.12-src.tar.bz2
Last updated	2026-06-25T13:37:54+02:00
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	mingw-w64, scons
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	makensis
Aliases	nsis
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

package graph

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

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.

combined/makensis.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install makensis with Homebrew