Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install mdk with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix

GNU MIX development kit. Version 1.3.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-07.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install mdk

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install mdk

MacPorts ports tree · lang/mdk/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install mdk

Debian stable package indexes · mdk · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install mdk

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · mdk · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#mdk

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

overview

Package summary

GNU MIX development kit

Commands and aliases

  • gmixvm
  • mixasm
  • mixguile
  • mixvm

history

Project history and usage

GNU MDK, the GNU MIX Development Kit, is a suite of tools for developing programs for Donald Knuth's MIX mythical computer and its MIXAL assembly language. It includes command-line and graphical simulators, an assembler, Guile integration, and Emacs support.

Project history

The GNU MDK manual identifies the documented package as version 1.3.0 from October 2020 and states that the manual covers utilities for Donald Knuth's MIX computer and MIXAL. The manual copyright years begin in 2000, showing the package's long-running place in the GNU software collection.

The GNU homepage presents MDK as a GNU project with news, documentation, installation, screenshots, downloads, and Savannah hosting. Homebrew tracked stable version 1.3.1 in 2026, while the input facts list packages across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora/DNF, MacPorts, and Nix.

Adoption history

MDK's audience is specialized: readers of The Art of Computer Programming, emulator enthusiasts, GNU users, and people studying assembly-language architecture through Knuth's MIX model. Its adoption is therefore broader in distribution coverage than in everyday command-line visibility.

Its continued presence in general-purpose package managers matters because MIX and MIXAL are educational and historical tools. Packaging MDK keeps examples from Knuth's literature runnable on modern Unix-like systems without each user building the GNU source tree manually.

How it is used

The package provides `mixasm` for assembling MIXAL, `mixvm` for simulating the MIX computer, `gmixvm` as a GTK virtual machine, and `mixguile` for Scheme/Guile interaction. The manual includes installation, a MIX and MIXAL tutorial, getting started material, command reference, and Emacs support.

There is no credential flow. Configuration in the manual is runtime-oriented simulator configuration and build/install flags, not a documented per-user config file location suitable for this schema.

Why package nerds care

GNU MDK is package-nerd significant because it is a compact bridge between classic computer-science literature and modern package managers. It lets a formula, Debian package, or Nix derivation install an executable environment for MIXAL programs.

It also illustrates why old educational tools remain packaged: not because they are high-volume infrastructure, but because they preserve reproducible access to an important computing model.

Timeline

  • 2000: GNU MDK manual copyright period begins.
  • 2020: Manual documents GNU MDK version 1.3.0.
  • 2026: Homebrew formula tracks stable version 1.3.1.

Related projects

  • MDK is directly related to Donald Knuth's MIX and MIXAL from The Art of Computer Programming.
  • Within GNU packaging, it is hosted through GNU/Savannah and depends on familiar GNU-adjacent components such as Guile, readline, GTK, flex, and the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector in Homebrew.

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for mdk. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
  • Installs with 13 runtime dependencies.
  • Build metadata lists 3 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
gmixvmcliglobal executable
mixasmcliglobal executable
mixguilecliglobal executable
mixvmcliglobal 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 version1.3.1
manager updated2026-06-07
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://www.gnu.org/software/mdk/mdk.html

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:mdk
Version1.3.1
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mdk
Homepagehttps://www.gnu.org/software/mdk/mdk.html
Repositoryhttps://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/mdk.git
Upstream docshttps://www.gnu.org/software/mdk/manual
LicenseGPL-3.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://ftpmirror.gnu.org/gnu/mdk/v1.3.1/mdk-1.3.1.tar.gz
Last updated2026-06-07T13:40:42-04:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesadwaita-icon-theme, at-spi2-core, bdw-gc, cairo, flex, gdk-pixbuf, gettext, glib, gtk+3, guile, harfbuzz, pango, readline
Build dependenciesgettext, intltool, pkgconf
Uses from macOSncurses
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namemdk
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.

Debian apt95%

mdk 1.3.0+dfsg-4

MIX Development Kit

https://www.gnu.org/software/mdk/mdk.html

sudo apt install mdk
  • Section: otherosfs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 8 dependencies
  • 2 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mdk
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: mdk from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

mdk

nix profile install nixpkgs#mdk
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mdk
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/md/mdk/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

mdk 1.3.0+dfsg-3build2

MIX Development Kit

https://www.gnu.org/software/mdk/mdk.html

sudo apt install mdk
  • Section: universe/otherosfs
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 8 dependencies
  • 2 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mdk
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mdk from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
dnf95%

mdk 1.3.1-6.fc45

GNU MIX Development Kit

https://www.gnu.org/software/mdk/

sudo dnf install mdk
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later AND GFDL-1.2-or-later
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mdk
  • 9 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mdk
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mdk from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

mdk-doc 1.3.1-6.fc45

GNU MIX Development Kit Documentation and Samples

https://www.gnu.org/software/mdk/

sudo dnf install mdk-doc
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later AND GFDL-1.2-or-later
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: noarch
  • Source Package: mdk
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mdk
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mdk-doc from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

mdk

sudo port install mdk
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mdk
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: lang/mdk/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/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

  • cairoRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • flexRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • gdk-pixbufRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • gettextRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • glibRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • intltoolBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • pkgconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • gnu-aplLocal package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: at-spi2-core, cairo, core, gdk, gdk-pixbuf.
  • xboardLocal package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: at-spi2-core, cairo, core, gdk, gdk-pixbuf.
  • zileLocal package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: bdw, bdw-gc, development, gettext, glib.

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

  • 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