install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install mftrace

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install mftrace

MacPorts ports tree · graphics/mftrace/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install mftrace

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

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install mftrace

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#mftrace

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

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install mftrace

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · mftrace · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Trace TeX bitmap font to PFA, PFB, or TTF font

Project links

Commands and aliases

gf2pbm
mftrace

history

Project history and usage

mftrace grew out of the TeX and METAFONT font toolchain as a Python wrapper for converting TeX bitmap fonts into scalable outlines. The LilyPond-hosted manual describes it as tracing a TeX bitmap font into PFA, PFB, or TTF output, and notes that versions before 1.0.5 were named pktrace. The project documentation and man page identify Han-Wen Nienhuys as the author.

Project history

The tool's importance is narrow but durable: it bridges METAFONT-era bitmap fonts and scalable font formats used by PostScript, PDF, and TrueType workflows. Its manual describes the reason for the conversion in package-nerd terms: scalable fonts render across printer resolutions and let Ghostscript generate better PDFs than bitmap-only inputs.

How it is used

In use, mftrace delegates the heavy lifting to font and tracing utilities such as METAFONT, potrace or autotrace, t1asm, and FontForge-like tooling. That makes it a glue package for TeX distributions, music engraving and document publishing systems, and maintainers converting old METAFONT designs into formats expected by modern font consumers. Its packaging across Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Ubuntu, and openSUSE reflects that it is infrastructure for a specialized publishing niche rather than an end-user font editor.

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.
Installs with 4 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.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`gf2pbm`	cli	global executable
`mftrace`	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 version1.2.20

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://lilypond.org/mftrace/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://lilypond.org/mftrace/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:mftrace
Version	1.2.20
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mftrace
Homepage	https://lilypond.org/mftrace/
Repository	http://repo.or.cz/w/mftrace.git
Upstream docs	https://lilypond.org/download/source/mftrace
License	GPL-2.0-only
Source archive	https://lilypond.org/downloads/sources/mftrace/mftrace-1.2.20.tar.gz
Dependencies	fontforge, potrace, python@3.14, t1utils
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	mftrace
Version Scheme	0
Revision	2
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
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.

Debian apt95%

mftrace 1.2.20+git20191022.3b4bc2e-3

Converts Metafont fonts into Type1 fonts

https://lilypond.org/mftrace/index.html

sudo apt install mftrace

Section: tex
Architecture: amd64
6 dependencies
1 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Mftrace

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: mftrace from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

mftrace

nix profile install nixpkgs#mftrace

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mftrace

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/mf/mftrace/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Ubuntu apt95%

mftrace 1.2.20+git20191022.3b4bc2e-3

Converts Metafont fonts into Type1 fonts

https://lilypond.org/mftrace/index.html

sudo apt install mftrace

Section: universe/tex
Architecture: amd64
6 dependencies
1 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Mftrace

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mftrace from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

dnf95%

mftrace 1.2.20-19.fc44

Utility for converting TeX bitmap fonts to Type 1 or TrueType fonts

http://lilypond.org/mftrace/

sudo dnf install mftrace

License: GPL-2.0-only
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: mftrace
7 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Mftrace

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mftrace from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

zypper95%

mftrace 1.2.20-4.3

Scalable PostScript Fonts for MetaFont

https://lilypond.org/mftrace/

sudo zypper install mftrace

License: GPL-2.0-only
Category: Productivity/Publishing/TeX/Utilities
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: mftrace
5 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Mftrace

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: mftrace from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

mftrace

sudo port install mftrace

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mftrace

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: graphics/mftrace/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.

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/mftrace.yml

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

Install mftrace with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper