macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install minizinclocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install minizincMacPorts ports tree · devel/minizinc/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install minizinc with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix, zypper
Medium-level constraint modeling language. Version 2.9.7 via Homebrew; verified 2026-04-30.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install minizincDebian stable package indexes · minizinc · source: deb.debian.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#minizincnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/mi/minizinc/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install minizincopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · minizinc · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Medium-level constraint modeling language
Project links
Commands and aliases
- minizinc
- mzn2doc
history
Project history and usage
MiniZinc is a free and open-source constraint modeling language for expressing constraint satisfaction and discrete optimization problems in a high-level, solver-independent form. The project is developed at Monash University with support from OPTIMA, and the libminizinc repository describes the compiler as translating MiniZinc models into FlatZinc, a solver input language understood by a wide range of solvers.
Project history
Its origins are unusually well documented. A history paper by Peter J. Stuckey, Guido Tack, and Maria Garcia de la Banda says MiniZinc was introduced in the CP2007 paper "MiniZinc: Towards a Standard CP Modelling Language" as a response to the lack of a common constraint-programming modeling language. The paper traces the language back to the G12 project, started in 2005, and to Zinc: MiniZinc was created as a stripped-down version of Zinc that compiled a model plus data instance into FlatZinc. The first MiniZinc version, 0.6, was released on September 23, 2007, the first day of CP2007.
Adoption history
Technically, MiniZinc's major contribution is the separation between modeling and solving. Modelers write .mzn models with parameters, decision variables, global constraints, and objectives; the minizinc compiler flattens a particular model/data pair into FlatZinc or another solver-facing form. That lets users try different solvers from the same model, while solver authors can support MiniZinc by providing FlatZinc interfaces and global-constraint definitions.
How it is used
Adoption is tied strongly to the constraint-programming research and optimization communities. The MiniZinc Challenge has run every year since 2008 to compare constraint solvers on shared benchmarks, and the history paper notes that the challenge encouraged solver implementers to provide compliant FlatZinc interfaces while building a public benchmark library. The same paper cites deployed and applied MiniZinc use in ship scheduling, optimization consulting, mission planning, automated configuration, cloud deployment, mobile robot planning, building automation, data acquisition, and preference elicitation. In Homebrew, the formula brings in solver-related dependencies such as Gecode and COIN-OR components, reflecting the package's role as a modeling frontend plus compiler rather than a single solver.
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 6 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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
minizinc | cli | global executable | |
mzn2doc | 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 version2.9.7
manager updated2026-04-30
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected2.9.7
https://github.com/MiniZinc/libminizinc
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:minizinc |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.9.7 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/minizinc |
| Homepage | https://www.minizinc.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/MiniZinc/libminizinc |
| Upstream docs | https://docs.minizinc.dev/en/stable |
| License | MPL-2.0 |
| Source archive | https://github.com/MiniZinc/libminizinc/archive/refs/tags/2.9.7.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-04-30T06:39:09Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | cbc, cgl, clp, coinutils, gecode, osi |
| Build dependencies | cmake |
| 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 | minizinc |
| 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%
minizinc 2.9.2+dfsg1-1
constraint modelling language and tool chain
sudo apt install minizinc- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 16 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Minizinc
Nix95%
minizinc
nix profile install nixpkgs#minizinc- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Minizinc
Ubuntu apt95%
minizinc 2.8.2+dfsg1-1build2
constraint modelling language and tool chain
sudo apt install minizinc- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Minizinc
zypper95%
minizinc 2.8.7-1.4
A high-level constraint modelling language
sudo zypper install minizinc- License: MPL-2.0
- Category: Productivity/Scientific/Math
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libminizinc
- 14 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Minizinc
MacPorts95%
minizinc
sudo port install minizinc- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Minizinc
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