Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

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

Parses Message Sequence Chart descriptions and produces images. Version 0.20 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-13.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install mscgen

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install mscgen

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

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install mscgen

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

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install mscgen

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

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#mscgen

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

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install mscgen

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

overview

Package summary

Parses Message Sequence Chart descriptions and produces images

Commands and aliases

  • mscgen

history

Project history and usage

mscgen is Michael McTernan's small Message Sequence Chart renderer and text language. The project page says it parses MSC descriptions and produces PNG, SVG, EPS, or server-side image-map output, with a syntax inspired by Graphviz DOT but simpler because sequence charts do not require general graph layout. It is written in ANSI C, uses the GD graphics library for PNG output, and is licensed under GPLv2.

How it is used

Its adoption came through documentation tooling as much as standalone diagram generation. Doxygen 1.5.2 added `\msc` and `\endmsc` support after McTernan experimented with custom Doxygen modifications, letting developers embed MSCs alongside source-code documentation in a way similar to DOT diagrams. The project page also lists packaging for distributions and integrations or extensions for AsciiDoc, Sphinx, LaTeX, Org-mode, TWiki, and JIRA. In practice, mscgen fits the Unix-documentation niche: keep diagrams as reviewable text, render them in builds or docs, and use a smaller tool when Msc-generator's broader GUI and multi-chart feature set is unnecessary.

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

  • broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

  • text:image

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
  • Installs with 2 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

CommandKindExposureNote
mscgencliglobal 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 version0.20
manager updated2026-06-13
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:mscgen
Version0.20
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mscgen
Homepagehttps://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/
Repositoryhttps://code.google.com/p/mscgen
Upstream docshttps://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/software/mscgen-src-0.20.tar.gz
Last updated2026-06-13T23:35:05+02:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesfreetype, gd
Build dependenciespkgconf
Bottleavailable (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namemscgen
Version Scheme0
Revision4
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%

mscgen 0.20-16

Message Sequence Chart (MSC) generator

https://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/

sudo apt install mscgen
  • Section: devel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mscgen
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: mscgen from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

mscgen

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

mscgen 0.20-15

Message Sequence Chart (MSC) generator

https://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/

sudo apt install mscgen
  • Section: universe/devel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mscgen
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mscgen from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

mscgen-dbgsym 0.20-15

debug symbols for mscgen

sudo apt install mscgen-dbgsym
  • Section: universe/devel
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: mscgen
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mscgen
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mscgen-dbgsym from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
dnf95%

mscgen 0.20-43.fc44

Message Sequence Chart rendering program

http://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/

sudo dnf install mscgen
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mscgen
  • 5 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mscgen
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mscgen from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

mscgen 0.20-3.29

Message Sequence Chart Renderer

http://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/

sudo zypper install mscgen
  • License: GPL-2.0
  • Category: Productivity/Graphics/Visualization/Graph
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: mscgen
  • 3 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mscgen
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: mscgen from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

mscgen

sudo port install mscgen
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Mscgen
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: graphics/mscgen/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

  • freetypeRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • gdRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • pkgconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • mermaid-cliShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, documentation, png, svg.
  • msc-generatorShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diagramming, message-sequence-chart.
  • plantumlShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diagramming, documentation.
  • svgbobShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diagramming, svg.
  • clang-umlShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diagramming.
  • d2Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, diagramming.

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

  • 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