Install nef with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• nef
• nef-carbon
• nef-carbon-page
• nef-clean
• nef-jekyll
• nef-jekyll-page
• nef-markdown
• nef-markdown-page
• nef-playground
• nef-playground-book
• nefc

Project history

The public GitHub repository was created on 2018-12-19. The README says `nef` is short for Nefertiti and was inspired by ΛNK for Kotlin and tut for Scala, placing it in the tradition of executable documentation tools for language ecosystems.

The project documentation presents Homebrew as the preferred CLI installation route, while also allowing consumption as a Swift Package Manager library for macOS tooling. That dual shape matches its role: a developer can use `nef` directly, integrate pieces into an app, use an Xcode extension, or create iPad-friendly Swift Playgrounds.

Adoption history

nef's adoption appears niche and tightly coupled to Bow, Swift Playgrounds, and documentation workflows rather than broad Swift development. The GitHub API showed 268 stars and 6 forks on 2026-07-01, and Homebrew showed only 7 installs over 365 days, 1 over 90 days, and 0 over 30 days when checked the same day.

Those numbers suggest that nef is historically interesting as a specialized executable-documentation tool, but not a widely adopted package. Its value is clearest for teams or educators who want Swift examples that can be compiled and transformed into docs or playground books.

How it is used

Package users install `nef`, then create a playground with `nef playground`, compile playground-backed docs, generate Markdown or Jekyll output, produce a Playground Book from a Swift Package specification, or export code snippets. The common package-nerd use case is making examples more reproducible by compiling the documentation source instead of treating snippets as inert text.

The Homebrew formula requiring macOS and Xcode >= 13.1 reflects the real constraint: nef is not a general cross-platform documentation generator, it is Apple-toolchain-centered Swift playground tooling.

Why package nerds care

nef is a small but instructive package because it packages documentation as a build artifact. It belongs with literate-programming and executable-snippet tools more than with ordinary static-site generators.

Timeline

• 2018-12-19: Public GitHub repository created.
• 2026-07-01: GitHub API reported 2022-01-19 as the repository last-push timestamp.
• 2026-07-01: Homebrew formula stable version observed as 0.7.1 with very low install counts.

Related projects

• Bow
• Xcode Playgrounds
• Swift Package Manager
• Jekyll
• Carbon
• ΛNK
• tut

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/bow-swift/nef
• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nef
• https://github.com/bow-swift/nef
• https://nef.bow-swift.io/docs/quick-start/getting-started