macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install nestlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install nest with Homebrew, dnf, Nix
Neural Simulation Tool (NEST) with Python3 bindings (PyNEST). Version 3.10 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-11.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install nestFedora Rawhide package metadata · nest · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#nestnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ne/nest/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Neural Simulation Tool (NEST) with Python3 bindings (PyNEST)
Project links
Commands and aliases
- nest
- nest-config
- nest-server
- nest-server-mpi
- nest_indirect
- nest_serial
- nest_vars.sh
- sli
history
Project history and usage
NEST is a long-running open source simulator for spiking neural-network models. Its niche is computational neuroscience models where the dynamics, scale, and connectivity of neuron populations matter more than detailed single-neuron morphology.
Project history
The NEST project traces its public history to a 1994 release under the name SYNOD and later became the NEural Simulation Tool. The project is coordinated by the NEST Initiative and distributed under GPL-2.0-or-later.
A major adoption shift was PyNEST: the 2008 PyNEST paper describes NEST as a C++ simulation kernel designed for large systems and explains why the project moved from its native SLI simulation language toward Python as the user-facing workflow.
Adoption history
NEST is used mainly in computational neuroscience, especially for large networks of point neurons, plasticity models, cortical-network examples, and reproducible simulator benchmarks. The project site describes a large developer community and support for systems ranging from laptops to clusters and supercomputers.
Homebrew analytics show a specialist but active macOS/Linux package audience: the formula listed 806 installs in the 365-day window visible on the formula page, all on request.
How it is used
Package users normally install it to get the `nest` command and PyNEST bindings. In practice, researchers write Python scripts or notebooks that import `nest`, create neuron/device nodes, connect populations, run `nest.Simulate(...)`, and analyze spike or voltage traces with Python scientific tooling.
The package-nerd angle is that the Python bindings are tied to the Homebrew Python used by the formula; the formula notes that PyNEST is installed with the `python@3.14` dependency and points users at that interpreter path.
Why package nerds care
NEST is significant less as a general CLI and more as a packaged scientific runtime: it pulls together a C++ simulator, Python bindings, numerical dependencies, and examples into something reproducible enough for papers, workshops, and neuroscience teaching.
Timeline
- 1994: first released under the name SYNOD, according to the NEST project site.
- 2007: Gewaltig and Diesmann published the Scholarpedia NEST citation used for older NEST versions.
- 2008: PyNEST paper published, documenting the Python interface and the motivation for moving beyond SLI.
- June 2026: NEST 3.10 listed as the current release on the NEST homepage and Homebrew formula.
Related projects
- PyNEST
- NEST Desktop
- NESTML
- NESTGPU
- PyNN
- Elephant
Sources
- https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nest
- https://nest-simulator.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
- https://nest-simulator.readthedocs.io/en/v3.9/tutorials/pynest_tutorial/part_1_neurons_and_simple_neural_networks.html
- https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroinformatics/articles/10.3389/neuro.11.012.2008/full
- https://www.nest-simulator.org/
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:server
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 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
nest | cli | global executable | |
nest-config | cli | global executable | |
nest-server | cli | global executable | |
nest-server-mpi | cli | global executable | |
nest_indirect | cli | global executable | |
nest_serial | cli | global executable | |
nest_vars.sh | cli | global executable | |
sli | 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 version3.10
manager updated2026-06-11
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv3.10
https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:nest |
|---|---|
| Version | 3.10 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nest |
| Homepage | https://www.nest-simulator.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator#readme |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator/archive/refs/tags/v3.10.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-11T04:05:35Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | gsl, libomp, libtool, numpy, python@3.14, readline |
| Build dependencies | cmake, cython |
| Uses from macOS | ncurses |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
| Caveats | The PyNEST bindings and its dependencies are installed with the python@3.14 formula. If you want to use PyNEST, use the Python interpreter from this path: $HOMEBREW_CELLAR/python@3.14/3.14.6/bin You may want to add this to your PATH. |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | nest |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| 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.
Nix95%
nest
nix profile install nixpkgs#nest- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest 3.8-11.fc45
The neural simulation tool
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 18 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-common 3.8-11.fc45
Common files for nest
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-common- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: nest
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-devel 3.8-11.fc45
Development files for nest
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-devel- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 1 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-doc 3.8-11.fc45
Documentation for nest
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-doc- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: nest
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-mpich 3.8-11.fc45
nest built with mpich
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-mpich- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 22 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-mpich-common 3.8-11.fc45
Common files for nest built with mpich support
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-mpich-common- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-mpich-devel 3.8-11.fc45
Header files for nest built with mpich support
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-mpich-devel- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 1 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-openmpi 3.8-11.fc45
nest built with openmpi
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-openmpi- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 20 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-openmpi-common 3.8-11.fc45
Common files for nest built with openmpi support
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-openmpi-common- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
nest-openmpi-devel 3.8-11.fc45
Development files for nest built with openmpi support
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install nest-openmpi-devel- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 1 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
python3-nest 3.8-11.fc45
Python3 bindings for nest
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install python3-nest- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 12 dependencies
- 5 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
python3-nest-mpich 3.8-11.fc45
Python3 bindings for nest with mpich support
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install python3-nest-mpich- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 12 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
dnf95%
python3-nest-openmpi 3.8-11.fc45
Python3 bindings for nest with openmpi support
http://www.nest-simulator.org/
sudo dnf install python3-nest-openmpi- License: GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT and LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: nest
- 12 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Nest
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