install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install spin

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install spin

MacPorts ports tree · devel/spin/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install spin

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#spin

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S spin

Arch Linux sync databases · spin · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Efficient verification tool of multi-threaded software

Project links

Commands and aliases

spin

history

Project history and usage

Spin is a widely used open-source formal verification tool for multi-threaded software, best known in CLI culture for model checking Promela models from the command line.

Project history

The official Spin page says the tool was developed at Bell Labs in the Unix group of the Computing Sciences Research Center starting in 1980 and has been freely available since 1991.

Adoption history

Spin crossed from research software into standard Unix packaging: the official page notes Debian and Ubuntu availability, and the input facts also list Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Debian, and Ubuntu packages.

How it is used

Users write models in Promela and run Spin to check concurrency properties. The official page's small Peterson mutual-exclusion example shows `spin -run peterson.pml` as a command-line analysis workflow.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, Spin is a canonical example of research-grade tooling that belongs in ordinary package indexes: old, portable, scriptable, academically important, and still useful for checking concurrent systems.

Timeline

1980: Development began at Bell Labs, according to the official page.
1991: Spin became freely available.
2002: Spin received the ACM System Software Award.
2016: Version 6.4.5 moved Spin sources to the BSD 3-Clause license.
2019: Official source page says the most recent source and binary distribution moved to GitHub maintenance.
2020: Current Spin version 6.5.1 was released in July.

Related projects

Promela
Cobra
Modex
Swarm verification front-end
ltl2ba

Sources

https://github.com/nimble-code/Spin
https://spinroot.com/spin/Src/index.html
https://spinroot.com/spin/whatispin.html
input source_facts.package-manager

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 13 platform targets.

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
`spin`	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 version6.5.2

manager updated2026-06-14

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/nimble-code/Spin

infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/nimble-code/Spinnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:spin
Version	6.5.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/spin
Homepage	https://spinroot.com/spin/whatispin.html
Repository	https://github.com/nimble-code/Spin
Upstream docs	https://spinroot.com/spin/Doc/Manual.pdf
License	BSD-3-Clause
Source archive	https://github.com/nimble-code/Spin/archive/refs/tags/version-6.5.2.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-14T15:13:50+02:00
Pulse	updated
Bottle	available (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-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	spin
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
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%

spin 6.5.2+dfsg-2

formal software verification tool

https://spinroot.com/spin/whatispin.html

sudo apt install spin

Section: devel
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Spin

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

Nix95%

spin

nix profile install nixpkgs#spin

normalized package name match
Matched by: Spin

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

Ubuntu apt95%

spin 6.5.2+dfsg-1

formal software verification tool

http://spinroot.com

sudo apt install spin

Section: universe/devel
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Spin

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

pacman95%

spin 6.5.2-5

Tool for the formal verification of distributed software systems

https://spinroot.com/

sudo pacman -S spin

License: custom:BSD3
Architecture: x86_64
1 dependencies
3 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Spin

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: spin from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

MacPorts95%

spin

sudo port install spin

normalized package name match
Matched by: Spin

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: devel/spin/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/spin.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 spin with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix, pacman