brew

Install swi-prolog with Homebrew, apk, chocolatey, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, winget, zypper, scoop

ISO/Edinburgh-style Prolog interpreter. Version 10.0.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install swi-prolog

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install swi-prolog

MacPorts ports tree · lang/swi-prolog/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add swi-prolog

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · swi-prolog · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install swi-prolog

Debian stable package indexes · swi-prolog · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install swi-prolog

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · swi-prolog · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#swi-prolog

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/sw/swi-prolog/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S swi-prolog

Arch Linux sync databases · swi-prolog · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install swipl

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

Windows

Chocolateyverified · 92%

choco install SWI-Prolog

Chocolatey community package catalog · SWI-Prolog · source: community.chocolatey.org

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%

winget install --id SWI-Prolog.SWI-Prolog -e

Windows Package Manager source index · SWI-Prolog.SWI-Prolog · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install extras/swipl

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/swipl.json · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

ISO/Edinburgh-style Prolog interpreter

Project links

Commands and aliases

swipl
swipl-ld
swipl-win

history

Project history and usage

SWI-Prolog is a long-running open-source implementation of Prolog, packaged for Unix-like systems, Windows package managers, and language-specific workflows. For CLI users it is best known through the swipl executable, an interactive top level, compiler/runtime, and development environment for logic-programming projects.

Project history

The official manual says SWI-Prolog began in 1986 to support recursive interaction between Prolog and C, at a time when Prolog systems were less integrated with their host environments. The project's own site summarizes its public history as starting in 1987 and being driven by real-world application needs.

Adoption history

SWI-Prolog's documentation describes it as widely used in education and research, and also in 24x7 commercial server processes. The project reports over a million downloads and notes that applications range from student assignments to commercial codebases with more than one million lines of Prolog.

How it is used

The normal Unix entry point is swipl. Users start an interactive session, load Prolog source files, run queries, build applications, install packs, or use the runtime in larger systems through C, C++, Java, Python, web, RDF, and other interfaces documented by the project.

Why package nerds care

SWI-Prolog matters to package maintainers because it is both a language runtime and a batteries-included development environment. It has native libraries, optional packages, documentation generation, a pack ecosystem, source builds with submodules, stable and development release tracks, and enough platform reach that packaging it is a real integration exercise rather than a simple single-binary install.

Timeline

1986: Implementation history begins with the need for recursive Prolog and C interaction.
1987: Project site describes SWI-Prolog as starting in this year.
2007: SWI-Prolog and YAP establish a compatibility framework for portable Prolog programs.
2014: Primary git repository moved to GitHub.
2026: Official manual describes SWI-Prolog 10.1.x and ongoing stable/development release tracks.

Related projects

YAP is named in SWI-Prolog publications around Prolog portability.
XPCE is historically tied to SWI-Prolog's graphical environment.
SWISH provides a browser-based SWI-Prolog environment.
The SWI-Prolog pack system is the project's add-on packaging ecosystem.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: yellow

generalized runtime or code generation signal.

Risk classifier

yellow risk · medium confidence · runtime

Why

generalized runtime or code generation signal

Signals

text:interpreter

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 7 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
`swipl`	cli	global executable
`swipl-ld`	cli	global executable
`swipl-win`	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 version10.0.2

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://www.swi-prolog.org/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.swi-prolog.org/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:swi-prolog
Version	10.0.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/swi-prolog
Homepage	https://www.swi-prolog.org/
Repository	https://github.com/SWI-Prolog/swipl-devel
Upstream docs	https://github.com/SWI-Prolog/swipl-devel#readme
License	BSD-2-Clause
Source archive	https://www.swi-prolog.org/download/stable/src/swipl-10.0.2.tar.gz
Dependencies	berkeley-db@5, gmp, libarchive, libyaml, openssl@3, pcre2, unixodbc
Build dependencies	cmake, pkgconf
Uses from macOS	libedit, libxcrypt, ncurses
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	swi-prolog
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	head 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%

swi-prolog 9.2.9+dfsg-1+b1