macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install tractorgenlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install tractorgen with Homebrew
Generates ASCII tractor art. Version 0.31.7 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Generates ASCII tractor art
Project links
Commands and aliases
- tractorgen
history
Project history and usage
tractorgen is a deliberately absurd command-line program that generates ASCII tractor art. Its official page treats the joke seriously, framing the program as a contribution to 'ASCII tractor mechanics'.
Project history
The official page says tractorgen was written by Kbert, more as a dare than anything else, with original inspiration from SCOboy asking a dumb question. The page preserves the entire project in the style of old Unix freeware pages: introduction, news, binaries, source tarballs, packaging notes, changelog, mailing-list link, license, and related work.
Unlike many joke programs, tractorgen has a surprisingly detailed package history. The page records Red Hat packages in April 2000, VAX and OpenBSD binaries in September 2000, Windows binaries in March 2002, Debian packages and a web interface in April 2002, a FreeBSD port in December 2002, and migration of sources to GitHub in December 2008.
Adoption history
tractorgen's adoption history is mostly a tour of early-2000s packaging culture. The author page documents community-made binaries and ports across Red Hat, Debian, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, VAX, Windows, and a web interface capable of generating very large tractors. Homebrew later packaged version 0.31.7, keeping the joke installable through a modern package manager.
How it is used
The program's purpose is simply to generate ASCII tractors from a tractor coefficient. The official page notes that it enforces the 'fundamental theorem' that side-on ASCII tractors must have at least four wheels, and that attempts to make smaller tractors cause the program to abort and dump core.
Why package nerds care
tractorgen is package-nerd bait: a tiny gag program with real tarballs, RPM specs, Debian packaging files, FreeBSD port archives, a GPL notice, a GitHub mirror, and a Homebrew formula. It is significant less for utility than for showing how package ecosystems preserve Unix jokes as runnable artifacts.
Timeline
- 2000-04: Red Hat packages announced.
- 2000-09: VAX and OpenBSD binaries announced.
- 2002-04: Debian packages and a web interface announced.
- 2002-12: FreeBSD port announced.
- 2008-12: Sources moved to GitHub.
- 2008-12: Official page last modified.
- 2026: Homebrew formula reports stable version 0.31.7.
Related projects
- init.d/pants, Pat's ASCII Kfish generator, early RPM, Debian, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and Homebrew packaging culture.
Sources
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 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
tractorgen | 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 version0.31.7
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://vergenet.net/~conrad/software/tractorgen/
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://vergenet.net/~conrad/software/tractorgen/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:tractorgen |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.31.7 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/tractorgen |
| Homepage | https://vergenet.net/~conrad/software/tractorgen/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/kfish/tractorgen |
| Upstream docs | https://vergenet.net/~conrad/software/tractorgen |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://vergenet.net/~conrad/software/tractorgen/dl/tractorgen-0.31.7.tar.gz |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, 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 | tractorgen |
| 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 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
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment