install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install unnethack

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#unnethack

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

overview

Package summary

Fork of Nethack

Project links

Commands and aliases

unnethack

history

Project history and usage

UnNetHack is a terminal roguelike and NetHack variant. Its upstream README describes it as a fork originally based on NetHack 3.4.3, with more randomness, more levels, more challenges, and a development style intended to feel like NetHack had continued releasing as a modern open source project.

Project history

The project belongs to the long NetHack variant tradition rather than to a standalone game lineage. Its earliest tagged base in the repository is NetHack 3.4.3, and the UnNetHack changelog records UnNetHack 3.5.1 on 2009-06-13 with new Sokoban, Medusa, Castle, bigroom, Blackmarket, and other variant levels, plus borrowed patches from the wider roguelike ecosystem.

Later releases continued that model of curating NetHack community ideas. The changelog records UnNetHack 4.0.0 in 2012, 5.1.0 in 2013, and 5.2.0 in 2019, with work on reproducible dungeon layouts, UTF-8 terminal graphics, status indicators, xlogfile support, and many imported or adapted ideas from NetHack 3.6, xNetHack, dNetHack, EvilHack, Slash'EM, SporkHack, and other variants.

Adoption history

The official README points users to the project page, development blog, public servers, source repository, IRC, Reddit, and the rec.games.roguelike.nethack Usenet group, which places adoption in the traditional NetHack community channels rather than in a commercial release channel.

The supplied package metadata records distribution through Homebrew and Nix. For package-manager users, that makes UnNetHack a packaged way to install a community-maintained NetHack fork without building the large historic C codebase by hand.

How it is used

UnNetHack is used like other NetHack-family terminal games: users install the `unnethack` executable and play locally in a terminal or on public servers. Its changelog highlights TTY and curses UI work, UTF-8 graphics, xlogfile fields, dump logs, and seed support, all features that matter to players who run games locally, script reproducible games, or host shared roguelike servers.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, UnNetHack is a neat example of a packaged game fork whose value is not a new engine but a maintained variant rule set and a curated patch set. It also exercises classic Unix packaging concerns: terminal UI, reproducible builds, generated configuration defaults, save files, public-server compatibility, and a source tree descended from historic NetHack.

Timeline

2003: Repository includes the NetHack 3.4.3 base tag.
2009: UnNetHack 3.5.1 appears in the upstream changelog with new variant levels and community patches.
2012: UnNetHack 4.0.0 is recorded in the upstream changelog.
2013: UnNetHack 5.1.0 is recorded in the upstream changelog.
2019: UnNetHack 5.2.0 adds reproducible dungeon layout support and UTF-8 terminal defaults.

Related projects

NetHack is the upstream base. The UnNetHack changelog also names other related NetHack variants and patch sources including Slash'EM, SporkHack, xNetHack, dNetHack, EvilHack, AceHack, NH4, and GruntHack.

Sources

https://github.com/UnNetHack/UnNetHack/blob/master/ChangeLog
https://github.com/UnNetHack/UnNetHack/blob/master/README
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
`unnethack`	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 version5.3.2

manager updated2026-06-25

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detected5.3.2

https://github.com/UnNetHack/UnNetHack

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:unnethack
Version	5.3.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/unnethack
Homepage	https://unnethack.wordpress.com/
Repository	https://github.com/UnNetHack/UnNetHack
Upstream docs	https://github.com/UnNetHack/UnNetHack#readme
License	NGPL
Source archive	https://github.com/UnNetHack/UnNetHack/archive/refs/tags/5.3.2.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-25T13:38:10+02:00
Pulse	updated
Uses from macOS	ncurses
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	unnethack
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.

Nix95%

unnethack

nix profile install nixpkgs#unnethack

normalized package name match
Matched by: Unnethack

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/un/unnethack/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/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/unnethack.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 unnethack with Homebrew, Nix