install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install wv2

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install wv2

MacPorts ports tree · textproc/wv2/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#wv2

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/wv/wv2/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Programs for accessing Microsoft Word documents

Project links

Commands and aliases

wv2-config

history

Project history and usage

wv2 is a C++ Microsoft Word binary-document access library associated with the older wvWare project. Its package-manager niche is not an end-user converter as much as a compatibility library for software that needed to import legacy .doc files.

Project history

The wvWare project began as mswordview and was renamed after the maintainers judged the original name too close to Microsoft's Word Viewer. The wv project supplied code for reading Word 6, 95, 97, and 2000 formats, and its site records use by AbiWord and influence on KWord's importer.

wv2 appeared as the intended second-generation library. A Debian intent-to-package notice for wv2 0.0.9 described it as a library for accessing Microsoft Word documents and as an eventual replacement for the wv library, with upstream authors from the AbiWord and KDE/KWord orbit.

Adoption history

The historical adoption story is mostly desktop-office plumbing: wvWare states that its library was used by AbiWord, while wv2 was packaged by Unix distributions as a Word import library for KWord/KOffice-era workflows. The small Homebrew package is therefore a fossil from the period when free office suites had to reverse-engineer Microsoft binary formats.

How it is used

Developers used wv2 through its library and config helper rather than as a standalone document converter. Its value was in giving applications a way to parse old Word binary files for import or conversion before OOXML and newer document libraries became the dominant path.

Why package nerds care

wv2 matters because it sits at the intersection of early open-source office suites, KDE/KOffice import filters, and the painful packaging of proprietary binary office formats. It is a small package, but it explains why old dependency graphs still contain libgsf-era Word import code.

Timeline

2000-08-28: SourceForge records the wvWare project registration.
2000: Dom Lachowicz took over wv maintenance from original author Caolan McNamara in late August 2000.
2002: Debian packaging discussion described wv2 0.0.9 as an eventual replacement for wv.
2005: wv 1.2.0 switched to libgsf, libxml2, and glib, reflecting GNOME-office-era library consolidation.

Related projects

wv2 is related to wv/wvWare, AbiWord, KWord/KOffice, libgsf, and the broader family of document import libraries for legacy Microsoft Office formats.

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 6 platform targets.
Installs with 2 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
`wv2-config`	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 version0.4.2

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://wvware.sourceforge.net/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://wvware.sourceforge.net/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:wv2
Version	0.4.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/wv2
Homepage	https://wvware.sourceforge.net/
Repository	https://sourceforge.net/p/wvware/cvs
Upstream docs	https://wvware.sourceforge.net/
License	LGPL-2.0-only AND LGPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-only
Source archive	https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/wvware/wv2-0.4.2.tar.bz2
Dependencies	glib, libgsf
Build dependencies	cmake, pkgconf
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	wv2
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.

Nix95%

wv2

nix profile install nixpkgs#wv2

normalized package name match
Matched by: Wv2

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/wv/wv2/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

MacPorts95%

wv2

sudo port install wv2

normalized package name match
Matched by: Wv2

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: textproc/wv2/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/wv2.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 wv2 with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix