Install xml2rfc with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• xml2rfc

Project history

The roots are in RFC 2629, published in June 1999 by Marshall Rose, which presented XML as a source format for Internet-Drafts and RFCs and described the author's xml2rfc tool for producing text and HTML output. Early documentation also described an xml.resource.org web service and downloadable tool.

The vocabulary evolved from RFC 2629 v1 into v2, documented by RFC 7749 in February 2016 as the state of the vocabulary used by several tools and the RFC Editor around 2014. In December 2016, RFC 7991 documented the v3 vocabulary, though current author guidance says the live vocabulary reference on authors.ietf.org is authoritative because the schema changed after RFC 7991.

The modern repository under the ietf-tools GitHub organization was created on 2022-02-05. Its README describes xml2rfc as generating RFCs and IETF drafts from XML source according to the v2 and v3 vocabularies, with output formats, v2-to-v3 conversion, and preptool support.

The tool has become both a Python package and a containerized command-line utility. The README documents pip, pipx, PDF extras, WeasyPrint support, fonts for PDF generation, and GitHub Container Registry images such as xml2rfc-slim, xml2rfc-base, and xml2rfc-dev.

Adoption history

xml2rfc's adoption is tied to IETF process rather than ordinary application popularity. Author guidance says RFCXML is the preferred format for Internet-Drafts and the canonical format for published RFCs since RFC 8650 in November 2019, making xml2rfc part of the document supply chain for standards work.

The IETF author resources describe xml2rfc as the core tool for validating and transforming RFCXML files, and the main tool used behind the scenes in the Author Tools web service. The Datatracker submission guidance says Internet-Draft submission validates documents using xml2rfc, id2xml, and idnits as appropriate.

The wider authoring ecosystem often feeds xml2rfc rather than replacing it. The IETF tools catalog lists Markdown, AsciiDoc, LyX, nroff, and other converters that generate RFCXML and then rely on xml2rfc for rendering, validation, or publication-ready output.

How it is used

Typical direct use is `xml2rfc SOURCE [options] FORMATS...`, producing plaintext, HTML, PDF, EPUB, nroff for v2 input, or expanded/prepared XML depending on options. It can also convert legacy v2 XML to v3 and run the preptool step defined for the publication pipeline.

In author workflows, xml2rfc may be run locally from pip or pipx, inside CI through containers, or indirectly through the IETF Author Tools web service and Datatracker validation. Its inputs are RFCXML documents governed by the v2 or v3 vocabularies.

Why package nerds care

xml2rfc is package-nerd important because it is a CLI package that encodes institutional publishing rules. Installing it is not merely installing a converter; it gives authors a local copy of the formatter and validator that shadows IETF/RFC Editor production expectations.

It also shows how packaging supports standards work: Python wheels, native PDF support libraries, fonts, containers, generated schema docs, and web-service deployments all exist so the same document source can pass through personal laptops, CI, Datatracker, and RFC publication tooling.

Timeline

• 1999-06: RFC 2629 published, documenting XML as a source format and describing the original xml2rfc tool.
• 2009-07-26: RFC Editor tutorial materials introduced xml2rfc as a tool for converting XML source into text, HTML, nroff, unpaginated text, or expanded XML.
• 2016-02: RFC 7749 documented the xml2rfc version 2 vocabulary.
• 2016-12: RFC 7991 documented the xml2rfc version 3 vocabulary.
• 2019-11: RFCXML became the canonical format for published RFCs according to IETF author guidance.
• 2022-02-05: ietf-tools/xml2rfc GitHub repository created.
• 2026-06-03: xml2rfc v3.34.0 released.

Related projects

• Related tools and formats include RFCXML, RFC 2629, RFC 7749, RFC 7991, RFC 7998 preptool, IETF Author Tools, Datatracker submission validation, id2xml, idnits, rfclint, kramdown-rfc, mmark, metanorma-ietf, lyx2rfc, rfcxml.xslt, WeasyPrint, and xml2rfc-fonts.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/ietf-tools/xml2rfc
• https://api.github.com/repos/ietf-tools/xml2rfc/releases?per_page=12
• https://authors.ietf.org/document-validation
• https://authors.ietf.org/rendering-and-converting
• https://authors.ietf.org/rfcxml-overview
• https://authors.ietf.org/submitting-your-internet-draft
• https://authors.ietf.org/tools-catalog
• https://github.com/ietf-tools/xml2rfc
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ietf-tools/xml2rfc/main/README.md
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2629
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/materials/xml2rfcFAQ.html
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc-editor/intro_xml2rfc.pdf
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7749.html
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7991