macOS
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brew install asciitexlocal Homebrew formula metadata
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Install asciitex with Homebrew
Generate ASCII-art representations of mathematical equations. Version 0.21 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Generate ASCII-art representations of mathematical equations
Project links
Commands and aliases
- asciiTeX
history
Project history and usage
asciiTeX is an ASCII equation renderer for producing plain-text mathematical notation with LaTeX-like syntax. It is historically interesting as a small scientific/terminal utility for email, source comments, and other contexts where rendered images or Unicode math are inconvenient.
Project history
The official homepage describes asciiTeX as an ASCII equation renderer released under the GPL. It says the project is a fork of eqascii, adding new features and many bug fixes, and it documents both a GTK graphical interface and a command-line program named `asciiTeX`.
The same official page now carries a maintenance note saying asciiTeX is not maintained and points users to two successor paths: a fork at larseggert/asciiTeX and the original author's newer libtexprintf/utftex work for monospace TeX-like math formatting with Unicode support.
Adoption history
asciiTeX appears to have stayed niche: the input facts list only Homebrew packaging, and the official site focuses on SourceForge downloads, build-from-source instructions, and a Windows installer. Its adoption story is therefore less about ecosystem ubiquity and more about preserving a small utility for ASCII math rendering.
How it is used
The command-line form accepts equations directly or from a file: `asciiTeX [-v] [-h] [-f file] [-ll line-length] [equation]`. It supports LaTeX-like constructs such as fractions, superscripts, subscripts, roots, sums, products, integrals, braces, arrows, limits, and overlines, then emits fixed-width ASCII output.
Why package nerds care
asciiTeX is a good example of the long tail in package managers: a dormant SourceForge-era C/GTK utility remains useful enough to package because it solves a specific text-only problem and has no modern service dependency.
Timeline
- SourceForge era: asciiTeX published as a GPL fork of eqascii with command-line and GTK interfaces.
- Current official homepage: project marked unmaintained and successor/fork links documented.
Related projects
- eqascii is the project asciiTeX forked from.
- larseggert/asciiTeX is listed by the official homepage as an updated fork.
- libtexprintf and utftex are listed by the original author as newer alternatives.
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 bottle metadata was recorded.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
asciiTeX | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
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 generated2026-08-03
manager version0.21
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:asciitex |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.21 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://asciitex.sourceforge.net/ |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation