# Install bibclean with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix BibTeX bibliography file pretty printer and syntax checker. Version 3.07 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install bibclean. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:bibclean ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install bibclean ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install bibclean ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: tex/bibclean/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install bibclean ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: bibclean from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#bibclean ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bi/bibclean/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:bibclean - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 3.07 - **Source summary:** BibTeX bibliography file pretty printer and syntax checker - **Homepage:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - bibclean (alias) - bibclean-3.07 (alias) - bibisbn (alias) - bibisbn-3.07 (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 3.07 ## Project history and usage bibclean is Nelson H. F. Beebe's BibTeX and Scribe bibliography pretty-printer and syntax checker. ### Project history The official manual describes bibclean as a program that pretty-prints BibTeX input, checks brace balance and bibliography-entry syntax, and normalizes files so later filters and Emacs BibTeX support can process them predictably. The older 1.05 manual page is dated 1992, while later official distribution pages list many releases through the 3.x series. The project predates today's GitHub-first release culture: the authoritative surface is a University of Utah web/FTP distribution with tar, zip, jar, zoo, checksum, and signed checksum files. The man page and distribution index document a long-running academic Unix tool rather than a modern hosted repository. ### Adoption history The input metadata lists packages in Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, Nix, and Ubuntu. Its packaging story follows TeX infrastructure habits: source archives and checksums upstream, distro formulas downstream, and command-line users integrating it into bibliography cleanup scripts. ### How it is used bibclean formats each BibTeX entry into a consistent structure, expands tabs, splits long strings, normalizes author/editor names, checks CODEN/ISBN/ISSN values, and can use initialization files for options and field/pattern validation rules. It searches initialization files through the executable PATH, BIBINPUTS, explicit -init-file arguments, and file-specific .ini files. ### Why package nerds care bibclean is package-nerd archaeology in useful form: a specialized text normalizer with decades-old Unix documentation, multiple archive formats, checksums, and a job that still matters to anyone maintaining large BibTeX corpora. It is small, scriptable, and very much of the 'do one thing well' lineage. ### Timeline - 1992: Version 1.05 manual page is dated 01 August 1992. - 1998: Version 2.11.4 manual page is dated 09 May 1998. - 2003-2023: The official distribution index records continued updates over two decades. - 2020: The 3.x HTML manual material records version 3.05 dated 18 May 2020. - 2023: The official distribution page lists bibclean 3.07 archives and a May 2023 update. ### Related projects - Related tools include BibTeX, Scribe bibliography files, Emacs BibTeX support, and companion bibliography filters named in the manual such as bibcheck, bibdup, bibextract, bibindex, bibjoin, biblook, biborder, bibsort, citefind, and citetags. ### Sources - - - - - - input.source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: $BIBCLEANINI, .bibcleanrc in $PATH, .bibcleanrc in $BIBINPUTS, .ini ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - bibclean - 3.07-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: bibclean from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | pretty-printer for BibTeX databases | http://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/bibclean/ - Nix - bibclean: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bi/bibclean/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - bibclean - 2.11.4.1-4.1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: bibclean from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | pretty-printer for BibTeX databases | http://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/bibclean/ - MacPorts - bibclean: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: tex/bibclean/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/bibclean.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/bibclean.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph