# Install bibtexconv with Homebrew, apt

BibTeX file converter. Version 2.2.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-31. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install bibtexconv.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:bibtexconv
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install bibtexconv
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install bibtexconv
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: bibtexconv from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:bibtexconv
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.2.4
- **Source summary:** BibTeX file converter
- **Homepage:** <https://www.nntb.no/~dreibh/bibtexconv/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/dreibh/bibtexconv>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-31T12:05:02Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- bibtexconv (alias)
- bibtexconv-odt (alias)
- ietf2bibtex (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.2.4
## Project history and usage

BibTeXConv is Thomas Dreibholz's BibTeX file converter for exporting BibTeX entries to custom text, HTML, YAML, Markdown, OpenDocument, BibTeX, and XML-oriented outputs.

### Project history

The Git history traces BibTeXConv back to an imported Subversion-era commit in July 2010, and the current CMake metadata carries copyright years 2010-2026.

The upstream README describes a converter centered on export scripts, mappings, URL checking, MD5/size/MIME computations, ISBN and ISSN verification, and separate helper commands such as bibtexconv-odt and ietf2bibtex.

### Adoption history

BibTeXConv is packaged in Homebrew, Debian, and Ubuntu, and the upstream README documents additional binary-package routes for Ubuntu PPAs, Fedora COPR, and FreeBSD ports.

Its adoption is narrower than Biber or BibTeX2HTML, but it serves users who maintain publication lists and want programmable exports into web pages, text files, ODT documents, or IETF XML references.

### How it is used

Users feed a BibTeX file plus an export script or option set to bibtexconv, producing updated BibTeX, HTML, plain text, YAML, Markdown, separate XML references, or downloaded/verified publication assets.

The README warns that script-based mappings can be slow and can introduce security risk when export scripts come from untrusted sources, recommending mapping files for safer author-to-URL lookups.

### Why package nerds care

BibTeXConv is a small but very package-manager-shaped bibliography utility: a C/C++ CLI with man pages, examples, Debian/RPM/FreeBSD packaging metadata, and a stable upstream tarball flow.

It is most interesting as a BibTeX-to-everything bridge for publication-list maintenance rather than as a LaTeX build dependency.

### Timeline

- 2010-07-11: Earliest public GitHub commit imports the project from an SVN repository.
- 2026-05-28: Upstream announces bibtexconv 2.2.2 with manpage improvements and updated examples.
- 2026-06-12: Upstream announces bibtexconv 2.2.3 with build improvements for NetBSD, OpenBSD, and macOS.

### Related projects

- BibTeX is the source data format BibTeXConv reads and writes.
- LibreOffice and OpenOffice are relevant to the bibtexconv-odt workflow documented upstream.
- IETF XML reference tooling is a target output area through BibTeXConv's XML reference generation.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/dreibh/bibtexconv/commits?per_page=1&page=1251>
- <https://github.com/dreibh/bibtexconv/blob/master/CMakeLists.txt>
- <https://github.com/dreibh/bibtexconv/blob/master/README.md>
- <https://www.nntb.no/~dreibh/bibtexconv/>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - bibtexconv - 2.0.2-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: bibtexconv from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | BibTeX Converter | https://www.nntb.no/~dreibh/bibtexconv/
- Debian apt - ietf2bibtex - 2.0.2-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ietf2bibtex from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Create BibTeX entry for IETF document (RFC or Internet Draft) | https://www.nntb.no/~dreibh/bibtexconv/
- Ubuntu apt - bibtexconv - 1.3.6-1build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: bibtexconv from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | BibTeX Converter | https://www.nntb.no/~dreibh/bibtexconv/
- Ubuntu apt - ietf2bibtex - 1.3.6-1build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ietf2bibtex from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Create BibTeX entry for IETF document (RFC or Internet Draft) | https://www.nntb.no/~dreibh/bibtexconv/


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/bibtexconv.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/bibtexconv.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph