# Install blahtexml with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix

Converts equations into Math ML. Version 1.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-23. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install blahtexml.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:blahtexml
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install blahtexml
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install blahtexml
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: tex/blahtexml/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install blahtexml
```

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

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#blahtexml
```

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

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:blahtexml
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.0
- **Source summary:** Converts equations into Math ML
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/gvanas/blahtexml>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/gvanas/blahtexml>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-23T22:51:37+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- blahtex (alias)
- blahtexml (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.0
## Project history and usage

blahtexml is a small command-line bridge between TeX-style equation input and MathML/XML output. It sits in the lineage of tools built for publishing systems that needed math rendering before browser-native MathML was dependable everywhere.

### Project history

The upstream README describes blahtex as a TeX-to-MathML converter designed with MediaWiki in mind, created by David Harvey. blahtexml was added by Gilles Van Assche as a source-level extension that processes entire XML files and converts embedded blahtex equations into MathML.

The README's copyright range records the handoff from the 2006 blahtex work to Gilles Van Assche's maintenance from 2007 through 2023, with a v1.0 tag present in the upstream repository.

### Adoption history

Its adoption is mostly in distribution packaging rather than a large public application ecosystem: the input package facts list Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, Nix, and Ubuntu package names. That is typical for a niche document-conversion helper kept available for build pipelines and legacy publishing workflows.

### How it is used

Users invoke `blahtex` for TeX-to-MathML conversion or `blahtexml` when the input is an XML document containing equations. Building `blahtexml` requires Xerces-C according to the upstream README.

### Why package nerds care

The package is interesting because it preserves a very specific pre-Markdown, pre-client-side-MathJax era of math publishing: command-line TeX parsing that emits XML-friendly MathML for systems such as MediaWiki.

### Timeline

- 2006: David Harvey's blahtex copyright begins.
- 2007: Gilles Van Assche's blahtexml maintenance copyright begins.
- 2023: Upstream README copyright range still includes Gilles Van Assche maintenance.
- v1.0: Upstream repository exposes a v1.0 tag.

### Related projects

- Related projects include blahtex, MediaWiki math rendering, MathML, TeX/LaTeX equation tooling, and browser-side renderers such as MathJax.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/gvanas/blahtexml/blob/master/README>
- <https://github.com/gvanas/blahtexml/tree/master/Documentation>
- 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

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - blahtexml - 0.9-1.2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: blahtexml from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Converts TeX equations into MathML | http://gva.noekeon.org/blahtexml/
- Nix - blahtexml: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bl/blahtexml/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - blahtexml - 0.9-1.1build4: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: blahtexml from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Converts TeX equations into MathML | http://gva.noekeon.org/blahtexml/
- MacPorts - blahtexml: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: tex/blahtexml/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/blahtexml.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/blahtexml.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