install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install docutils

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

Text processing system for reStructuredText

Project links

Homepage

Commands and aliases

docutils
rst2html
rst2html4
rst2html5
rst2latex
rst2man
rst2odt
rst2pseudoxml
rst2s5
rst2xetex
rst2xml

history

Project history and usage

Docutils is the long-running Python documentation-processing system behind reStructuredText. It provides a Python library, parsers, writers, transforms, and front-end commands such as `rst2html`, `rst2latex`, `rst2man`, and `rst2xml`.

Project history

The project's roots are in the Python documentation community. reStructuredText was designed by David Goodger as a revision and reinterpretation of StructuredText and Setext, with goals of readable plaintext markup, unambiguous parsing, and conversion into useful structured formats.

Docutils grew out of Python Doc-SIG discussions around docstring processing. Goodger's history notes StructuredText's 1996 origins, his late-1999 encounter with it, a November 2000 first draft of a revised specification, a June 2001 project web site and first release, and the 2002 merger of the reStructuredText and Docstring Processing System projects into Docutils.

Adoption history

Docutils became the reference implementation for reStructuredText and a foundation for Python documentation tooling. The FAQ describes support for standalone files, PEPs, Python docstrings, and client code such as Sphinx extensions, while Homebrew and PyPI packaging keep the command-line tools widely available.

How it is used

Users run front-end tools to convert reStructuredText to HTML, LaTeX, man pages, ODT, XML, pseudoxml, and other formats, or call the `docutils` Python package as a library. Configuration can come from system, local, or user-level docutils config files.

Why package nerds care

Docutils is package-nerd significant because it is infrastructure disguised as a text converter. It links Python docstring conventions, PEP publishing, Sphinx-era documentation, command-line document conversion, and a decades-long release history into one small but foundational package.

Timeline

1996: StructuredText first released in the Zope ecosystem.
1999: David Goodger discovered StructuredText while looking for Python module documentation tooling.
2000: First reStructuredText draft posted to Python Doc-SIG.
2001: Project web site and first release rolled out.
2002: reStructuredText and Docstring Processing System projects merged and renamed Docutils.
2026: Docutils 0.23 listed in release notes and packaged by Homebrew.

Related projects

Docutils is related to StructuredText, Setext, Python PEP tooling, Sphinx, and the wider Python documentation ecosystem. Its FAQ explicitly points to Sphinx as client code using reStructuredText for Python auto-documentation.

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.

local files

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

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: /etc/docutils.conf./docutils.conf~/.docutils

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`docutils`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2html`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2html4`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2html5`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2latex`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2man`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2odt`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2pseudoxml`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2s5`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2xetex`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rst2xml`	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 version0.23

manager updated2026-05-28

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:docutils
Version	0.23
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://docutils.sourceforge.io
Last updated	2026-05-28T18:47:22Z
Pulse	updated
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none declared

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/docutils.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install docutils with Homebrew