# Install fairymax with Homebrew, apt, Nix

AI for playing Chess variants. Version 5.0b via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install fairymax.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:fairymax
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install fairymax
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install fairymax
```

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

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#fairymax
```

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

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:fairymax
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 5.0b
- **Source summary:** AI for playing Chess variants
- **Homepage:** <https://www.chessvariants.com/index/msdisplay.php?itemid=MSfairy-max>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- fairymax (alias)
- maxqi (alias)
- shamax (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 5.0b
## Project history and usage

Fairy-Max is H.G. Muller's free, open-source chess-variant engine. It is derived from micro-Max and replaces fixed move tables with definitions loaded from fmax.ini, making it useful for experimenting with fairy pieces and variant rule sets.

### Project history

The project was created to empirically evaluate fairy pieces by letting them play in checkmating chess games against orthodox pieces. Its design keeps the engine textual and protocol-oriented rather than graphical: Fairy-Max communicates through the WinBoard protocol and expects a GUI such as WinBoard or XBoard to handle display and game interaction.

Fairy-Max also produced or shipped alongside specialized variants such as ShaMax for Shatranj-like behavior and MaxQi for Xiangqi-specific constraints, reflecting the same small-engine approach applied to variants that do not fit the generic fmax.ini model.

### Adoption history

The official documentation says Fairy-Max became included in the standard WinBoard install as a ready-to-run engine. In package-manager culture it is notable because a small, configurable chess engine can be installed as a command-line program while still serving GUI users through the long-running WinBoard/XBoard engine ecosystem.

### How it is used

Users edit fmax.ini to define piece moves, board sizes, and variant setups, then run Fairy-Max as a WinBoard-compatible engine. The same package commonly exposes related binaries such as fairymax, maxqi, and shamax for the generic engine and dedicated variant engines.

### Why package nerds care

Fairy-Max is the sort of package that rewards distribution packaging: it is small, old-school, text-configurable, and useful only when installed together with the right data files and GUI protocol expectations. The fmax.ini file is part of the program's behavior, not just optional sample configuration.

### Timeline

- Undated: H.G. Muller creates Fairy-Max as a chess-variant engine derived from micro-Max.
- Undated: Fairy-Max is included with the standard WinBoard install as a ready-to-run engine.
- Undated: Dedicated variants such as ShaMax and MaxQi are distributed with the Fairy-Max downloads.

### Related projects

- Fairy-Max is closely related to micro-Max, WinBoard/XBoard, ShaMax, MaxQi, and other WinBoard-compatible chess-variant engines.

### Sources

- <https://www.chessvariants.com/index/msdisplay.php?itemid=MSfairy-max>
- <https://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/CVfairy.html>


## 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: fmax.ini
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - fairymax - 5.0b-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: fairymax from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | xboard compatible chess and chess-variant engine | https://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/CVfairy.html
- Nix - fairymax: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/fa/fairymax/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - fairymax - 5.0b-1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: fairymax from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | xboard compatible chess and chess-variant engine | http://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/CVfairy.html


## Combined YAML source

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