# Install gtk-doc with Homebrew GTK+ documentation tool. Version 1.36.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:gtk-doc ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install gtk-doc ``` Evidence: provider-native install command ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:gtk-doc - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.36.1 - **Source summary:** GTK+ documentation tool - **Homepage:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00 ## Executables - gtkdoc-check (alias) - gtkdoc-depscan (alias) - gtkdoc-fixxref (alias) - gtkdoc-mkdb (alias) - gtkdoc-mkhtml (alias) - gtkdoc-mkhtml2 (alias) - gtkdoc-mkman (alias) - gtkdoc-mkpdf (alias) - gtkdoc-rebase (alias) - gtkdoc-scan (alias) - gtkdoc-scangobj (alias) - gtkdocize (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.36.1 ## Project history and usage GTK-Doc is a documentation generator for C APIs, especially GLib, GObject, GTK, and GNOME-style libraries. It extracts structured comments from C code, understands GObject signals and properties, produces DocBook XML, and transforms that output into HTML and other formats. For package maintainers, GTK-Doc is the build-time tool that explains why GNOME library packages often have optional documentation flags, gtkdocize steps, DocBook dependencies, scanner binaries, and generated API reference artifacts. ### Project history The GTK-Doc repository has a 'start' tag dated 1998-11-24 and a GTK_DOC_1_0 tag dated 2003-01-20. The GNOME source archive also lists gtk-doc-1.0 tarballs dated 2003-01-20, giving a fixed early release anchor. The project README says GTK-Doc is used to document C code, typically the public API of libraries such as GLib-based libraries, but also application code. It also notes that GTK-Doc was not originally intended as a general-purpose documentation tool and points to Doxygen for that broader role. The project evolved from a DocBook-oriented GNOME documentation pipeline into a Python/Meson-era maintenance tool. The NEWS file records Python 3-related changes, an experimental gtkdoc-mkhtml2 toolchain in 1.30, Python 3 requirements in 1.29, and the removal of Autotools as a way to build GTK-Doc itself in 1.36.0. ### Adoption history GTK-Doc was adopted across the GNOME C library ecosystem because it understands GObject-specific concepts that generic C documentation tools may not: signals, properties, object scanners, and conventions used by GTK widgets and GObject classes. The archived GNOME GtkDoc page describes it as a tool for extracting API documentation from C code like Doxygen, with special support for GObject, and describes HTML output by default with PDF and man-page output possible with extra work. GNOME project pages and coding-practice material refer to GTK-Doc annotations as part of documenting public C APIs. ### How it is used A project using GTK-Doc writes documentation blocks in C comments, keeps section and symbol metadata, runs tools such as gtkdoc-scan, gtkdoc-scangobj, gtkdoc-mkdb, gtkdoc-mkhtml, gtkdoc-fixxref, gtkdoc-mkman, gtkdoc-mkpdf, and often integrates gtkdocize with Autotools-era projects or Meson build definitions. The README describes generated HTML as browsable in a normal browser or in Devhelp. The manual/wiki workflow also explains the package's role in local developer environments: it is not just a documentation renderer, but a scanner and cross-reference pipeline used while building source distributions. ### Why package nerds care GTK-Doc is a classic build dependency that users may never run directly but packagers recognize instantly. Enabling API docs in a GNOME library can pull in GTK-Doc, DocBook DTDs, DocBook XSL stylesheets, libxml2/libxslt, Python modules, and sometimes PDF tooling such as dblatex. Its long tail matters because old projects may still expect gtkdocize and Autotools integration, while the GTK-Doc project itself moved its own build to Meson. That split between being built with Meson and still supporting Autotools integration in downstream projects is package-maintainer lore. ### Timeline - 1998: GTK-Doc repository has a start tag. - 2003: GTK-Doc 1.0 tag and GNOME source tarballs appeared. - 2018: GTK-Doc 1.29 NEWS records Python 3 requirement changes. - 2019: GTK-Doc 1.30 NEWS records Pygments use and an experimental gtkdoc-mkhtml2 toolchain. - 2020: GTK-Doc 1.33.0 NEWS records reproducible-build and GTK action documentation support. - 2026: GTK-Doc 1.36.0 NEWS records that GTK-Doc can no longer be built with Autotools, while Autotools integration files remain for downstream projects. ### Related projects - GTK, GLib, GObject, GNOME libraries, Devhelp, DocBook, libxml2, libxslt, Meson, and Autotools are the central related projects in GTK-Doc's package history. - gi-docgen is the related GNOME documentation generator associated with GObject Introspection-era API reference publishing; archived GNOME pages describe efforts to generate documentation from introspection data as a successor direction for parts of the GTK-Doc role. ### Sources - - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/gtk-doc.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/gtk-doc.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation