Install htmlcleaner with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• htmlcleaner

Project history

The project site says HtmlCleaner has been fixing shoddy HTML since 2006, and its release notes list an initial 0.8 release on November 27, 2006. The release stream moved quickly through 1.x in 2006 and 2007, reached 2.0 in 2008, and continued with 2.x maintenance for many years.

Later releases show the project adapting to web and Java ecosystem changes: the 2015 line included HTML5 support work, 2022 updated JDOM to mitigate CVE-2021-33813, 2023 targeted JDK 1.8, and 2.29 added a maximum nested-tag depth after CVE-2023-34624.

Adoption history

HtmlCleaner's Maven coordinates and SourceForge downloads made it easy to embed in Java applications and build tools. Maven Central metadata describes the library as a Java parser that transforms dirty HTML to well-formed XML following browser rules, and the Homebrew formula exposes its command-line runner for shell users.

How it is used

The project documents command-line use for cleaning files and Java use for embedding the cleaner in applications. Its niche is older but durable: converting real-world HTML into a structure that XML tooling, Java code, or test fixtures can consume.

Why package nerds care

HtmlCleaner matters to package nerds because it represents the pre-HTML5-parser era of pragmatic cleanup libraries: SourceForge hosting, Ant-era Java integration, Maven artifacts, and a CLI wrapper all in one long-lived parser package.

Timeline

• 2006: HtmlCleaner 0.8 was released as the initial public release.
• 2008: Version 2.0 was released.
• 2013: Version 2.4 marked a point where a maintained fork was merged back into the official project.
• 2015: Version 2.11 added stronger HTML5 support and stdin/stdout pipeline improvements.
• 2022: Version 2.26 updated JDOM to mitigate CVE-2021-33813.
• 2023: Version 2.29 fixed CVE-2023-34624 with nested-tag depth handling.

Related projects

• Related Java and markup-cleanup projects include JTidy, jsoup, TagSoup, NekoHTML, and browser-grade HTML5 parsers. HtmlCleaner is distinct for combining cleanup output, Java embedding, and a command-line interface.

Sources

• Maven Central metadata documents Java artifact identity, description, developers, and SCM tags.
• The SourceForge project site and release notes document origin, release dates, and later security-related changes.
• The download page documents the Subversion source repository and packaged source downloads.