# Install inform6 with Homebrew, Nix, MacPorts, apt Design system for interactive fiction. Version 6.44-r7 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-01. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#inform6. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:inform6 ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install inform6 ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install inform ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/inform/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#inform6 ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/in/inform6/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install inform ``` Evidence: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: inform from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/multiverse/binary-amd64/Packages.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:inform6 - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 6.44-r7 - **Source summary:** Design system for interactive fiction - **Homepage:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-01T03:13:16Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - inform (alias) - inform-6.44 (alias) - pblorb (alias) - pblorb.pl (alias) - punyinform (alias) - punyinform-6.44 (alias) - punyinform.sh (alias) - scanblorb (alias) - scanblorb.pl (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 6.44-r7 ## Project history and usage Inform 6 is Graham Nelson's interactive-fiction language and compiler, used to build adventure games for the Z-machine and, through later compiler work, Glulx. ### Project history Inform dates to 1993 and became one of the defining authoring systems for parser-based interactive fiction. The Inform Designer's Manual, fourth edition, was published in 2001 and documented the Inform 6 language, library, and Z-machine-centered toolchain. The Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation's Inform 6 addendum describes Inform 6 as stable for decades after the manual, with maintenance focused on reliability, Glulx support, compiler correctness, and compatibility with older source. It also notes Inform 6's role as an intermediate stage in the Inform 7 compiler pipeline. ### Adoption history The Inform manual's short history of interactive fiction says that from 1995 to 1999 the two widely used systems were TADS and Inform. That made Inform 6 part of the standard toolset for authors, interpreters, archives, and competition-era interactive fiction. Later adoption became more archival and compiler-oriented: authors still write Inform 6 directly, while Inform 7 users may encounter it through generated code and the compiler backend. Alternative libraries such as PunyInform keep the toolchain useful for smaller targets and retro systems. ### How it is used The Homebrew package provides the `inform` compiler and related tools such as `pblorb` and `scanblorb`. Users compile `.inf` source into story files for Z-machine interpreters or Glulx, then package assets with Blorb tools when needed. Inform 6 has no credentials or service configuration story; it is a compiler package. Its operational details are language options, include paths, target VM selection, and packaging tools. ### Why package nerds care Inform 6 is package-nerd catnip because it preserves a living compiler for a literary programming culture, a virtual-machine ecosystem, and decades of source compatibility. It is a small CLI package with unusually deep ties to language history, game preservation, and archive practice. It also demonstrates why older language runtimes stay packaged: the executable is needed not only for new work, but also to rebuild, study, patch, and preserve historical interactive fiction. ### Timeline - 1993: Graham Nelson's Inform appeared as a system for creating adventure games. - 1995-1999: Inform and TADS were the two widely used systems identified by the Inform manual's history section. - 1999: The Inform library 6/9 was released with Inform 6.21. - 2001: The fourth edition of The Inform Designer's Manual documented the Inform 6 system. - 2004: Inform 6.30 added prominent compiler and Glulx-era improvements. - 2020: The IFTF-maintained Inform 6 Reference Addendum began filling gaps left by the 2001 manual. ### Related projects - Related projects include Inform 7, the Z-machine, Glulx, the Inform library, PunyInform, metro84, Platypus, TADS, IF Archive, and Blorb tooling. ### Sources - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - inform6: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/in/inform6/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - MacPorts - inform: installed executable or alias match | MacPorts ports tree: devel/inform/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - inform - 6.31.1+dfsg-2build1: installed executable or alias match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: inform from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/multiverse/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | story file compiler for the Inform interactive fiction language (v6) | http://inform-fiction.org/ - Ubuntu apt - inform-docs - 6.31.1+dfsg-2build1: installed executable or alias match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: inform-docs from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/multiverse/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | documentation for the Inform interactive fiction language (v6) | http://inform-fiction.org/ ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/inform6.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/inform6.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