# Install itstool with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Make XML documents translatable through PO files. Version 2.0.7 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install itstool.
## Install
```sh
sudo av install brew:itstool
```
Additional install commands:
### macOS
- Homebrew (100%):
```sh
brew install itstool
```
Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata
- MacPorts (94%):
```sh
sudo port install itstool
```
Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: textproc/itstool/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
### Linux
- apk (92%):
```sh
sudo apk add itstool
```
Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: itstool from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
- Debian apt (92%):
```sh
sudo apt install itstool
```
Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: itstool from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
- dnf (92%):
```sh
sudo dnf install itstool
```
Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: itstool from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst
- Nix (92%):
```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#itstool
```
Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/it/itstool/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman (92%):
```sh
sudo pacman -S itstool
```
Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: itstool from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
- zypper (92%):
```sh
sudo zypper install itstool
```
Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: itstool from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst
## Package facts
- **Package key:** brew:itstool
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.0.7
- **Source summary:** Make XML documents translatable through PO files
- **Homepage:**
- **Repository:**
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-25T13:37:46+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00
## Executables
- itstool (alias)
## Install behavior
- Bottle: not available
## Freshness
- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.0.7
## Project history and usage
ITS Tool is a command-line localization utility for turning XML documents into gettext-style PO workflows. Its niche is the intersection of XML documentation, GNU translation tooling, and the W3C Internationalization Tag Set rules that decide what text should be extracted or preserved.
### Project history
The project is developed primarily by Shaun McCance and is published as GPL-3.0-or-later free software. Version 1.0.0 was tagged in April 2011, and the project site presents the tool as a way to make XML documents translatable through PO files while applying standard ITS rules plus ITS Tool extensions.
The 2.0.0 release in 2013 was a major standards-alignment point: its NEWS file lists support for several ITS 2.0 data categories, parameters, DocBook 5 built-in rules, and changes that replaced older custom extensions with ITS 2.0 mechanisms. Later 2.0.x releases concentrated on Python 3 compatibility, XML/libxml2 fixes, macOS file writing fixes, and performance improvements.
### Adoption history
ITS Tool became a small but durable packaging-system utility because it solves a recurring documentation localization problem without requiring each XML project to invent its own extractor. Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, Arch, MacPorts, Nix, Alpine, Ubuntu, and openSUSE packaging in the input metadata show its role as distribution infrastructure rather than a general-purpose end-user application.
### How it is used
The documented workflow is to create POT files from XML and then create translated XML from MO files. Package users usually encounter it in documentation build chains for XML-heavy formats such as DocBook and Mallard, where PO files let translators update individual messages as source documents change.
### Why package nerds care
Package maintainers care about ITS Tool because it is glue: it connects W3C ITS metadata, XML documentation formats, and gettext catalogs. That makes it one of the quiet build-time dependencies that keeps localized Unix documentation reproducible across distributions.
### Timeline
- 2011: Version 1.0.0 tagged.
- 2013: Version 2.0.0 added ITS 2.0 support and refreshed built-in XML rules.
- 2017: Version 2.0.3 added Python 3 support while retaining Python 2 support.
- 2021: Version 2.0.7 tagged with performance improvements for ITS rule handling.
### Related projects
- ITS Tool sits beside gettext, PO/MO catalog tooling, W3C ITS, DocBook, Mallard, and libxml2-based XML processing rather than replacing any of them.
### Sources
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## Security Notes
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
## Other Package-Manager Records
- Debian apt - itstool - 2.0.6-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: itstool from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | tool for translating XML documents with PO files | http://itstool.org/
- Nix - itstool: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/it/itstool/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - itstool - 2.0.6-2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: itstool from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | tool for translating XML documents with PO files | http://itstool.org/
- apk - itstool - 2.0.7-r3: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: itstool from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | ITS-based XML translation tool | https://itstool.org/
- apk - itstool-doc - 2.0.7-r3: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: itstool-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | ITS-based XML translation tool (documentation) | https://itstool.org/
- dnf - itstool - 2.0.7-16.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: itstool from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | ITS-based XML translation tool | http://itstool.org/
- pacman - itstool - 1:2.0.7-3: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: itstool from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Translate XML with PO files using W3C Internationalization Tag Set rules | https://itstool.org/
- zypper - itstool - 2.0.7-4.2: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: itstool from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Tool to translate XML documents using PO files | http://itstool.org
- MacPorts - itstool: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: textproc/itstool/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
## Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/itstool.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/itstool.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