macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install lfelocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 9360
Install lfe with Homebrew, apk
Concurrent Lisp for the Erlang VM. Version 2.2.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with apk: sudo apk add lfe.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add lfeAlpine Linux edge package indexes · lfe · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
overview
Package summary
Concurrent Lisp for the Erlang VM
Project links
Commands and aliases
- lfe
- lfe-first-try
- lfe-test
- lfec
- lfedoc
- lfeexec
- lfescript
history
Project history and usage
LFE, Lisp Flavoured Erlang, is a Lisp syntax front end for Erlang and the BEAM virtual machine. Its package appeal comes from making Erlang/OTP concurrency, fault-tolerance, and library interoperability available through Lisp forms, macros, and a REPL.
Project history
The LFE project credits Robert Virding with releasing the first version in 2008, after early 2007 experiments with parsing and implementing a Lisp. Virding's stated goals were to explore a Lisp designed for BEAM, to compile through Core Erlang into the Erlang compiler backend, and to keep full interaction with Erlang/OTP.
The version history shows early 0.x releases evolving the language from basic shell/compiler support into a Lisp-2 design, macro system, Core Erlang generation, records, binary syntax, Query List Comprehensions, and match-specification features. The 1.0 and 2.x release lines later made LFE look more like a maintained language runtime package than a one-off experiment.
Adoption history
The LFE website describes production use beginning in 2015 and frames the language as part of the Erlang community's own Lisp ecosystem. Package-manager adoption is narrower than Erlang itself, but Homebrew and Alpine packaging make it easy for BEAM and Lisp-curious developers to install the language tools without building from a clone.
How it is used
Typical package usage is interactive or developer-facing: install the package, run the `lfe` REPL, compile with `lfec`, generate docs with `lfedoc`, or run scripts with `lfescript`. The README emphasizes compatibility with normal Erlang code, so LFE modules can sit beside Erlang modules rather than requiring a separate runtime world.
Why package nerds care
LFE is interesting to package nerds because it is both a language implementation and an Erlang ecosystem bridge: one formula brings in a Lisp REPL, compiler tooling, script runner, and documentation commands for BEAM. It also preserves the long tradition of alternate syntaxes targeting mature VMs.
Timeline
- 2007: Robert Virding experimented with parsing and implementing a Lisp.
- 2008: The first LFE version was released.
- 2015: The project website describes stable production use beginning in this year.
- 2021: LFE 2.0 was published as a GitHub release.
- 2025: LFE 2.2.0 was published as a GitHub release.
Related projects
- LFE is directly related to Erlang, Core Erlang, OTP, BEAM, and other Lisp-family languages. In packaging terms it sits near Erlang language tools, alternative BEAM languages, and REPL-oriented development packages.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
lfe | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
lfe-first-try | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
lfe-test | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
lfec | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
lfedoc | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
lfeexec | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
lfescript | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-03
manager version2.2.0
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:lfe |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.2.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://lfe.io/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/lfe/lfe |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
apk95%
lfe 2.2.0-r2
Lisp Flavoured Erlang
sudo apk add lfe- License: Apache-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: lfe
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lfe
apk95%
lfe-doc 2.2.0-r2
Lisp Flavoured Erlang (documentation)
sudo apk add lfe-doc- License: Apache-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: lfe
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lfe
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation