# Install libvterm with Homebrew

C99 library which implements a VT220 or xterm terminal emulator. Version 0.3.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:libvterm
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install libvterm
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:libvterm
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.3.3
- **Source summary:** C99 library which implements a VT220 or xterm terminal emulator
- **Homepage:** <https://www.leonerd.org.uk/code/libvterm/>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- unterm (alias)
- vterm-ctrl (alias)
- vterm-dump (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.3.3
## Project history and usage

libvterm is Paul "LeoNerd" Evans's C99 library for embedding a VT/xterm/ECMA-48 terminal emulator without binding the emulator to a graphics toolkit. In package-manager terms it is a small, sharp terminal-emulation core: applications provide callbacks for drawing while libvterm handles escape sequences, screen state, and terminal behavior.

### Project history

The official libvterm page describes it as an abstract C99 implementation of a VT220 or xterm-like terminal emulator that avoids a specific graphics toolkit and avoids malloc during normal running state. Launchpad records the project as registered by Paul Evans on 2010-08-01, with Bazaar as the version-control system and MIT/X/Expat licensing.

The project grew alongside related terminal experiments such as pangoterm and x86term. LeoNerd's project page points to pangoterm as a GTK/Pango terminal using libvterm, and blog posts from the 2010s document the library reaching enough completeness to drive Vim in its own terminal environment.

### Adoption history

libvterm became best known beyond its author's ecosystem through editor and terminal embedding work. Neovim maintained a public fork and later documented that vterm had been bundled into Neovim itself under src/nvim/vterm, making libvterm part of the story behind Neovim's built-in :terminal support.

### How it is used

Applications embed libvterm when they need terminal parsing and screen-state management but want to draw through their own UI toolkit, TUI layer, or experimental environment. The Homebrew package also ships small utilities such as unterm, vterm-ctrl, and vterm-dump for exercising or inspecting terminal behavior.

### Why package nerds care

libvterm is the dependency you notice when a text editor or UI toolkit suddenly grows a real terminal. It is interesting because it packages a historically messy domain, VT and xterm escape behavior, into a reusable C library small enough for distros and embedders to carry.

### Timeline

- 2010-08-01: libvterm is registered on Launchpad by Paul "LeoNerd" Evans.
- 2015-03-02: Neovim's libvterm-based terminal work draws public attention in the editor community.
- 2022-09-06: Launchpad lists v0.3 as released.
- 2023-01-15: The official libvterm page is updated and lists libvterm-0.3.3, 0.2, and 0.1.4 tarballs.

### Related projects

- Related projects include pangoterm, Tickit, libtermkey, x86term, Neovim's bundled vterm code, and the broader family of VT100, VT220, xterm, and ECMA-48 terminal behavior that terminal emulators implement.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/neovim/libvterm>
- <https://launchpad.net/libvterm>
- <https://leonerds-code.blogspot.com/search/label/libvterm>
- <https://www.leonerd.org.uk/code/libvterm/>


## Security Notes

library-like package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- library-like package without higher-risk signals


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libvterm.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libvterm.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation