macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install loutlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install loutMacPorts ports tree · textproc/lout/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 10973
Install lout with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Text formatting like TeX, but simpler. Version 3.43.4 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#lout.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add loutAlpine Linux edge package indexes · lout · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install loutFedora Rawhide package metadata · lout · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#loutnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/lo/lout/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S loutArch Linux sync databases · lout · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install loutopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · lout · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Text formatting like TeX, but simpler
Project links
Commands and aliases
- lout
- prg2lout
history
Project history and usage
Lout is Jeffrey H. Kingston's document formatting system: a high-level, TeX-adjacent language and formatter that reads structured document descriptions and produces PostScript, PDF, or plain text output. It is packaged as a command-line tool with `lout` and `prg2lout` executables.
Project history
The official repository README identifies the current line as the Lout Document Formatting System, Basser Lout Version 3, copyright 1994-2023 by Jeffrey H. Kingston. The project blurb says Lout was created by Kingston at the University of Sydney and describes it as the outcome of an eight-year research project into a high-level language for document formatting.
Lout's distribution contains ANSI C source, makefile-based installation, standard library packages, hyphenation files, locale messages, man pages, documentation written in Lout, font metrics, and related software notes. Its feature set includes optimal paragraph and page breaking, hyphenation, equations, tables, diagrams, bibliographies, indexes, cross references, and multilingual document support.
Adoption history
Lout is an older Unix typesetting tool that remains available in multiple package managers. The batch input records Homebrew, Alpine, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, and openSUSE packaging, which fits its role as a portable C document formatter rather than a single-platform application.
The GitHub mirror/repository created in 2020 carries tags for the 3.41 through 3.43 series, while the README records version 3.43 and the historical copyright range. That makes the modern package a continuation of a much older document-formatting lineage.
How it is used
The package installs `lout` for formatting documents and `prg2lout` for program-source formatting. The official README directs users to the makefile for installation and lists documentation, packages, hyphenation, fonts, maps, and man pages included in the source tree.
Lout source documents use high-level packages for reports, books, equations, tables, diagrams, graphs, program listings, and other structured output. Package maintainers care about its data directories as much as the binary, because the standard library, hyphenation data, fonts, and documentation are part of a working installation.
Why package nerds care
Lout is a package-history artifact from the same broad ecosystem as TeX, troff, and PostScript tools. It is not just another text filter: it ships a language, libraries, hyphenation data, manual corpus, and a mature C formatter, which makes it interesting for source-based packaging and long-tail Unix software preservation.
Timeline
- 1994: Basser Lout Version 3 copyright line begins in the official README.
- 1999: Version 3.13 release noted in `whatsnew`.
- 2020: `william8000/lout` repository created on GitHub.
- 2023: Version 3.43 copyright line recorded in the README.
- 2026: Repository metadata shows continued activity.
Related projects
- TeX and troff are the historical comparison points named by Lout's own package summary and blurb.
- PostScript and PDF back ends are part of Lout's output story.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
lout | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
prg2lout | 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 version3.43.4
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:lout |
|---|---|
| Version | 3.43.4 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/lout |
| Repository | https://github.com/william8000/lout |
| 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.
Nix95%
lout
nix profile install nixpkgs#lout- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lout
apk95%
lout 3.42.2-r0
Lightweight typesetting and document formatting system
https://github.com/william8000/lout
sudo apk add lout- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: lout
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lout
apk95%
lout-doc 3.42.2-r0
Lightweight typesetting and document formatting system (documentation)
https://github.com/william8000/lout
sudo apk add lout-doc- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: lout
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lout
dnf95%
lout 3.40-32.fc45
A document formatting system
http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/lout/
sudo dnf install lout- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: lout
- 3 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lout
pacman95%
lout 3.43.4-1
A lightweight document formatting system
https://github.com/william8000/lout
sudo pacman -S lout- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lout
zypper95%
lout 3.41.0-2.6
A document formatting system
http://jeffreykingston.id.au/lout/
sudo zypper install lout- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Productivity/Publishing/PS
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: lout
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lout
MacPorts95%
lout
sudo port install lout- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Lout
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