# 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 ```sh sudo av install brew:lout ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install lout ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install lout ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: textproc/lout/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add lout ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: lout from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install lout ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: lout 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#lout ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/lo/lout/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S lout ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: lout from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install lout ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: lout from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:lout - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 3.43.4 - **Source summary:** Text formatting like TeX, but simpler - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - lout (alias) - prg2lout (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 3.43.4 ## 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 - - - - - source_facts.package-manager-url ## 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 - lout: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/lo/lout/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - apk - lout - 3.42.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: lout from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Lightweight typesetting and document formatting system | https://github.com/william8000/lout - apk - lout-doc - 3.42.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: lout-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Lightweight typesetting and document formatting system (documentation) | https://github.com/william8000/lout - dnf - lout - 3.40-32.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: lout from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | A document formatting system | http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/lout/ - pacman - lout - 3.43.4-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: lout from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | A lightweight document formatting system | https://github.com/william8000/lout - zypper - lout - 3.41.0-2.6: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: lout from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | A document formatting system | http://jeffreykingston.id.au/lout/ - MacPorts - lout: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: textproc/lout/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/lout.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/lout.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