# Install m4 with Homebrew Macro processing language. Version 1.4.21 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-17. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:m4 ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install m4 ``` Evidence: provider-native install command ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:m4 - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.4.21 - **Source summary:** Macro processing language - **Homepage:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-17T16:54:41-04:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00 ## Executables - m4 (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.4.21 ## Project history and usage GNU M4 is the GNU implementation of the traditional Unix `m4` macro processor. It expands built-in and user-defined macros while copying input to output and is used both directly and as infrastructure for other build tools. ### Project history The m4 lineage is older than GNU: the GNU manual traces macro-language ideas to 1950s and 1960s work by Alan Perlis, Doug McIlroy, Christopher Strachey, and Bell Labs macro processors such as GPM and M6. Kernighan and Ritchie developed the original `m4` at Bell Labs in 1977. GNU M4 was released by Rene Seindal in 1990 to remove artificial limits in many traditional implementations, including line length, macro size, and macro-count limits. Francois Pinard maintained GNU M4 in the early 1990s and released version 1.4 in 1994. After a long stable period, maintenance resumed with Paul Eggert, Gary V. Vaughan, Eric Blake, and later releases in the 1.4 series through 1.4.20. ### Adoption history The GNU manual notes that `m4` is widely available on Unix systems and standardized by POSIX. Many users install GNU M4 indirectly because GNU Autoconf requires it to generate configure scripts. The supplied package-manager facts show the package across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Alpine, Nix, MacPorts, Scoop, and openSUSE, which matches its role as a baseline development dependency. ### How it is used GNU M4 can be invoked as `m4 [option...] [file...]`. It supports macro expansion, file inclusion, shell-command execution, arithmetic, text manipulation, and recursion. In package builds, direct human-written M4 macros are less common than Autoconf usage, but maintainers still care about GNU M4 compatibility because configure-generation failures often trace back to macro behavior. ### Why package nerds care GNU M4 is one of the quiet pieces of the Autotools stack: many source packages do not need it at runtime, but build-from-VCS workflows and autoreconf pipelines often need the GNU implementation. It matters to package maintainers because POSIX `m4`, vendor `m4`, and GNU M4 have historically differed in limits and extensions, and Autoconf intentionally standardized on GNU M4 to avoid those limitations. ### Timeline - 1977: Original Bell Labs m4 described by Kernighan and Ritchie - 1990: Rene Seindal released GNU M4 - 1994: GNU M4 1.4 released as a long-lived stable version - 2004: 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 addressed long-standing bugs - 2025: GNU M4 1.4.20 released ### Related projects - GNU Autoconf is one of GNU M4's biggest users and requires GNU M4 as its macro engine. - Traditional Unix m4 implementations, GPM, M6, M5, and Ratfor-related preprocessors are part of the historical macro-processor lineage. ### Sources - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/m4.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/m4.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation