macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install mandocprovider-native install command
brew / rank 685
Install mandoc with Homebrew
UNIX manpage compiler toolset. Version 1.14.6 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-17.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
UNIX manpage compiler toolset
Project links
Commands and aliases
- bsdapropos
- bsdmakewhatis
- bsdman
- bsdsoelim
- bsdwhatis
- demandoc
- mandoc
history
Project history and usage
mandoc is a small, ISC-licensed Unix manual-page compiler toolset. Its official site describes it as compiling `mdoc`, `man`, and related roff manual sources to terminal output, HTML 5, PostScript, and PDF, with development centered on OpenBSD and BSD.lv.
Project history
The mandoc development history traces the project through the older `mdocml` name and rapid 2009 development by Kristaps Dzonsons, including releases around March and April 2009 and OpenBSD integration work. The `mandoc` name replaced `mdocterm` in March 2009, and the tool became closely associated with OpenBSD integration after cooperation between Kristaps Dzonsons and Ingo Schwarze.
The mandoc utility first appeared in OpenBSD 4.8. Over time it grew from a focused `mdoc` formatter into a broader toolset including `mandoc`, `man`, `apropos`, `makewhatis`, `catman`, `demandoc`, CGI support, database support, linting, HTML output, markdown output for `mdoc`, and related developer-facing libraries.
Adoption history
The official packages and ports page records broad adoption across BSDs and Linux distributions. OpenBSD bundled mandoc in the base system in 2010 and made it the default formatter, searcher, and viewer over later milestones; FreeBSD, NetBSD, DragonFly BSD, illumos, macOS, Alpine, Void, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Gentoo, NixOS, and others have packages or integrations.
That adoption matters because mandoc is not just another formatter: on several systems it replaces or complements groff/man-db for everyday `man` and `apropos` usage, making it part of the base documentation experience.
How it is used
At the CLI, `mandoc` reads `mdoc` or `man` input from files or stdin, auto-detects the language, and formats it for terminal display or other outputs. Output modes include ASCII, locale, UTF-8, HTML, man, markdown for `mdoc`, PDF, PostScript, and parse-tree output.
The `man.conf` manual documents `/etc/man.conf` as the configuration file for the mandoc-family `man`, `apropos`, and `makewhatis` utilities. Its directives can set manual search paths and output options, and the file is optional.
Why package nerds care
mandoc is significant to package maintainers because it is a lean alternative to full troff/groff stacks for manual-page rendering and validation. It is small, fast, portable C, and its linting helps find bad manual-page markup before packages ship.
It also has practical downstream impact: whether a system uses mandoc, man-db, groff, or a combination changes man-page rendering, HTML generation, apropos databases, and default configuration files.
Timeline
- 2009: `mdocterm` was renamed to `mandoc` during early development.
- 2009: OpenBSD imported mandoc 1.7.12 and began closer integration work.
- 2010: mandoc first appeared in OpenBSD 4.8.
- 2014: OpenBSD switched man(1) to the mandoc implementation.
- 2017: mandoc 1.14.2 added `-Tmarkdown` and other features.
- 2021: mandoc 1.14.6 was released with improved tagging and a new `mdoc(7)` macro.
Related projects
- mandoc is closely related to OpenBSD manual infrastructure, BSD.lv, `mdoc`, `man`, `roff`, `tbl`, `eqn`, `apropos`, and `makewhatis`.
- It is often compared with groff and man-db, and it powers or influences several manual-page web and package documentation tools.
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.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
/etc/man.conf
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
bsdapropos | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
bsdmakewhatis | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
bsdman | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
bsdsoelim | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
bsdwhatis | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
demandoc | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
mandoc | 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 version1.14.6
manager updated2026-07-17
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:mandoc |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.14.6 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://mandoc.bsd.lv/ |
| Last updated | 2026-07-17T20:55:00-04:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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
- Nucleus package database
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation