macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install mftracelocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install mftraceMacPorts ports tree · graphics/mftrace/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 7038
Install mftrace with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper
Trace TeX bitmap font to PFA, PFB, or TTF font. Version 1.2.20 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install mftrace.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install mftraceDebian stable package indexes · mftrace · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install mftraceFedora Rawhide package metadata · mftrace · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#mftracenixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/mf/mftrace/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install mftraceopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · mftrace · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Trace TeX bitmap font to PFA, PFB, or TTF font
Project links
Commands and aliases
- gf2pbm
- mftrace
history
Project history and usage
mftrace grew out of the TeX and METAFONT font toolchain as a Python wrapper for converting TeX bitmap fonts into scalable outlines. The LilyPond-hosted manual describes it as tracing a TeX bitmap font into PFA, PFB, or TTF output, and notes that versions before 1.0.5 were named pktrace. The project documentation and man page identify Han-Wen Nienhuys as the author.
Project history
The tool's importance is narrow but durable: it bridges METAFONT-era bitmap fonts and scalable font formats used by PostScript, PDF, and TrueType workflows. Its manual describes the reason for the conversion in package-nerd terms: scalable fonts render across printer resolutions and let Ghostscript generate better PDFs than bitmap-only inputs.
How it is used
In use, mftrace delegates the heavy lifting to font and tracing utilities such as METAFONT, potrace or autotrace, t1asm, and FontForge-like tooling. That makes it a glue package for TeX distributions, music engraving and document publishing systems, and maintainers converting old METAFONT designs into formats expected by modern font consumers. Its packaging across Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Ubuntu, and openSUSE reflects that it is infrastructure for a specialized publishing niche rather than an end-user font editor.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
gf2pbm | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
mftrace | 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 version1.2.20
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:mftrace |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.2.20 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://lilypond.org/mftrace/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/hanwen/mftrace |
| 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.
Debian apt95%
mftrace 1.2.20+git20191022.3b4bc2e-3
Converts Metafont fonts into Type1 fonts
https://lilypond.org/mftrace/index.html
sudo apt install mftrace- Section: tex
- Architecture: amd64
- 6 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mftrace
Nix95%
mftrace
nix profile install nixpkgs#mftrace- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mftrace
Ubuntu apt95%
mftrace 1.2.20+git20191022.3b4bc2e-3
Converts Metafont fonts into Type1 fonts
https://lilypond.org/mftrace/index.html
sudo apt install mftrace- Section: universe/tex
- Architecture: amd64
- 6 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mftrace
dnf95%
mftrace 1.2.20-20.fc45
Utility for converting TeX bitmap fonts to Type 1 or TrueType fonts
sudo dnf install mftrace- License: GPL-2.0-only
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: mftrace
- 7 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mftrace
zypper95%
mftrace 1.2.20-4.5
Scalable PostScript Fonts for MetaFont
sudo zypper install mftrace- License: GPL-2.0-only
- Category: Productivity/Publishing/TeX/Utilities
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: mftrace
- 5 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mftrace
MacPorts95%
mftrace
sudo port install mftrace- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Mftrace
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