# Install msc-generator with Homebrew, apt

Draws signalling charts from textual description. Version 8.6.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-09. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install msc-generator.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:msc-generator
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install msc-generator
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install msc-generator
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: msc-generator from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:msc-generator
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 8.6.4
- **Source summary:** Draws signalling charts from textual description
- **Homepage:** <https://gitlab.com/msc-generator/msc-generator>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-09T11:52:11Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- msc-gen (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 8.6.4
## Project history and usage

Msc-generator grew out of the same text-to-diagram tradition as mscgen. Its own manual describes the signalling-chart engine as a heavily extended and completely rewritten version of Michael C. McTernan's mscgen 0.08, with the focus shifted from interprocess communication toward networking. It kept command-line compatibility with mscgen so tools wired to mscgen, including Doxygen workflows, could use Msc-generator as a drop-in renderer, and version 4.5 added a dedicated mscgen compatibility mode.

### How it is used

The project expanded beyond classic Message Sequence Charts. The README records a Windows GUI with OLE embedding in version 2.2, a new drawing engine in version 3.0, Graphviz DOT graph support in version 5.0, a block-diagram language in version 6.0, a Linux and macOS GUI launched with `msc-gen --gui` in version 7.0, and a new Office-document embedding method in version 8.0. In practice, users write chart descriptions as text and render signalling charts, Graphviz-style graphs, or block diagrams through `msc-gen` or the GUI, with output suitable for documentation and Office documents. Its package niche is the richer successor to mscgen: heavier than the small original tool, but broader in chart types, GUI support, and document embedding.

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/msc-generator>
- <https://gitlab.com/msc-generator/msc-generator/-/raw/master/README.md>
- <https://msc-generator.gitlab.io/msc-generator/>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - msc-generator - 8.6.2-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: msc-generator from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Draws signalling charts from textual description | https://gitlab.com/msc-generator/msc-generator
- Debian apt - msc-generator-doc - 8.6.2-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: msc-generator-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Documentation for msc-generator | https://gitlab.com/msc-generator/msc-generator
- Debian apt - msc-generator-nox - 8.6.2-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: msc-generator-nox from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Draws signalling charts from textual description (no-X version) | https://gitlab.com/msc-generator/msc-generator
- Ubuntu apt - msc-generator - 8.5-1ubuntu1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: msc-generator from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Draws signalling charts from textual description | https://gitlab.com/msc-generator/msc-generator
- Ubuntu apt - msc-generator-doc - 8.5-1ubuntu1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: msc-generator-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Documentation for msc-generator | https://gitlab.com/msc-generator/msc-generator
- Ubuntu apt - msc-generator-nox - 8.5-1ubuntu1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: msc-generator-nox from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Draws signalling charts from textual description (no-X version) | https://gitlab.com/msc-generator/msc-generator


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/msc-generator.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/msc-generator.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