# Install msdfgen with Homebrew, MacPorts

Multi-channel signed distance field generator. Version 1.13 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-02. Also installable with macports: sudo port install msdfgen.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:msdfgen
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install msdfgen
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install msdfgen
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: graphics/msdfgen/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:msdfgen
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.13
- **Source summary:** Multi-channel signed distance field generator
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/Chlumsky/msdfgen>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/Chlumsky/msdfgen>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-02T15:53:33+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- msdfgen (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.13
## Project history and usage

msdfgen is a utility and library for generating signed distance fields from vector shapes and font glyphs, with its main focus on multi-channel signed distance fields for real-time graphics.

### Project history

The official GitHub repository was created in 2016 and the changelog lists version 1.0 as the initial public release on 2016-04-28. The project later added CMake support, expanded SVG and font handling, introduced MTSDF mode, and kept refining error correction, geometry preprocessing, and build options.

### Adoption history

The README positions msdfgen both as a standalone console program and as a C++ library. It also points users toward msdf-atlas-gen when generating complete font atlases, which reflects its adoption in graphics and text-rendering pipelines rather than as an end-user media tool.

### How it is used

Typical package-manager usage is running msdfgen with a mode, input, and options to generate SDF, PSDF, MSDF, or MTSDF textures from fonts, SVG files, shape descriptions, or standard input. The library API exposes the same core generation routines for embedding in renderers and tools.

### Why package nerds care

msdfgen matters in packaging because it bridges graphics research and practical asset generation: a small CLI plus C++ library, optional image/font/SVG dependencies, and current releases that track real-world build-system needs.

### Timeline

- 2016: Repository created and version 1.0 published.
- 2017: CMake build script added.
- 2020: MTSDF mode added.
- 2023: Standalone executable can be built in a limited dependency-free form.
- 2025: Version 1.13 released.

### Related projects

- msdf-atlas-gen is the official companion project recommended by the README for generating full font atlases.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/Chlumsky/msdfgen>
- <https://github.com/Chlumsky/msdfgen#readme>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Chlumsky/msdfgen/master/CHANGELOG.md>
- source_facts.description
- source_facts.repo


## Security Notes

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for msdfgen. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.


## Other Package-Manager Records

- MacPorts - msdfgen: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: graphics/msdfgen/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/msdfgen.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/msdfgen.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph