# Install nest with Homebrew, dnf, Nix

Neural Simulation Tool (NEST) with Python3 bindings (PyNEST). Version 3.10 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-11. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#nest.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:nest
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install nest
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install nest
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#nest
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ne/nest/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:nest
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 3.10
- **Source summary:** Neural Simulation Tool (NEST) with Python3 bindings (PyNEST)
- **Homepage:** <https://www.nest-simulator.org/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator>
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-11T04:05:35Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- nest-config (alias)
- nest-server (alias)
- nest-server-mpi (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 3.10
## Project history and usage

NEST is a long-running open source simulator for spiking neural-network models. Its niche is computational neuroscience models where the dynamics, scale, and connectivity of neuron populations matter more than detailed single-neuron morphology.

### Project history

The NEST project traces its public history to a 1994 release under the name SYNOD and later became the NEural Simulation Tool. The project is coordinated by the NEST Initiative and distributed under GPL-2.0-or-later.

A major adoption shift was PyNEST: the 2008 PyNEST paper describes NEST as a C++ simulation kernel designed for large systems and explains why the project moved from its native SLI simulation language toward Python as the user-facing workflow.

### Adoption history

NEST is used mainly in computational neuroscience, especially for large networks of point neurons, plasticity models, cortical-network examples, and reproducible simulator benchmarks. The project site describes a large developer community and support for systems ranging from laptops to clusters and supercomputers.

Homebrew analytics show a specialist but active macOS/Linux package audience: the formula listed 806 installs in the 365-day window visible on the formula page, all on request.

### How it is used

Package users normally install it to get the `nest` command and PyNEST bindings. In practice, researchers write Python scripts or notebooks that import `nest`, create neuron/device nodes, connect populations, run `nest.Simulate(...)`, and analyze spike or voltage traces with Python scientific tooling.

The package-nerd angle is that the Python bindings are tied to the Homebrew Python used by the formula; the formula notes that PyNEST is installed with the `python@3.14` dependency and points users at that interpreter path.

### Why package nerds care

NEST is significant less as a general CLI and more as a packaged scientific runtime: it pulls together a C++ simulator, Python bindings, numerical dependencies, and examples into something reproducible enough for papers, workshops, and neuroscience teaching.

### Timeline

- 1994: first released under the name SYNOD, according to the NEST project site.
- 2007: Gewaltig and Diesmann published the Scholarpedia NEST citation used for older NEST versions.
- 2008: PyNEST paper published, documenting the Python interface and the motivation for moving beyond SLI.
- June 2026: NEST 3.10 listed as the current release on the NEST homepage and Homebrew formula.

### Related projects

- PyNEST
- NEST Desktop
- NESTML
- NESTGPU
- PyNN
- Elephant

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nest>
- <https://nest-simulator.readthedocs.io/en/stable/>
- <https://nest-simulator.readthedocs.io/en/v3.9/tutorials/pynest_tutorial/part_1_neurons_and_simple_neural_networks.html>
- <https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroinformatics/articles/10.3389/neuro.11.012.2008/full>
- <https://www.nest-simulator.org/>


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - nest: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ne/nest/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- dnf - nest - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | The neural simulation tool | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-common - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-common from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Common files for nest | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-devel - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Development files for nest | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-doc - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-doc from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Documentation for nest | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-mpich - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-mpich from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | nest built with mpich | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-mpich-common - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-mpich-common from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Common files for nest built with mpich support | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-mpich-devel - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-mpich-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Header files for nest built with mpich support | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-openmpi - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-openmpi from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | nest built with openmpi | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-openmpi-common - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-openmpi-common from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Common files for nest built with openmpi support | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - nest-openmpi-devel - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nest-openmpi-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Development files for nest built with openmpi support | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - python3-nest - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: python3-nest from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Python3 bindings for nest | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - python3-nest-mpich - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: python3-nest-mpich from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Python3 bindings for nest with mpich support | http://www.nest-simulator.org/
- dnf - python3-nest-openmpi - 3.8-13.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: python3-nest-openmpi from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Python3 bindings for nest with openmpi support | http://www.nest-simulator.org/


## Combined YAML source

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