macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install parlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install parMacPorts ports tree · textproc/par/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 8243
Install par with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper
Paragraph reflow for email. Version 1.53.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-09-11. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install par.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add parAlpine Linux edge package indexes · par · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install parDebian stable package indexes · par · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install parFedora Rawhide package metadata · par · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#parnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/pa/par/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install paropenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · par · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Paragraph reflow for email
Project links
Commands and aliases
- par
history
Project history and usage
Par is a command-line paragraph reformatter designed especially for reflowing email and other structured plain text.
Project history
Par was created by Adam M. Costello as a paragraph reformatter, with particular attention to email messages and quoted text. Development later moved to the amc-nicemice repository on Bitbucket.
Adoption history
Par has remained available through Homebrew, Debian and Ubuntu, Fedora-family distributions, openSUSE, Alpine, MacPorts, and Nix. Its unusually broad packaging for a small text filter reflects the durability of command-line email and source-text workflows.
How it is used
Users pipe plain text or email through `par` to reflow paragraphs to a chosen width while preserving structural cues such as quotation prefixes. It is commonly used from shell pipelines or configured as an external formatter in mail clients and editors.
Why package nerds care
Par is valued as a specialized Unix text filter whose formatting heuristics understand quoted email and paragraph structure better than a generic fixed-column wrapper. It is a small, composable tool that has persisted in package collections long after many terminal mail workflows became niche.
Timeline
- Project established as Adam M. Costello's paragraph-reformatting utility.
- Source development subsequently hosted in the amc-nicemice Bitbucket repository.
Related projects
- Par occupies the same broad command-line text-formatting niche as `fmt` and editor fill-paragraph commands, while specializing in more structured reflow.
Sources
- http://www.nicemice.net/par
- https://bitbucket.org/amc-nicemice/par
- source_facts.package-manager
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 post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 12 platform targets.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
par | cli | global executable |
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 generated2026-09-19
manager version1.53.0
manager updated2026-09-11
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.http://www.nicemice.net/par/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:par |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.53.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/par |
| Homepage | http://www.nicemice.net/par/ |
| Upstream docs | http://www.nicemice.net/par/ |
| License | LicenseRef-Homebrew-cannot-represent OR MIT |
| Source archive | https://bitbucket.org/amc-nicemice/par/get/1.53.0.tar.bz2 |
| Last updated | 2026-09-11T18:29:36Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | par |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Conflicts With |
|
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
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%
par 1.53.0-2
Paragraph reformatter
sudo apt install par- Section: text
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
Nix95%
par
nix profile install nixpkgs#par- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
Ubuntu apt95%
par 1.53.0-2
Paragraph reformatter
sudo apt install par- Section: universe/text
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
apk95%
par 1.53.0-r1
paragraph reformatter, vaguely similar to fmt, but better
sudo apk add par- License: custom
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: par
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
apk95%
par-doc 1.53.0-r1
paragraph reformatter, vaguely similar to fmt, but better (documentation)
sudo apk add par-doc- License: custom
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: par
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
dnf95%
par 1.53.0-19.fc45
Paragraph reformatter, vaguely like fmt, but more elaborate
sudo dnf install par- License: LicenseRef-Par
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: par
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
zypper95%
par 1.1-192.3
Parity Archive File Generator
https://parchive.sourceforge.net/
sudo zypper install par- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: par
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
zypper95%
par2cmdline 1.3.0-1.1
A PAR 2.0 compatible file creation, verification, and repair tool
https://github.com/Parchive/par2cmdline
sudo zypper install par2cmdline- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: par2cmdline
- 4 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
MacPorts95%
par
sudo port install par- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Par
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
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation