Install vala with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• vala
• vala-0.56
• vala-gen-introspect
• vala-gen-introspect-0.56
• valac
• valac-0.56
• valadoc
• valadoc-0.56
• vapigen
• vapigen-0.56

Project history

Vala appeared publicly in 2006 as a new language for GNOME developers. The August 2006 Vala 0.0.2 announcement called it a compiler for the GObject type system and described `valac` as a self-hosting compiler that translated Vala source into C source and headers.

The early design goal was to bring modern language features to GNOME developers without imposing extra runtime requirements or a different ABI from C applications and libraries. The announcement described syntax similar to C#, modified for GObject, with interfaces, properties, signals, foreach, lambda expressions, type inference, assisted memory management, and planned generics and exception handling.

Modern Vala documentation preserves that identity: Vala uses high-level abstractions while keeping the same ABI as C libraries, uses the GObject type system, and includes code-generation routines that make targeting the GNOME stack simple.

Adoption history

Vala grew inside GNOME's development world, where the value proposition was native GObject/GLib code with a higher-level syntax and generated C output. The retired GNOME project page calls it a cross-platform development tool and notes third-party distributions for Windows, macOS, Linux, BSDs, and other platforms.

Packaging spread reflects that compiler-toolchain role. The input lists packages across Homebrew, Alpine, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Arch, Ubuntu, openSUSE, and zypper-style ecosystems, usually exposing both libraries and command-line tools.

How it is used

The central tool is `valac`, which the official documentation describes as transforming Vala code into compilable C code. The Vala distribution also includes tools such as `valadoc`, `vapigen`, and `vala-gen-introspect` for documentation and bindings work.

`vapigen` is especially important in package workflows because it generates VAPI bindings from GObject Introspection GIR files. The official binding guide explains that Vala bindings are usually small files that let `valac` map Vala code to C APIs and integrate with pkg-config-oriented builds.

Why package nerds care

Vala matters to package nerds because it is both a language and a source-to-C compiler bound tightly to GLib, GObject, GIR, pkg-config, VAPI files, and distro development packages. Build failures often involve the exact Vala compiler version, generated C, missing VAPI files, or GObject introspection metadata rather than a simple missing binary.

The Homebrew package is useful outside Linux because it brings a GNOME-oriented compiler stack to macOS, including versioned tools like `valac-0.56`, `valadoc-0.56`, and `vapigen-0.56` listed in the input.

Timeline

• 2006: Vala 0.0.2 preview release is announced for the GObject type system.
• 2006: Vala 0.0.3 adds arrays, switch statements, and experimental GTK+ and Cairo bindings.
• 2021: Vala 0.40.25 is listed as a stable long-term-support release.
• 2022: Vala 0.48.25 is listed as a stable long-term-support release.
• 2024: Vala 0.56.17 is listed as a stable long-term-support release.

Related projects

• GLib and GObject are the runtime and type-system foundations Vala targets.
• GObject Introspection, GIR files, VAPI files, pkg-config, and `vapigen` are central to Vala library binding workflows.
• Vala Language Server adds editor code intelligence on top of the Vala compiler stack.

Sources

• https://docs.vala.dev/
• https://docs.vala.dev/developer-guides/bindings/upstream-guide.html
• https://docs.vala.dev/tutorials/programming-language/main/07-00-tools.html
• https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2006-August/msg00001.html
• https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2006-August/msg00056.html
• https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/Vala
• source_facts.executables
• source_facts.package-manager