# Install wordplay with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts

Anagram generator. Version 7.22 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-10. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install wordplay.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:wordplay
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install wordplay
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install wordplay
```

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

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install wordplay
```

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

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:wordplay
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 7.22
- **Source summary:** Anagram generator
- **Homepage:** <https://hsvmovies.com/static_subpages/personal_orig/wordplay/>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-10T20:52:04-04:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- wordplay (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 7.22
## Project history and usage

wordplay is a small ANSI C anagram generator by Evans A. Criswell. Its own homepage records version 1.00 as created on 1991-03-29, version 7.22 as released on 1996-03-20, and describes Unix, DOS, and OS/2 distributions.

### Project history

The author says the first version was written in FORTRAN for Microsoft FORTRAN 5.0 on OS/2 and could only produce two-word anagrams with a brute-force approach. It was converted to C as version 4.00 on 1993-04-30, and version 5.00 introduced a recursive approach on 1993-11-08 that removed the fixed word-count limit.

### How it is used

The program anagrams an input string using its bundled word file, while allowing a different dictionary file to be supplied. Debian's package description preserves the same niche: a command-line anagram generator that can use language wordlists.

### Why package nerds care

wordplay is package-manager archaeology: a compact 1990s command-line word tool that survived because it is simple, portable C and useful enough for word-game and text-play workflows.

### Timeline

- 1991-03-29: Version 1.00 is created.
- 1993-04-30: Version 4.00 converts the program from FORTRAN to C.
- 1993-11-08: Version 5.00 introduces recursive multi-word anagram generation.
- 1996-03-20: Version 7.22 is released for Unix.

### Sources

- <https://hsvmovies.com/static_subpages/personal_orig/wordplay/>
- <https://packages.debian.org/sid/wordplay>


## 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 - wordplay - 8.0-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: wordplay from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | anagram generator | https://github.com/mendelmunkis/wordplay
- Ubuntu apt - wordplay - 8.0-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: wordplay from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | anagram generator | https://github.com/mendelmunkis/wordplay
- MacPorts - wordplay: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: games/wordplay/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/wordplay.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/wordplay.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