# Install wtf with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix

Translate common Internet acronyms. Version 20230906 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#wtf.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:wtf
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install wtf
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install wtf
```

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

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#wtf
```

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

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:wtf
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 20230906
- **Source summary:** Translate common Internet acronyms
- **Homepage:** <https://sourceforge.net/projects/bsdwtf/>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- wtf (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 20230906
## Project history and usage

wtf is the small BSD command-line acronym lookup utility: users type forms such as `wtf TCP` or the natural-language `wtf is TCP`, and the command expands matching terms from acronym databases or falls back to system help sources.

### Project history

The current NetBSD manual identifies `wtf` as a section 6 utility that looks up one or more terms, first in acronym databases and then through tools such as whatis, pkg_info, and pkgsrc help when appropriate. Its files include the default acronym database, an offensive acronym database enabled by option, and a computer-related acronym database.

The FreeBSD 7.2 manual page records the historical origin succinctly: `wtf` first appeared in NetBSD 1.5. The current NetBSD manual adds that it initially only translated acronyms, while later versions gained the ability to look up terms in other system sources.

### Adoption history

The command spread beyond NetBSD through BSD ports and redistributions of the NetBSD script and acronym databases. The SourceForge bsd-wtf project describes itself as a convenient place to get the `wtf` program and acronyms database outside the NetBSD source tree, while FreeBSD and other packaging ecosystems carried variants for users who wanted the BSD utility on non-NetBSD systems.

### How it is used

The canonical usage is intentionally casual: `wtf` accepts an optional ignored `is` operand so `wtf is WTF` works naturally. Users can override the acronym database with `-f` or the ACRONYMDB environment variable, which makes the tool easy to adapt to local jargon lists.

In pkgsrc-aware environments, the command is more than a slang lookup: if an acronym is not found, it can ask package and manual-page sources. That makes it a tiny bridge between Unix wordplay, system documentation, and package-tree help.

### Why package nerds care

wtf is package-nerd lore because it is a deliberately unserious command that still follows Unix conventions: plain text databases, environment overrides, manpage documentation, and integration with package metadata. It is also a reminder that BSD games and misc utilities often became portable command-line packages in their own right.

### Timeline

- 2000: NetBSD 1.5 era in which `wtf` first appeared.
- 2007-07-27: The FreeBSD 7.2 manual page documents the NetBSD origin.
- 2015-04-22: The current NetBSD manual page documents later term-lookup behavior beyond acronym translation.
- 2010s: SourceForge bsd-wtf provides the NetBSD utility and acronym database outside the NetBSD source tree.

### Related projects

- NetBSD supplies the canonical manual page and acronym database behavior.
- SourceForge bsd-wtf mirrors the NetBSD utility and data for use outside the NetBSD tree.
- FreeBSD carried a ported manual page documenting the NetBSD origin.

### Sources

- <https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=wtf&manpath=FreeBSD+7.2-RELEASE+and+Ports>
- <https://man.netbsd.org/wtf.6>
- <https://sourceforge.net/projects/bsdwtf/>
- <https://www.freshports.org/games/wtf>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - wtf: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/wt/wtf/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- MacPorts - wtf: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: games/wtf/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/wtf.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/wtf.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