macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install wv2local Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install wv2MacPorts ports tree · textproc/wv2/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 8516
Install wv2 with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix
Programs for accessing Microsoft Word documents. Version 0.4.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#wv2.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#wv2nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/wv/wv2/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Programs for accessing Microsoft Word documents
Project links
Commands and aliases
- wv2-config
history
Project history and usage
wv2 is a C++ Microsoft Word binary-document access library associated with the older wvWare project. Its package-manager niche is not an end-user converter as much as a compatibility library for software that needed to import legacy .doc files.
Project history
The wvWare project began as mswordview and was renamed after the maintainers judged the original name too close to Microsoft's Word Viewer. The wv project supplied code for reading Word 6, 95, 97, and 2000 formats, and its site records use by AbiWord and influence on KWord's importer.
wv2 appeared as the intended second-generation library. A Debian intent-to-package notice for wv2 0.0.9 described it as a library for accessing Microsoft Word documents and as an eventual replacement for the wv library, with upstream authors from the AbiWord and KDE/KWord orbit.
Adoption history
The historical adoption story is mostly desktop-office plumbing: wvWare states that its library was used by AbiWord, while wv2 was packaged by Unix distributions as a Word import library for KWord/KOffice-era workflows. The small Homebrew package is therefore a fossil from the period when free office suites had to reverse-engineer Microsoft binary formats.
How it is used
Developers used wv2 through its library and config helper rather than as a standalone document converter. Its value was in giving applications a way to parse old Word binary files for import or conversion before OOXML and newer document libraries became the dominant path.
Why package nerds care
wv2 matters because it sits at the intersection of early open-source office suites, KDE/KOffice import filters, and the painful packaging of proprietary binary office formats. It is a small package, but it explains why old dependency graphs still contain libgsf-era Word import code.
Timeline
- 2000-08-28: SourceForge records the wvWare project registration.
- 2000: Dom Lachowicz took over wv maintenance from original author Caolan McNamara in late August 2000.
- 2002: Debian packaging discussion described wv2 0.0.9 as an eventual replacement for wv.
- 2005: wv 1.2.0 switched to libgsf, libxml2, and glib, reflecting GNOME-office-era library consolidation.
Related projects
- wv2 is related to wv/wvWare, AbiWord, KWord/KOffice, libgsf, and the broader family of document import libraries for legacy Microsoft Office formats.
Sources
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 bottle metadata was recorded.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
wv2-config | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
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 generated2026-08-03
manager version0.4.2
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:wv2 |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.4.2 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://wvware.sourceforge.net/ |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix95%
wv2
nix profile install nixpkgs#wv2- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Wv2
MacPorts95%
wv2
sudo port install wv2- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Wv2
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
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation