mscgen ☆
« Back to VersTracker
Description:
Parses Message Sequence Chart descriptions and produces images
Type: Formula  |  Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Developer tools
Tags: diagrams visualization documentation protocol cli
Install: brew install mscgen
About:
Mscgen is a parser for Message Sequence Chart descriptions. It takes textual input defining interactions between participants and renders them into various image formats like PNG, EPS, or SVG. This tool is essential for visualizing protocol flows and complex system interactions directly from source code or documentation.
Key Features:
  • Parses simple and complex Message Sequence Chart syntax
  • Outputs to multiple formats including PNG, SVG, and EPS
  • Supports interactive mode for quick prototyping
  • Lightweight and command-line based
Use Cases:
  • Visualizing network protocol handshakes and communication flows
  • Generating documentation diagrams for software architecture
  • Debugging interaction logic in distributed systems
Alternatives:
  • PlantUML – PlantUML supports a wider variety of diagram types but requires a Java runtime environment.
  • Graphviz (dot) – Graphviz is more general-purpose for graph drawing, whereas Mscgen is specialized for sequence charts.
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Sep 16, 2025 4:27am 4 VERSION_BUMP e8f4942e
Sep 16, 2024 10:55pm 4 VERSION_BUMP aa67d4d9
Sep 12, 2024 3:03pm 4 VERSION_BUMP f3232beb
« Back to VersTracker  |  Browse Packages  |  About