open-babel ☆
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Description:
Chemical toolbox
Type: Formula  |  Latest Version: 3.1.1@5  |  Tracked Since: Nov 2, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Other
Tags: chemistry cheminformatics science data-conversion molecular-modeling
Install: brew install open-babel
About:
Open Babel is a chemical toolbox designed to speak the many languages of chemical data. It allows users to search, convert, and analyze chemical information across over 110 file formats. Its primary value is enabling interoperability between different molecular modeling and cheminformatics software packages.
Key Features:
  • Command-line interface for batch processing and scripting
  • Support for over 110 chemical file formats
  • Provides 2D and 3D structure generation and visualization
  • Includes tools for molecular mechanics energy minimization
Use Cases:
  • Converting molecular structures between proprietary and open formats for research workflows
  • Filtering and analyzing large chemical datasets for drug discovery screening
Alternatives:
  • RDKit – RDKit is a Python-centric library focused on cheminformatics algorithms, whereas Open Babel excels as a general-purpose format converter and CLI tool.
  • ChemAxon – ChemAxon offers enterprise-grade commercial suites with extensive support, while Open Babel provides a free, open-source alternative for format interoperability.
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Jan 21, 2026 3:41am 5 REVISION_ONLY ee3aa2a1
Nov 2, 2025 6:42am 3 VERSION_BUMP 4cfe1451
Sep 16, 2025 4:34pm 2 VERSION_BUMP 79c0fa39
Sep 30, 2024 11:57pm 2 VERSION_BUMP 2ca8c8a9
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