Lean vs NuSMV
Lean
lean-lang.orgNuSMV
nusmv.fbk.euSide by side
| Figure | Lean | NuSMV |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Formal Verification Tools | 8.6 (#2) | 7.7 (#18) |
| License | Lean is released under the Apache 2.0 license, which the documentation describes as allowing others to use and extend the code and mathematical libraries freely. | NuSMV v2 is open source software distributed under the LGPL v2.1 license. |
| Platforms | The reference lists Linux, macOS, and Windows among Lean’s supported platforms, with Tier 1 binary releases available through elan. | The downloads page lists current binaries for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows. |
| Support | The Lean Community Zulip is described as the central hub for questions and collaboration, and Lean FRO hosts weekly technical office hours. | The project directs general questions and bug reports to its users mailing list and provides a separate list for announcements. |
Plans
In their own words
Lean
Lean is an open-source programming language and proof assistant for formalizing mathematics, verifying software, and writing general code. Its minimal trusted kernel checks proofs, and the project describes it as supporting correctness in mathematical, software, and hardware verification. Lean includes the Grind tool for automating some pattern matching, case analysis, and systems of linear inequalities; metaprogramming lets users add notation and proof automation. Projects are managed with Lake, the package manager bundled with Lean. Mathlib is a community-driven library with over a million lines spanning areas including algebra, analysis, topology, probability, and computer science. The recommended setup uses VS Code with the Lean 4 extension for syntax highlighting and code completion, while Neovim with lean.nvim is also well-supported. Lean runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and Lean4Web lets users run code in a browser. The software is free under the Apache 2.0 license. Learning resources include textbooks, tutorials, interactive games, documentation, and an API reference.
NuSMV
NuSMV is a self-hosted software tool for formally verifying finite state systems. It checks systems against CTL specifications and supports LTL and PSL model checking. NuSMV 2 combines BDD-based model checking with SAT-based bounded model checking. Its SMV input language supports hierarchical descriptions, reusable components and finite data types, including booleans, scalars, bit vectors and fixed arrays. Other capabilities include an interactive text shell, invariant analysis and partitioning methods; the SAT component can connect to the Minisat solver. The project describes uses in industrial design verification, custom verification tools and research into formal verification techniques. NuSMV runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, and version 2 is open source under LGPL v2.1. The project directs general questions and bug reports to its users mailing list, with a separate list for announcements. Its FAQ says there is no current tutorial for developers extending the tool. It also warns that processes are deprecated because they can behave incorrectly with relational constructs such as TRANS, INIT or INVAR.