PVS

7.4easy start · #1 of 33
in Formal Verification Tools

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you workyes

Runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.

PVS is ranked #1 of 33 in formal verification tools on The Geeks Club. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

PVS plans and pricing

All plans

PVS (noncommercial) Free Noncommercial use; Allegro runtime requires accepting a click-through license pvs.csl.sri.com · 30 Sept 2026

PVS (commercial) Not published Commercial users need a current PVS license or must contact SRI for licensing pvs.csl.sri.com · 30 Sept 2026

Compared on formal verification tools

Free plan: Yes
Verification method: hybrid
Supported formalisms: theorem-proving
Counterexamples: Yes
Proof artifacts: Yes
Input languages: PVS specification language (typed higher-order logic)
Deployment: self-hosted

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The record

Purpose: PVS is a mechanized environment for formal specification and verification.
Core components: PVS includes a specification language, predefined theories, a type checker, an interactive theorem prover, a symbolic model checker, utilities, documentation, libraries, and examples.
Proof automation: The prover includes inference procedures for induction, rewriting, simplification using decision procedures, abstraction, and symbolic model checking.
Additional capabilities: PVS supports the Yices SMT solver, PVSio evaluation of ground expressions, and random testing during proofs.
User interface: PVS uses GNU or X Emacs as an integrated interface and can display proof trees and theory hierarchies with Tcl/Tk.
Typical users and applications: Listed applications include mathematical formalization, hardware and algorithm verification, and use as a backend for computer algebra and code verification systems.
Platforms: The download page lists current 64-bit versions for Linux and MacOSX and says Windows may run PVS 7.1 or later through Vagrant and VirtualBox.
License and commercial use: PVS sources are under GPL; commercial entities without a current PVS license are directed to contact PVS licensing.
Build limitation: The download page says building from GitHub sources can be sensitive to the platform environment.
Integrations and libraries: The downloads page links to a NASA PVS Library and a VSCode PVS Plugin.
Support: Users can report bugs by email or GitHub and ask questions through a Google Group or moderated help mailing list.
Security contact: The PVS developers' contact address is listed for licensing questions, security concerns, feature requests, and suggestions.
Specification language: Its language is based on typed higher-order logic and supports predicate subtypes, dependent types, and parameterized theories.
Proof capabilities: The interactive prover includes inference procedures for induction, rewriting, simplification, decision procedures, and symbolic model checking.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Formal Verification Tools in 2026#1 of 33

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Sources

pvs.csl.sri.com/introduction.shtml· checked 29 Sept 2026
pvs.csl.sri.com/downloads.html· checked 29 Sept 2026
pvs.csl.sri.com/support.html· checked 29 Sept 2026
pvs.csl.sri.com/description.html· checked 30 Sept 2026
pvs.csl.sri.com/documentation.html· checked 30 Sept 2026
pvs.csl.sri.com· checked 28 Sept 2026