I don’t remember exactly when I started using Homebrew, but I know that I had been using a Mac as my regular computer for a while and wanted an alternative to manage dev tools. Homebrew would turn out to be my first foray into the concept and practice of package management, and it’s been tremendously useful for me.

I keep a personal MacOS setup guide on Github because I swap laptops or reformat my laptop enough that I want to keep track of what tools I use. Adding Homebrew to my software management suite has been instrumental in making this work. I can install and update software and clean up outdated versions. I even wrote a tutorial on setting up a keyword script last week that makes this even easier for me.

What is Homebrew

Homebrew describes itself as The missing package manager for macOS and for good reason. It allows me to install/uninstall/update/downgrade/manage software used on my Mac directly from the command line.

This saves a bunch of time and overhead, and allows me to bulk install programs. I can take a list of install commands, paste them into my terminal, and have them all run at once. Below is a list of programs that I install with Homebrew on a new machine currently, which turns hours of installation into a few seconds of typing and a few minutes of letting the machine run in the background.

brew install arp-scan
brew install asciidoc
brew install brew-cask-completion
brew install cmake
brew install composer
brew install docbook-xsl
brew install ghostscript
brew install git
brew install highlight
brew install imagemagick
brew install lastpass-cli --with-pinentry --with-doc
brew install nmap
brew install node
brew install openssl
brew install php72
brew install php-cs-fixer
brew install phplint
brew install pkg-config
brew install python3
brew postinstall python3
brew install thefuck
brew install vassh
brew install vim
brew install wget
brew install wrk
brew install zsh-syntax-highlightingCode language: Bash (bash)

Homebrew Cask

Some programs don’t exist in Homebrew, usually the apps that you use with a GUI, as opposed to command line tools. For these there is
Homebrew Cask, an extension of Homebrew for the software that doesn’t exist in core.

So instead of having to open up Safari on a new machine (or IE for the Windows folks, with a tool like Scoop or Chocolatey – The package manager for Windows) just to download Chrome, I can open my terminal after Homebrew is installed and type brew install chrome to get the latest version of the browser installed and ready to use. No more downloading zipped files, unzipping a package, running the package and accepting pages of prompts, and having to eject the package to delete the install files.

Updates are great too. With the script that I shared last week I update all of my apps every morning, ensuring that I have the latest, greatest, and most secure version. This also means that I am far less likely to open an app on my computer as I’m ready to use it, only to be greeted with a “new version available” dialog to either forget or stop my workflow.

Here are the cask packages that I currently install after I reformat my computer, which covers the majority of apps that I use.

brew cask install alfred
brew cask install arduino
brew cask install boostnote
brew cask install calibre
brew cask install cleanmymac
brew cask install dropbox
brew cask install etcher
brew cask install evernote
brew cask install firefox
brew cask install google-chrome
brew cask install imageoptim
brew cask install iterm2
brew cask install nordvpn
brew cask install owasp-zap
brew cask install qlcolorcode
brew cask install qlmarkdown
brew cask install qlprettypatch
brew cask install qlstephen
brew cask install quicklook-csv
brew cask install quicklook-json
brew cask install sequel-pro
brew cask install signal
brew cask install skype
brew cask install slack
brew cask install spectacle
brew cask install sublime-text
brew cask install suspicious-package
brew cask install telegram
brew cask install transmit
brew cask install vagrant
brew cask install virtualbox
brew cask install vlc
brew cask install webpquicklook
brew cask install caskroom/fonts/font-source-code-proCode language: Bash (bash)

Followup and Conclusion

I just learned that Homebrew has a Patreon to support development of the project, and I just pledged a token monthly donation. For all that it’s given me, it’s definitely proven valuable.

Read the documentation for Homebrew for all of the cool things that you can do with it. The project homepage has fairly straightforward installation instructions.

You can see a list of the current Homebrew Formulae, as well as search the available Homebrew Casks to see if your favorite tools are available.

Do you use Homebrew yet? Do you have another method to manage updates that I should know about, or some tools that I’m missing? Let me know here or on Twitter!