Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Homebrew

The missing package manager for macOS.

Homebrew

Homebrew Reviews and Details

This page is designed to help you find out whether Homebrew is good and if it is the right choice for you.

Screenshots and images

  • Homebrew Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-29

Features & Specs

  1. User-Friendly

    Homebrew provides an easy-to-use command-line interface that simplifies the installation and management of software packages.

  2. Wide Range of Packages

    Homebrew offers a vast repository of software, covering a broad spectrum of utilities, languages, and applications.

  3. Dependency Management

    Homebrew automatically handles dependencies, ensuring that all required packages are installed and up to date.

  4. Community Support

    Homebrew has a strong community backing and regular contributions, which ensures frequent updates and a robust support system.

  5. Cross-Platform

    Homebrew is available on macOS and Linux, allowing for consistent package management across different operating systems.

  6. Customizability

    Users can create their own formulae to install software that isnโ€™t available in the core repositories.

Badges & Trophies

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Videos

Homebrew Review: Coopers Lager - Taste Test

Homebrew Review | Alchemist Class by Mage Hand Press (featuring Designer Mike Holik)

Northern Brewer Cream Ale Homebrew Review Tasting

Social recommendations and mentions

We have tracked the following product recommendations or mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you see what people think about Homebrew and what they use it for.
  • Build Your Own Shakespearean LLM
    If you don't have Python 3.10+, install it (on Mac) via Homebrew:. - Source: dev.to / 19 days ago
  • Supercharge your macOS workspace management with Aerospace - A guide for busy people
    Aerospace is a menu bar application, but you canโ€™t download it from an App Store or get it as a DMG file. You need a package manager. Go to the Homebrew website and follow the installation guide. Make sure to accurately follow the on-screen instructions. This may include any of the following:. - Source: dev.to / 27 days ago
  • My fully offline AI-assisted Linux development machine
    Docker, Distrobox, Flatpak, and a bit of Homebrew where it makes sense. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Fake AI Installers: When "Installing Claude" Turns Into Running Malware
    Claude Code: official docs: https://docs.anthropic.com/... expected package: @anthropic-ai/claude-code Node.js: official site: https://nodejs.org/ internal mirror: https://nexus.example.com/... Homebrew: official site: https://brew.sh/. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Installing Terraform on macOS with Homebrew and Fixing Zsh Autocomplete Error
    For this setup, I used Homebrew. If you do not have Homebrew installed yet, you can install it from: Https://brew.sh/. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • I built a visual TUI for Homebrew with React and Ink
    If you're a macOS developer, you probably use Homebrew every day. But memorizing all the brew commands gets old โ€” especially when you just want to see what's outdated, upgrade a few packages, or check if a service is running. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • The Ultimate Guide to a Smooth Dev Environment
    Package managers like Chocolatey (Windows), APT (Linux), and Homebrew simplify software installation and management. They keep your tools up-to-date and reduce dependency conflicts. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • MacBook Neo
    Sometimes that covers the need. Most will at least want something like https://brew.sh/ to get you current versions of standard Linux utilities rather than the bundled ones and then maybe even set up a separate profile in your terminal of choice (iTerm2 is a great option as well) which defaults to using them so you don't break normal system usage which assumes the built in utilities. Even then, if your use case... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • I Googled "brew upgrade" and Found a Malware Operation ๐Ÿบ๐Ÿ’€
    Stick to real sources. When you're looking for how to use a CLI tool, go to the official docs. For Homebrew, that's brew.sh. If the source is a content-hosting platform rather than the project's own documentation, ask yourself why. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • The browser catches homograph attacks. Your terminal doesn't
    I'm Not sure that I agree that it is automatically safer to prefer apt or dnf, and I'm definitely sure that it is not safer to prefer npm. Safety is about managing risk. One element of managing risk is evaluating trust. I'm thinking that there are much fewer people I have to trust by copying the curl | bash install method from https://brew.sh. But at any rate, I completely agree that piping a curl'd script... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • The browser catches homograph attacks. Your terminal doesn't
    It is literally the method given to install a number of products. The first mechanism given as a fix, of sorts, is to install something via brew. Brew is installed by copying a command line- https://brew.sh I mean, I guess you could retype it, but there is no intention for anyone to do that. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Essential DevOps Tools for macOS
    You can install Homebrew with the following commands:. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • From Fresh Mac to Productive in 30 Minutes
    If you're on macOS and not using Homebrew, you're missing out. It's basically apt or yum for macOS. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Installing Apps with Homebrew on macOS 26 Tahoe
    Next, open your web browser and go to https://brew.sh/. Towards the top of the page, under Install Homebrew, copy the command and then paste it into the terminal and press enter. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: Who uses open LLMs and coding assistants locally? Share setup and laptop
    - [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) to install all the important system packages and stuff - IDE:. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Recall for Linux
    You can use homebrew or flatpak. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • How to Install and Configure the AWS CLI on Your Mac
    Visit the Homebrew homepage at https://brew.sh/ for the latest instructions. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • HomeBrew command Note
    Please refer to this link to install Homebrew. Just copy and paste the command into your terminal, and it will install automatically. You need to complete this step; otherwise, you wonโ€™t be able to use the brew command. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • GNU Midnight Commander
    Midnight Commander is available under Brew. https://brew.sh/ The command to install it is: brew install mc. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Getting Started with Redis: Installation Guide
    For macOS, the easiest way to install Redis is with a package manager called Homebrew. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Create robust CLI apps with Bashly
    If you're on MacOS, your Bash is probably "frozen" in version 3.2.57. Don't worry, a simple brew install bash can fix the problem (I'm assuming you have Homebrew installed). - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago

Summary of the public mentions of Homebrew

Homebrew is a prominent package manager prevalent among macOS and to a lesser degree, Linux users, renowned for its ability to ease the complexities of software management in the terminal landscape. Its primary allure is the simplification of the software installation process, as it seamlessly circumvents the need for manual downloads and compilations, resonating with both novice and seasoned developers.

Core Functionality and Popularity

Homebrew's burgeoning reputation in the developer world predominantly stems from its user-friendly approach to installing and managing command-line tools and applications. By facilitating hassle-free installations via simple terminal commands, Homebrew becomes indispensable for setting up development environments, as highlighted in numerous technical discussions and guides. Its functionality resembles package management systems found in Linux distributionsโ€”aptly compared to Ubuntu's Aptitudeโ€”providing a familiar backdrop for developers accustomed to those ecosystems.

A consistent theme in many technical tutorials is the recommendation to use Homebrew for setting up a variety of tools, including PostgreSQL, Docker, Node, Watchman, Maven, Rust, and even the AWS CLI. This underscores its entrenched position as the go-to package manager for macOS users, particularly developers. The consistent mention across a broad spectrum of programming-related activitiesโ€”from setting up development environments to managing version control toolsโ€”attests to its versatility and reliability.

Community Support and Financial Sustainability

The success of Homebrew isn't solely technological; it's also a testament to the community-driven efforts to sustain it financially. Like many open-source projects, Homebrew has effectively leveraged patronage programs to secure ongoing financial backing. This model not only sustains the existing infrastructure but also fuels future innovations within the project, making it a robust example of how open-source initiatives can thrive in a proprietary software world.

Comparisons and Alternatives

In the realm of package management, Homebrew faces competition from various tools such as Chocolatey for Windows, Scoop, and the likes of pacman in Arch-based Linux distributions, as well as NixOS with its unique declarative configuration capabilities. Despite this, Homebrew maintains its edge on macOS due to its deep integration and community support. While articles like "Top Homebrew Alternative: ServBay Becomes the Go-To for Developers" suggest emerging competitors, Homebrew's simplicity and functionality have, thus far, maintained its stronghold in the macOS development environment.

Critical Reception

The public opinion, as gauged from various posts and articles, remains largely positive, with users extolling its ease of use and integration into the macOS ecosystem. It is often cited in troubleshooting, installation guides, and how-to articles as an essential tool, implying a widespread trust in its capabilities.

In conclusion, Homebrew stands as a pillar in the macOS development community, celebrated for its simplicity, efficiency, and the robust ecosystem it nurtures. While alternatives exist, the ingrained habit and seamless experience it offers keep it at the forefront of developers' toolkits.

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Homebrew discussion

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  1. regal avatar
    regal
    ยท over 2 years ago
    ยท Reply

    Great for installing open-source apps on macOS

  2. Stan Bright avatar
    Stan Bright
    ยท over 2 years ago
    ยท Reply

    If you are a software engineer working on a mac - you can't get away from using Homebrew. And it just works.

  3. User avatar
    aishot
    ยท over 2 years ago
    ยท Reply

    This is the easiest package manager on Mac, been using it for years and love the simplicity or installing and uninstalling packages directly from the CLI

  4. User avatar
    Dream100-AI
    ยท over 2 years ago
    ยท Reply

    Missing packages

Is Homebrew good? This is an informative page that will help you find out. Moreover, you can review and discuss Homebrew here. The primary details have not been verified within the last quarter, and they might be outdated. If you think we are missing something, please use the means on this page to comment or suggest changes. All reviews and comments are highly encouranged and appreciated as they help everyone in the community to make an informed choice. Please always be kind and objective when evaluating a product and sharing your opinion.