Homebrew For macOS
Homebrew is a free and open-source package manager for macOS and Linux. It simplifies the installation of software by automating the process of downloading, configuring, and installing programs and tools from the command line. Homebrew is especially popular among developers and power users for managing tools and libraries that aren’t available in the Mac App Store or natively in macOS.
Key Features
- Install Software Easily: Homebrew allows you to install software by typing simple commands in the Terminal, such as
brew install [package_name]
.
- Wide Repository: Offers a large library of software, tools, and libraries that can be easily installed.
- Customizable: You can create and maintain your own formulas (recipes for installing software) if something is not already available.
- Dependency Management: Automatically handles dependencies, ensuring all required software or libraries are installed for a program to work.
- Frequent Updates: Keeps software up to date with simple commands like
brew update
and brew upgrade
.
Common Use Cases
- Installing command-line tools (e.g., Git, Node.js, Python, etc.).
- Setting up development environments.
- Installing open-source applications not available through traditional macOS means.
How to Install Homebrew
- Open the Terminal.
- Run the following command to install Homebrew:
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.
Basic Commands
- Install a package:
brew install [package_name]
- Search for a package:
brew search [package_name]
- Update Homebrew:
brew update
- Upgrade installed packages:
brew upgrade
- Uninstall a package:
brew uninstall [package_name]
Popular Software Available via Homebrew
- Development tools: Node.js, Python, Ruby, Git.
- Utilities: wget, htop, ffmpeg.
- Applications: VLC, Spotify (via Cask).