Use Homebrew on Mac to Make Installing and Updating Apps Much Easier
If you spend time searching for Mac software outside of the Mac App Store, you’ll likely see references to “Homebrew.” It is often referred to as an alternative way to install applications, sometimes on websites, but especially on Github. This is a tool that most experienced Mac users install right away, and it’s actually not that difficult to use.
The problem with installing applications on a Mac is that finding and installing such software can take a long time. You need to find the app’s website, download the DMG, mount it, and drag the icon to the Applications section. Some apps force you to do this again every time an update comes out. Not with Homebrew – once you have this setup, installing the software is as easy as typing three words into the terminal: brew install followed by the name of the application; for example brew install firefox . Press Enter and Homebrew will find the latest version of Firefox and install it for you. You can even install multiple apps at once this way: just add more app names at the end of the command.
Anyone with Linux experience will recognize this as the “package manager” that virtually all Linux-based operating systems use to install and manage software; Homebrew is built from the ground up to be a package manager for the Mac.
Setting up and getting started
Installing Homebrew on your new Mac is easy: just go to Brew.sh , Homebrew’s home page. There you will find a command that you can copy into your terminal to install Homebrew. (I’m intentionally not posting the command here in case it changes—you’re much better off getting the command directly from the source.) The software does a good job of explaining everything it’s up to every step of the way, so be careful. be sure to pay attention.
After this you can use the software. One of the first things I usually install is wget , a command line application for downloading files that Apple inexplicably didn’t include in macOS. To install the application, I just need to type brew install wget ; Homebrew does the rest: the associated software is downloaded and installed, and I can start using it right away.
Not sure if Homebrew offers this app? You can find it using brew search . Just search for what you need and you will get the package name. Otherwise, you can search for Homebrew software in the website directory , which some users may find a little easier.
Once you start using Homebrew, here are a few more commands worth knowing: The brew remove command can remove everything you’ve installed using Homebrew. The brew update command can check for updates, and brew upgrade will install all updates.
Of course, this is a very simple look at Homebrew. There’s a lot more to this software and I highly recommend digging into the documentation if you’re interested. This is one of those apps that you get used to and wonder how you ever lived without it.