How to install and use Homebrew on macOS | DigitalOcean (2023)

Introduction

A command line interface is a non-graphical way of interacting with your computer. Instead of clicking buttons with a mouse, you enter commands as text and get text feedback. The command line, also known as a shell, allows you to automate many of the tasks you perform on your computer every day and is an indispensable tool for software developers.

Although the command-line interface on macOS has many of the same features you find on Linux and other Unix systems, it does not come withPackage Manager. A package manager is a set of software tools designed to automate the installation, configuration, and upgrade of software. Package managers keep the software they install in one central place and can manage all the software packages on the system in frequently used formats.

Home brewis a package manager for macOS that allows you to install free and open source software through your terminal. Use homebrew to install developer tools likePython,To rub,Node.js, and more.

In this tutorial, you will install and use Homebrew on your Mac. You install system tools and desktop applications using the command line interface.

requirements

You need a macOS computer running Catalina or later with administrator access and an Internet connection. Although older versions of macOS may work, they are not officially supported.

Step 1 - Using macOS Terminal

To access your Mac's command-line interface, use the Terminal application provided by macOS. Like any other app, you can find them by navigating through the Finderapplicationsfolder, and then uUtilitiesA binder. From here, double-click the Terminal app to open it. Alternatively, you can use Spotlight by holding the buttonCOMMANDPress and press the buttonSPACETo find Terminal, type it in the field that appears.

To become more familiar with using the command line, see [Introduction to the Linux Terminal] (https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/an-introduction-to-the-linux-terminal). The command line interface on macOS is very similar and the concepts in this guide are directly applicable.

Now that you have a terminal running, let's install some additional tools that Homebrew needs.

Xcode is an integrated development environment (IDE) consisting of software development tools for macOS. You don't need Xcode to use Homebrew, but some software and components you want to install rely on Xcode's suite of command-line tools.

Run the following command in Terminal to download and install these components:

xcode-select--Install

You will be prompted to start the installation and then again to accept the software license. The tools will then be downloaded and installed automatically.

Now you can install Homebrew.

Step 3 - Install and setup Homebrew

To install Homebrew, download the installation script and then run it.

First, download the script to your local computer by typing the following command in a terminal window:

Cuddle -fsSL -Öinstall.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh

The command usedCuddleto download the homebrew installation scriptHomebrew Git repozitorijon GitHub.

Let's go through the flags associated withCuddleCommand:

• -For--failThe flag tells the terminal window not to output an HTML document about server errors.
• The-Sor--moreThe flag is offCuddleso that the progress bar is not displayed and in combination with-Sor--show-errorFlag will take care of thatCuddledisplays an error message if this fails.
• The-Lor--Placethe flag will show itCuddleTo process redirects. If the server reports that the requested page has been moved to another location, it automatically re-executes the request using the new location.
• The-ÖThe switch specifies the local file name for the file. Instead of displaying content on the screen,-ÖThe switch saves the content to the file you specify.

Before you run a script that you downloaded from the Internet, you should examine its contents to know what the script will do. Use themnowCommand to view the installation script to understand what it will do:

nowinstalirati.sh

If you are familiar with the contents of the script, run it withstrikerCommand:

/bin/bash install.sh

The installation script explains what it will do and asks you to confirm that you want to do it. This allows you to know exactly what homebrew will do to your system before you run it. It also ensures that you have the prerequisites before moving forward.

During the process you will be asked to enter your password. However, when you type the password, your keystrokes will not appear in the terminal window. This is a security measure and is often seen when prompted for a password on the command line. Even if you can't see them, your keystrokes are recorded by the system. So, press the buttonRETURNAfter entering the password, press the button.

Press slovojfor "Yes" when prompted to confirm the installation.

After completing the installation process, you should place the directory where Homebrew stores its executables at the beginning of the directoryFARenvironment variable. This ensures that homebrew installations are called via the tools included with macOS.

Which file you change depends on the shell you are using. ZSH is the default shell on macOS Mojave and later. The Bash shell is a popular shell used by default by older versions of macOS. If you've upgraded your operating system, you may still be using bash.

Run the following command to detect your shell:

Go 0 $

You will see bothstrikerorzsh.

If you use ZSH, open the file~/.zshrcin your editor:

Nano~/.zshrc

If you are using the bash shell, use the file~/.bash_profile:

Nano~/.bash_profile

Once the file opens in a terminal window, add the following lines to the end of the file:

~/.zshrc

# Add the homebrew executable directory to the beginning of the PATHExport FAR=/usr/local/bin:$PATH

The first line is a comment to help you remember what this does when you open this file in the future.

To save changes, press and hold the buttonCTRLkey and letterÖ, and when prompted, press the keyRETURNButton. Then exit the editor by holding down the keyCTRLPress and press the buttonx. This will return you to the terminal prompt.

To activate these changes, close and reopen the Terminal app. Alternatively useTheyThe command to load the file you modified.

If you have changed.zshrc, run this command:

They~/.zshrc

If you have changed.bash_profile, run this command:

They~/.bash_profile

Once you've done this, you'll see the changes you've madeFARThe environment variable takes effect. These will be set correctly when you log in again in the future, since the configuration file for your shell will run automatically when you open the Terminal application.

Now let's check if Homebrew is installed correctly. Run this command:

beer doctor

If no updates are required at this time, this will be displayed on your terminal:

Exit
Your system is ready to cook.

Otherwise, you may be prompted to run another command, e.gBrew-Updateto ensure your homebrew installation is up to date. Follow any on-screen instructions to repair your environment before continuing.

Step 4 - Install, update and remove packages

Now that Homebrew is installed, you can use it to download packages. TheBaumThe command allows you to display the graphical directory tree and is available via homebrew.

InstallBaumsinstall beerCommand:

cookInstallBaum

Homebrew updates its list of packages and then downloads and installs themBaumCommand:

Exit
Homebrew update...==> https://homebrew.bintray.com/bottles/tree-1.8.0.catalina.bottle.tar.gz################### download ################################################# ## # ### 100.0%==> Pouring tree-1.8.0.catalina.bottle.tar.gz🍺 /usr/local/Cellar/tree/1.8.0: 8 files, 117.2 KB

Homebrew installs the files on the/usr/localby default so as not to interfere with future macOS updates. Check it outBaumis installed by showing the location of the sa commandwhoCommand:

whoBaum

The output shows thisBaumit's situated in/usr/local/bin:

Exit
/usr/local/bin/tree

Run itBaumCommand to show version:

Baum--Execution

The version will be printed on the screen indicating that it is installed:

Exit
Baum v1.8.0 (c) 1996. - 2018. von Steve Baker, Thomas Moore, Francesc Rocher, Florian Sesser, Kyosuke Tokoro

From time to time you will want to update an existing package. Use themBrüh-UpgradeThe command followed by the package name:

Brew-Upgrade-Baum

you can runBrüh-Upgradewithout additional arguments to update all programs and packages managed by Homebrew.

When you install a new version, Homebrew keeps the older version. After a while, you may want to reclaim disk space by removing those older copies. RunningBeer cleaningto remove all old versions of your homebrew managed software.

To remove a package you no longer use, useuninstall brew. I uninstall itBaumcommand, run this command:

brew uninstall tree

The output shows that the package has been removed:

Exit
Uninstall /usr/local/Cellar/tree/1.8.0... (8 files, 117.2 KB)

You can also use Homebrew to install desktop applications.

Step 5 - Install desktop applications

You are not limited to using homebrew command line tools.Homebrew-Fassallows installing desktop applications. This feature is included in Homebrew, so no additional installation is required.

Try it out using Homebrew to install Visual Studio Code. Run the following command in your terminal:

cookInstallVisual-Studio-Code

The app installs the following:

Exit
==> Download from https://update.code.visualstudio.com/1.58.2/darwin/stable==> Download from https://az764295.vo.msecnd.net/stable/c3f126316369cd610563c75b1b1725e0679adfb3/VSCode-darwin.zip #################################################### ### ## ################### 100.0 %==> Install Cask visual-studio-code==> Move "Visual Studio Code.app" app to "/ Applications/" . Visual Studio Code.app'==> Link binary 'code' to '/usr/local/bin/code'🍺 visual-studio-code installed successfully!

You can find the application in yourapplicationsfolder as if you installed it manually.

To remove, useuninstall brew:

brew deinstalira Visual Studio Code

Homebrew removes installed software:

Exit
==> Uninstall Cask visual-studio-code==> Security application "Visual Studio Code.app" in "/usr/local/Caskroom/visual-studio-code/1.58.2/Visual Studio Code.app" == > Remove application '/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app' ==> Unlink binary '/usr/local/bin/code' ==> Delete files for version 1.58.2 Cask Visual Studio Code

In case the removal fails, a backup is performed first. However, when the program is completely uninstalled, the backup will also be removed.

Step 6 - Uninstall Homebrew

If you no longer need Homebrew, you can use the uninstall script.

Also download the uninstall scriptCuddle:

Cuddle -fsSL -Öuninstall.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/uninstall.sh

As always, check the contents of the script usingnowCommand to check script content:

nowdeinstaliraj.sh

After reviewing the script, run it with-- Please helpCheck to see the different options you can use:

strikerdeinstaliraj.sh-- Please help

The options are displayed on the screen:

Exit
Homebrew UninstallerUsage: uninstall.sh [options] -p, --path=PATH Set the homebrew prefix. By default it is /usr/local. --skip-cache-and-logs Skips removing HOMEBREW_CACHE and HOMEBREW_LOGS. -f, --force Uninstall without prompting. -q, --quiet Suppress all output. -d, --dry-run Simulate an uninstall, but don't remove anything. -h, --help Display this message.

Use them-Dtick to see what the script will do:

strikerdeinstaliraj.sh-D

The script will list everything it will delete:

Exit
Warning: This script would remove: /Users/brianhogan/Library/Caches/Homebrew//Users/brianhogan/Library/Logs/Homebrew//usr/local/Caskroom//usr/local/Cellar//usr/local/bin / brew -> /usr/local/bin/brew==> Removing homebrew installation... It would delete:...

When you're ready to remove everything, run the script without tags:

strikerdeinstaliraj.sh

This will remove Homebrew and any programs installed with it.

Diploma

In this tutorial, you installed and used Homebrew on your Mac. Now you can use Homebrew to install command-line tools, programming languages, and other utilities you need for software development.

Homebrew offers many packages that you can install. To visitofficial listto search for your favorite programs.