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Homebrew

Homebrew is a package manager that helps users discover, install, update, and manage software, libraries, and command-line tools to keep their systems…

  • Tools & Utilities
Homebrew is a package manager that helps users discover, install, update, and manage software, libraries, and command-line tools to keep their systems organised and current.

Platform availability

Available on 0 of 6 install platforms

  • Unraid (not listed)
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox (not listed)
  • Helm (not listed)

Also on Docker Hub and GitHub

Health score

81/100 Excellent

Maintained
100last commit 7 days ago
Popular
9449,817 GitHub stars
Easy to install
250 install platforms, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
No data

Based on 3 of 4 factors.

How is this calculated?

A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

Availability: platform listings confirmed today

GitHub stars
49,817
Open issues
5
Last commit
2026-09-29
Latest release
7.0.7
License
BSD-2-Clause
Activity
declining

Checked 7 days ago - source: GitHub (Homebrew/brew)

Resources & Compatibility

ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.

Checked 7 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Install macOS Command Line Tools first Before installing some Homebrew packages, run `xcode-select --install` to get Apple's basic build tools for macOS. Without them, installs that need to build software may fail. source
  • Use a compiler when Homebrew asks If Homebrew says a compiler is missing, install Clang or run `brew install gcc`. These are programs that turn source code into usable software, and some packages need them. source
  • Pre-release macOS needs a different download If you are on a pre-release version of macOS, the usual `xcode-select --install` may not work, so download the Command Line Tools for Xcode from Apple instead. This avoids missing build tools that can block package installation. source

Fetched 6 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives

No alternatives collected yet.

Common questions

Where does Homebrew put installed formulae and does it write outside its prefix?

Homebrew installs each package into its own keg inside the Cellar, then symlinks its files into the prefix where Homebrew is installed. It will not install files outside its prefix.

What macOS build tools should I install before building some Homebrew packages?

Run xcode-select --install to get Apple's basic build tools before installing packages that need to build software. If you are on a pre-release macOS and xcode-select --install does not work, download the Command Line Tools for Xcode from Apple instead.

Is brew update-reset safe to run without checking my local changes?

It can destroy uncommitted and committed local changes in the repositories it touches. If you run brew update-reset without naming a repository, it resets Homebrew and every tap, so preserve your work first.

Answers sourced from brew.sh, docs.brew.sh, github.com

Community

Collected yesterday - public community threads