Homebrew — The Missing Package Manager for macOS

Overview

Homebrew is the most popular package manager for macOS, used by developers and IT admins to install, update, and manage command-line tools and desktop applications.

Installation

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Essential Commands

Installing Packages

# Install a CLI tool
brew install git

# Install a macOS app (cask)
brew install --cask visual-studio-code

# Update all packages
brew upgrade

# Check for issues
brew doctor

Using a Brewfile

The Brewfile is a reproducible list of packages to install on a new Mac. Ideal for onboarding or restoring a developer environment after a wipe.

# Dump current packages to Brewfile
brew bundle dump

# Restore from Brewfile
brew bundle install

Enterprise Considerations

For managed Macs, consider using a bootstrap script deployed via Jamf to install Homebrew and a predefined Brewfile during device enrolment. Use the NONINTERACTIVE=1 environment variable to suppress prompts in scripts.