How to use homebrew on mac

文章目录

• • • [What is Homebrew?](#What is Homebrew?)
    • Prerequisites
    • Installation
    • [Basic Usage](#Basic Usage)

What is Homebrew?

Homebrew is a free and open-source package manager for macOS and Linux that simplifies installing software from the command line. It allows you to install, update, and manage thousands of packages (called "formulae" for command-line tools and "casks" for graphical apps) without needing to manually download and compile them.

Prerequisites

• macOS: Version 10.13 (High Sierra) or later. You'll need the Xcode Command Line Tools (installed automatically during Homebrew setup if missing).
• Linux: A compatible distribution (e.g., Ubuntu, Fedora). You'll need build tools like GCC.
• A terminal app (Terminal on macOS or your shell on Linux).
• Internet access for downloads.

Homebrew installs everything into its own directory (e.g., /opt/homebrew on Apple Silicon macOS or /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew on Linux) to avoid conflicting with system files.

Installation

To install Homebrew, open your terminal and run this command:

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

• The script will explain what it's doing and pause for confirmation.
• On macOS, it may prompt for your password and install Xcode Command Line Tools if needed.
• On Linux, ensure you have dependencies like git and curl installed first (e.g., via sudo apt update && sudo apt install build-essential procps curl file git on Ubuntu).
• After installation, add Homebrew to your PATH if prompted (e.g., by running the suggested echo commands).
• Verify installation: Run brew --version. It should output something like Homebrew 4.x.x.

If you're on macOS and prefer a graphical installer, download the .pkg from Homebrew's latest GitHub releases.

Basic Usage

Once installed, use Homebrew via the brew command in your terminal. Here's a table of common commands:

Command	Description	Example
brew search <term>	Search for available packages (formulae or casks).	brew search wget (searches for the wget tool)
brew install <formula>	Install a command-line package (formula).	brew install wget (installs the wget download tool)
brew install --cask <cask>	Install a graphical app (cask), like browsers or editors.	brew install --cask firefox (installs Firefox)
brew update	Update Homebrew's list of available packages.	brew update (fetches the latest formulae)
brew upgrade	Upgrade all installed packages to their latest versions.	brew upgrade (or brew upgrade wget for a specific one)
brew uninstall <formula>	Remove a package.	brew uninstall wget
brew list	List all installed packages.	brew list
brew info <formula>	Get details about a package.	brew info wget (shows version, dependencies, etc.)
brew doctor	Check for common issues and get troubleshooting advice.	brew doctor (run this if something goes wrong)
brew cleanup	Remove old versions and cache files to free up space.	brew cleanup

• Tips :
  • Run brew update && brew upgrade regularly to keep everything current.
  • For custom or advanced usage, you can create or edit formulae (e.g., brew create https://example.com/package.tar.gz or brew edit wget).
  • Homebrew Cask handles apps like Visual Studio Code or Google Chrome---search with brew search --casks <term>.
  • If you encounter permissions issues, avoid using sudo with brew; instead, fix ownership with sudo chown -R $(whoami) /opt/homebrew (on macOS).
  • Uninstall Homebrew if needed: Run /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/uninstall.sh)".

For more details, check the official documentation with brew help or visit the Homebrew docs online.