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Homebrew is the easiest and most flexible way to install the UNIX tools Apple didn’t include with OS X.

The installation instructions will get you started.

After that, learn more with brew help, man brew or the FAQ.

Note that version is not 1.0 yet. We may break some stuff and some things may be less than perfect. However generally it works great, we’re just setting your expectations a bit lower so you don’t troll us. Thanks.

Important Considerations

• Homebrew doesn’t install gems, eggs, etc. If you want them, read: Gems, Eggs and Perl Modules
• Homebrew doesn’t install most “dupes” (programs of which some version already ships with OS X), though we do package them separately in Homebrew/homebrew-dupes. These can be easily browsed and installed through the brew tap tool, which lets you tap into external repositories.

Reporting Bugs

Your issue may be known or have a common solution. Please check here before filing a report. Otherwise, please report bugs to our tracker. Filing amazingly useful bug reports is a skill we should all have, so why not read Alan McRae’s: “How To File A Bug Report”.

Contributing/Revising Formula

Contributing to Homebrew is easy and encouraged!

1. fork Homebrew
2. brew create http://example.com/foo-0.1.tar.gz
3. git commit Library/Formula/foo.rb
4. git push
5. and then open a pull request.

Having said this, please read the Formula Cookbook before you send the pull request…or kittens may die¹.

If Homebrew doesn’t have the version of the tool you need, brew edit foo and fix it yourself!

¹ This statement is an empty threat. Homebrew neither engages in nor condones the killing of kittens.

Arenas for Discussion

IRC (irc://irc.freenode.net/#machomebrew)
Mailing List ([email protected])
Twitter (http://twitter.com/machomebrew)

News

• Homebrew 0.9 brew-tap lands.
• Homebrew 0.8 has been released, including the “refactor” branch and some improved support for Fortran-based software.