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/Homebrew

brew(1) – The missing package manager for macOS

SYNOPSIS

brew --version
brew command [--verbose|-v] [options] [formula] …

DESCRIPTION

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

ESSENTIAL COMMANDS

For the full command list, see the COMMANDS section.

With --verbose or -v, many commands print extra debugging information. Note that these flags should only appear after a command.

  • install formula: Install formula.

  • uninstall formula: Uninstall formula.

  • update: Fetch the newest version of Homebrew from GitHub using git(1).

  • list: List all installed formulae.

  • search (text|/text/): Perform a substring search of formula names for text. If text is surrounded with slashes, then it is interpreted as a regular expression. The search for text is extended online to some popular taps. If no search term is given, all locally available formulae are listed.

COMMANDS

  • analytics [state]: Display anonymous user behaviour analytics state. Read more at https://docs.brew.sh/Analytics.

  • analytics (on|off): Turn on/off Homebrew’s analytics.

  • analytics regenerate-uuid: Regenerate UUID used in Homebrew’s analytics.

  • cat formula: Display the source to formula.

  • cleanup [--prune=days] [--dry-run] [-s] [formulae|casks]: Remove stale lock files and outdated downloads for formulae and casks, and remove old versions of installed formulae. If arguments are specified, only do this for the specified formulae and casks.

    If --prune=days is specified, remove all cache files older than days.

    If --dry-run or -n is passed, show what would be removed, but do not actually remove anything.

    If -s is passed, scrub the cache, including downloads for even the latest versions. Note downloads for any installed formula or cask will still not be deleted. If you want to delete those too: rm -rf "$(brew --cache)"

  • command cmd: Display the path to the file which is used when invoking brew cmd.

  • commands [--quiet [--include-aliases]]: Show a list of built-in and external commands.

    If --quiet is passed, list only the names of commands without the header. With --include-aliases, the aliases of internal commands will be included.

  • config: Show Homebrew and system configuration useful for debugging. If you file a bug report, you will likely be asked for this information if you do not provide it.

  • deps [--1] [-n] [--union] [--full-name] [--installed] [--include-build] [--include-optional] [--skip-recommended] [--include-requirements] formulae: Show dependencies for formulae. When given multiple formula arguments, show the intersection of dependencies for formulae.

    If --1 is passed, only show dependencies one level down, instead of recursing.

    If -n is passed, show dependencies in topological order.

    If --union is passed, show the union of dependencies for formulae, instead of the intersection.

    If --full-name is passed, list dependencies by their full name.

    If --installed is passed, only list those dependencies that are currently installed.

    By default, deps shows required and recommended dependencies for formulae. To include the :build type dependencies, pass --include-build. Similarly, pass --include-optional to include :optional dependencies or --include-test to include (non-recursive) :test dependencies. To skip :recommended type dependencies, pass --skip-recommended. To include requirements in addition to dependencies, pass --include-requirements.

  • deps --tree [--1] [filters] [--annotate] (formulae|--installed): Show dependencies as a tree. When given multiple formula arguments, output individual trees for every formula.

    If --1 is passed, only one level of children is displayed.

    If --installed is passed, output a tree for every installed formula.

    The filters placeholder is any combination of options --include-build, --include-optional, --include-test, --skip-recommended, and --include-requirements as documented above.

    If --annotate is passed, the build, optional, and recommended dependencies are marked as such in the output.

  • deps [filters] (--installed|--all): Show dependencies for installed or all available formulae. Every line of output starts with the formula name, followed by a colon and all direct dependencies of that formula.

    The filters placeholder is any combination of options --include-build, --include-optional, --include-test, and --skip-recommended as documented above.

  • desc formula: Display formula’s name and one-line description.

  • desc [--search|--name|--description] (text|/text/): Search both name and description (--search or -s), just the names (--name or -n), or just the descriptions (--description or -d) for text. If text is flanked by slashes, it is interpreted as a regular expression. Formula descriptions are cached; the cache is created on the first search, making that search slower than subsequent ones.

  • diy [--name=name] [--version=version]: Automatically determine the installation prefix for non-Homebrew software.

    Using the output from this command, you can install your own software into the Cellar and then link it into Homebrew’s prefix with brew link.

    The options --name=name and --version=version each take an argument and allow you to explicitly set the name and version of the package you are installing.

  • doctor: Check your system for potential problems. Doctor exits with a non-zero status if any potential problems are found. Please note that these warnings are just used to help the Homebrew maintainers with debugging if you file an issue. If everything you use Homebrew for is working fine: please don’t worry or file an issue; just ignore this.

  • fetch [--force] [--retry] [-v] [--devel|--HEAD] [--deps] [--build-from-source|--force-bottle] formulae: Download the source packages for the given formulae. For tarballs, also print SHA-256 checksums.

    If --HEAD or --devel is passed, fetch that version instead of the stable version.

    If -v is passed, do a verbose VCS checkout, if the URL represents a VCS. This is useful for seeing if an existing VCS cache has been updated.

    If --force (or -f) is passed, remove a previously cached version and re-fetch.

    If --retry is passed, retry if a download fails or re-download if the checksum of a previously cached version no longer matches.

    If --deps is passed, also download dependencies for any listed formulae.

    If --build-from-source (or -s) is passed, download the source rather than a bottle.

    If --force-bottle is passed, download a bottle if it exists for the current or newest version of macOS, even if it would not be used during installation.

  • gist-logs [--new-issue|-n] [--private|-p] formula: Upload logs for a failed build of formula to a new Gist.

    formula is usually the name of the formula to install, but it can be specified in several different ways. See SPECIFYING FORMULAE.

    If --with-hostname is passed, include the hostname in the Gist.

    If --new-issue is passed, automatically create a new issue in the appropriate GitHub repository as well as creating the Gist.

    If --private is passed, the Gist will be marked private and will not appear in listings but will be accessible with the link.

    If no logs are found, an error message is presented.

  • home: Open Homebrew’s own homepage in a browser.

  • home formula: Open formula’s homepage in a browser.

  • info: Display brief statistics for your Homebrew installation.

  • info --analytics [--days=days] [--category=category]: Display Homebrew analytics data (provided neither HOMEBREW_NO_ANALYTICS or HOMEBREW_NO_GITHUB_API are set)

    The value for days must be 30, 90 or 365. The default is 30.

    The value for category must be install, install-on-request, build-error or os-version. The default is install.

  • info formula [--analytics]: Display information about formula and analytics data (provided neither HOMEBREW_NO_ANALYTICS or HOMEBREW_NO_GITHUB_API are set)

    Pass --verbose to see more verbose analytics data.

    Pass --analytics to see only more verbose analytics data instead of formula information.

  • info --github formula: Open a browser to the GitHub History page for formula.

    To view formula history locally: brew log -p formula

  • info --json=version (--all|--installed|formulae): Print a JSON representation of formulae. Currently the only accepted value for version is v1.

    Pass --all to get information on all formulae, or --installed to get information on all installed formulae.

    See the docs for examples of using the JSON output: https://docs.brew.sh/Querying-Brew

  • install [--debug] [--env=(std|super)] [--ignore-dependencies|--only-dependencies] [--cc=compiler] [--build-from-source|--force-bottle] [--include-test] [--devel|--HEAD] [--keep-tmp] [--build-bottle] [--force] [--verbose] [--display-times] formula [options …]: Install formula.

    formula is usually the name of the formula to install, but it can be specified in several different ways. See SPECIFYING FORMULAE.

    If --debug (or -d) is passed and brewing fails, open an interactive debugging session with access to IRB or a shell inside the temporary build directory.

    If --env=std is passed, use the standard build environment instead of superenv.

    If --env=super is passed, use superenv even if the formula specifies the standard build environment.

    If --ignore-dependencies is passed, skip installing any dependencies of any kind. If they are not already present, the formula will probably fail to install.

    If --only-dependencies is passed, install the dependencies with specified options but do not install the specified formula.

    If --cc=compiler is passed, attempt to compile using compiler. compiler should be the name of the compiler’s executable, for instance gcc-8 for gcc 8, gcc-4.2 for Apple’s GCC 4.2, or gcc-4.9 for a Homebrew-provided GCC 4.9. In order to use LLVM’s clang, use llvm_clang. To specify the Apple-provided clang, use clang. This parameter will only accept compilers that are provided by Homebrew or bundled with macOS. Please do not file issues if you encounter errors while using this flag.

    If --build-from-source (or -s) is passed, compile the specified formula from source even if a bottle is provided. Dependencies will still be installed from bottles if they are available.

    If HOMEBREW_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE is set, regardless of whether --build-from-source was passed, then both formula and the dependencies installed as part of this process are built from source even if bottles are available.

    If --force-bottle is passed, install from a bottle if it exists for the current or newest version of macOS, even if it would not normally be used for installation.

    If --include-test is passed, install testing dependencies. These are only needed by formulae maintainers to run brew test.

    If --devel is passed, and formula defines it, install the development version.

    If --HEAD is passed, and formula defines it, install the HEAD version, aka master, trunk, unstable.

    If --keep-tmp is passed, the temporary files created during installation are not deleted.

    If --build-bottle is passed, prepare the formula for eventual bottling during installation.

    If --force (or -f) is passed, install without checking for previously installed keg-only or non-migrated versions

    If --verbose (or -v) is passed, print the verification and postinstall steps.

    If --display-times is passed, install times for each formula are printed at the end of the run.

    Installation options specific to formula may be appended to the command, and can be listed with brew options formula.

  • install --interactive [--git] formula: If --interactive (or -i) is passed, download and patch formula, then open a shell. This allows the user to run ./configure --help and otherwise determine how to turn the software package into a Homebrew formula.

    If --git (or -g) is passed, Homebrew will create a Git repository, useful for creating patches to the software.

  • leaves: Show installed formulae that are not dependencies of another installed formula.

  • ln, link [--overwrite] [--dry-run] [--force] formula: Symlink all of formula’s installed files into the Homebrew prefix. This is done automatically when you install formulae but can be useful for DIY installations.

    If --overwrite is passed, Homebrew will delete files which already exist in the prefix while linking.

    If --dry-run or -n is passed, Homebrew will list all files which would be linked or which would be deleted by brew link --overwrite, but will not actually link or delete any files.

    If --force (or -f) is passed, Homebrew will allow keg-only formulae to be linked.

  • list, ls [--full-name] [-1] [-l] [-t] [-r]: List all installed formulae. If --full-name is passed, print formulae with fully-qualified names. If --full-name is not passed, other options (i.e. -1, -l, -t and -r) are passed to ls which produces the actual output.

  • list, ls --unbrewed: List all files in the Homebrew prefix not installed by Homebrew.

  • list, ls [--verbose] [--versions [--multiple]] [--pinned] [formulae]: List the installed files for formulae. Combined with --verbose, recursively list the contents of all subdirectories in each formula’s keg.

    If --versions is passed, show the version number for installed formulae, or only the specified formulae if formulae are given. With --multiple, only show formulae with multiple versions installed.

    If --pinned is passed, show the versions of pinned formulae, or only the specified (pinned) formulae if formulae are given. See also pin, unpin.

  • log [git-log-options] formula …: Show the git log for the given formulae. Options that git-log(1) recognizes can be passed before the formula list.

  • migrate [--force] formulae: Migrate renamed packages to new name, where formulae are old names of packages.

    If --force (or -f) is passed, then treat installed formulae and passed formulae like if they are from same taps and migrate them anyway.

  • missing [--hide=hidden] [formulae]: Check the given formulae for missing dependencies. If no formulae are given, check all installed brews.

    If --hide=hidden is passed, act as if none of hidden are installed. hidden should be a comma-separated list of formulae.

    missing exits with a non-zero status if any formulae are missing dependencies.

  • options [--compact] (--all|--installed|formulae): Display install options specific to formulae.

    If --compact is passed, show all options on a single line separated by spaces.

    If --all is passed, show options for all formulae.

    If --installed is passed, show options for all installed formulae.

  • outdated [--quiet|--verbose|--json=version] [--fetch-HEAD]: Show formulae that have an updated version available.

    By default, version information is displayed in interactive shells, and suppressed otherwise.

    If --quiet is passed, list only the names of outdated brews (takes precedence over --verbose).

    If --verbose (or -v) is passed, display detailed version information.

    If --json=version is passed, the output will be in JSON format. Currently the only accepted value for version is v1.

    If --fetch-HEAD is passed, fetch the upstream repository to detect if the HEAD installation of the formula is outdated. Otherwise, the repository’s HEAD will be checked for updates when a new stable or devel version has been released.

  • pin formulae: Pin the specified formulae, preventing them from being upgraded when issuing the brew upgrade formulae command. See also unpin.

  • postinstall formula: Rerun the post-install steps for formula.

  • prune [--dry-run]: Remove dead symlinks from the Homebrew prefix. This is generally not needed, but can be useful when doing DIY installations.

    If --dry-run or -n is passed, show what would be removed, but do not actually remove anything.

  • readall [--aliases] [--syntax] [taps]: Import all formulae from specified taps (defaults to all installed taps).

    This can be useful for debugging issues across all formulae when making significant changes to formula.rb, testing the performance of loading all formulae or to determine if any current formulae have Ruby issues.

    If --aliases is passed, also verify any alias symlinks in each tap.

    If --syntax is passed, also syntax-check all of Homebrew’s Ruby files.

  • reinstall [--display-times] formula: Uninstall and then install formula (with existing install options).

    If --display-times is passed, install times for each formula are printed at the end of the run.

  • search, -S: Display all locally available formulae (including tapped ones). No online search is performed.

  • search --casks: Display all locally available casks (including tapped ones). No online search is performed.

  • search [--desc] (text|/text/): Perform a substring search of cask tokens and formula names for text. If text is surrounded with slashes, then it is interpreted as a regular expression. The search for text is extended online to official taps.

    If --desc is passed, search formulae with a description matching text and casks with a name matching text.

  • search (--debian|--fedora|--fink|--macports|--opensuse|--ubuntu) text: Search for text in the given package manager’s list.

  • sh [--env=std]: Start a Homebrew build environment shell. Uses our years-battle-hardened Homebrew build logic to help your ./configure && make && make install or even your gem install succeed. Especially handy if you run Homebrew in an Xcode-only configuration since it adds tools like make to your PATH which otherwise build systems would not find.

    If --env=std is passed, use the standard PATH instead of superenv’s.

  • shellenv: Prints export statements - run them in a shell and this installation of Homebrew will be included into your PATH, MANPATH, and INFOPATH.

    HOMEBREW_PREFIX, HOMEBREW_CELLAR and HOMEBREW_REPOSITORY are also exported to save multiple queries of those variables.

    Consider adding evaluating the output in your dotfiles (e.g. ~/.profile) with eval $(brew shellenv)

  • style [--fix] [--display-cop-names] [--only-cops=cops|--except-cops=cops] [files|taps|formulae]: Check formulae or files for conformance to Homebrew style guidelines.

    Lists of files, taps and formulae may not be combined. If none are provided, style will run style checks on the whole Homebrew library, including core code and all formulae.

    If --fix is passed, automatically fix style violations using RuboCop’s auto-correct feature.

    If --display-cop-names is passed, include the RuboCop cop name for each violation in the output.

    Passing --only-cops=cops will check for violations of only the listed RuboCop cops, while --except-cops=cops will skip checking the listed cops. For either option cops should be a comma-separated list of cop names.

    Exits with a non-zero status if any style violations are found.

  • switch formula version: Symlink all of the specific version of formula’s install to Homebrew prefix.

  • tap: List all installed taps.

  • tap [--full] [--force-auto-update] user/repo [URL]: Tap a formula repository.

    With URL unspecified, taps a formula repository from GitHub using HTTPS. Since so many taps are hosted on GitHub, this command is a shortcut for brew tap user/repo https://github.com/user/homebrew-repo.

    With URL specified, taps a formula repository from anywhere, using any transport protocol that git handles. The one-argument form of tap simplifies but also limits. This two-argument command makes no assumptions, so taps can be cloned from places other than GitHub and using protocols other than HTTPS, e.g., SSH, GIT, HTTP, FTP(S), RSYNC.

    By default, the repository is cloned as a shallow copy (--depth=1), but if --full is passed, a full clone will be used. To convert a shallow copy to a full copy, you can retap passing --full without first untapping.

    By default, only taps hosted on GitHub are auto-updated (for performance reasons). If --force-auto-update is passed, this tap will be auto-updated even if it is not hosted on GitHub.

    tap is re-runnable and exits successfully if there’s nothing to do. However, retapping with a different URL will cause an exception, so first untap if you need to modify the URL.

  • tap --repair: Migrate tapped formulae from symlink-based to directory-based structure.

  • tap --list-pinned: List all pinned taps.

  • tap-info: Display a brief summary of all installed taps.

  • tap-info (--installed|taps): Display detailed information about one or more taps.

    Pass --installed to display information on all installed taps.

  • tap-info --json=version (--installed|taps): Print a JSON representation of taps. Currently the only accepted value for version is v1.

    Pass --installed to get information on installed taps.

    See the docs for examples of using the JSON output: https://docs.brew.sh/Querying-Brew

  • tap-pin tap: Pin tap, prioritizing its formulae over core when formula names are supplied by the user. See also tap-unpin.

  • tap-unpin tap: Unpin tap so its formulae are no longer prioritized. See also tap-pin.

  • uninstall, rm, remove [--force] [--ignore-dependencies] formula: Uninstall formula.

    If --force (or -f) is passed, and there are multiple versions of formula installed, delete all installed versions.

    If --ignore-dependencies is passed, uninstalling won’t fail, even if formulae depending on formula would still be installed.

  • unlink [--dry-run] formula: Remove symlinks for formula from the Homebrew prefix. This can be useful for temporarily disabling a formula: brew unlink formula && commands && brew link formula

    If --dry-run or -n is passed, Homebrew will list all files which would be unlinked, but will not actually unlink or delete any files.

  • unpack [--git|--patch] [--destdir=path] formulae: Unpack the source files for formulae into subdirectories of the current working directory. If --destdir=path is given, the subdirectories will be created in the directory named by path instead.

    If --patch is passed, patches for formulae will be applied to the unpacked source.

    If --git (or -g) is passed, a Git repository will be initialized in the unpacked source. This is useful for creating patches for the software.

  • unpin formulae: Unpin formulae, allowing them to be upgraded by brew upgrade formulae. See also pin.

  • untap tap: Remove a tapped repository.

  • update [--merge] [--force]: Fetch the newest version of Homebrew and all formulae from GitHub using git(1) and perform any necessary migrations.

    If --merge is specified then git merge is used to include updates (rather than git rebase).

    If --force (or -f) is specified then always do a slower, full update check even if unnecessary.

  • update-reset [repositories]: Fetches and resets Homebrew and all tap repositories (or the specified repositories) using git(1) to their latest origin/master. Note this will destroy all your uncommitted or committed changes.

  • upgrade [install-options] [--cleanup] [--fetch-HEAD] [--ignore-pinned] [--display-times] [formulae]: Upgrade outdated, unpinned brews (with existing install options).

    Options for the install command are also valid here.

    If --cleanup is specified or HOMEBREW_UPGRADE_CLEANUP is set then remove previously installed version(s) of upgraded formulae.

    If --fetch-HEAD is passed, fetch the upstream repository to detect if the HEAD installation of the formula is outdated. Otherwise, the repository’s HEAD will be checked for updates when a new stable or devel version has been released.

    If --ignore-pinned is passed, set a 0 exit code even if pinned formulae are not upgraded.

    If --display-times is passed, install times for each formula are printed at the end of the run.

    If formulae are given, upgrade only the specified brews (unless they are pinned; see pin, unpin).

  • uses [--installed] [--recursive] [--include-build] [--include-test] [--include-optional] [--skip-recommended] [--devel|--HEAD] formulae: Show the formulae that specify formulae as a dependency. When given multiple formula arguments, show the intersection of formulae that use formulae.

    Use --recursive to resolve more than one level of dependencies.

    If --installed is passed, only list installed formulae.

    By default, uses shows all formulae that specify formulae as a required or recommended dependency. To include the :build type dependencies, pass --include-build, to include the :test type dependencies, pass --include-test and to include :optional dependencies pass --include-optional. To skip :recommended type dependencies, pass --skip-recommended.

    By default, uses shows usage of formulae by stable builds. To find cases where formulae is used by development or HEAD build, pass --devel or --HEAD.

  • --cache: Display Homebrew’s download cache. See also HOMEBREW_CACHE.

  • --cache [--build-from-source|-s] [--force-bottle] formula: Display the file or directory used to cache formula.

  • --cellar: Display Homebrew’s Cellar path. Default: $(brew --prefix)/Cellar, or if that directory doesn’t exist, $(brew --repository)/Cellar.

  • --cellar formula: Display the location in the cellar where formula would be installed, without any sort of versioned directory as the last path.

  • --env [--shell=(shell|auto)|--plain]: Show a summary of the Homebrew build environment as a plain list.

    Pass --shell=shell to generate a list of environment variables for the specified shell, or --shell=auto to detect the current shell.

    If the command’s output is sent through a pipe and no shell is specified, the list is formatted for export to bash(1) unless --plain is passed.

  • --prefix: Display Homebrew’s install path. Default: /usr/local on macOS and /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew on Linux

  • --prefix formula: Display the location in the cellar where formula is or would be installed.

  • --repository: Display where Homebrew’s .git directory is located.

  • --repository user/repo: Display where tap user/repo’s directory is located.

  • --version: Print the version number of Homebrew to standard output and exit.

DEVELOPER COMMANDS

audit [options] formulae

Check formulae for Homebrew coding style violations. This should be run before submitting a new formula. Will exit with a non-zero status if any errors are found, which can be useful for implementing pre-commit hooks. If no formulae are provided, all of them are checked.

  • --strict: Run additional style checks, including RuboCop style checks.
  • --online: Run additional slower style checks that require a network connection.
  • --new-formula: Run various additional style checks to determine if a new formula is eligible for Homebrew. This should be used when creating new formula and implies --strict and --online.
  • --fix: Fix style violations automatically using RuboCop’s auto-correct feature.
  • --display-cop-names: Include the RuboCop cop name for each violation in the output.
  • --display-filename: Prefix every line of output with name of the file or formula being audited, to make output easy to grep.
  • -D, --audit-debug: Enable debugging and profiling of audit methods.
  • --only: Specify a comma-separated method list to only run the methods named audit_method.
  • --except: Specify a comma-separated method list to skip running the methods named audit_method.
  • --only-cops: Specify a comma-separated cops list to check for violations of only the listed RuboCop cops.
  • --except-cops: Specify a comma-separated cops list to skip checking for violations of the listed RuboCop cops.

bottle [options] formulae

Generate a bottle (binary package) from a formula that was installed with --build-bottle. If the formula specifies a rebuild version, it will be incremented in the generated DSL. Passing --keep-old will attempt to keep it at its original value, while --no-rebuild will remove it.

  • --skip-relocation: Do not check if the bottle can be marked as relocatable.
  • --or-later: Append _or_later to the bottle tag.
  • --force-core-tap: Build a bottle even if formula is not in homebrew/core or any installed taps.
  • --no-rebuild: If the formula specifies a rebuild version, remove it from the generated DSL.
  • --keep-old: If the formula specifies a rebuild version, attempt to preserve its value in the generated DSL.
  • --json: Write bottle information to a JSON file, which can be used as the argument for --merge.
  • --merge: Generate an updated bottle block for a formula and optionally merge it into the formula file. Instead of a formula name, requires a JSON file generated with brew bottle --json formula.
  • --write: Write the changes to the formula file. A new commit will be generated unless --no-commit is passed.
  • --no-commit: When passed with --write, a new commit will not generated after writing changes to the formula file.
  • --root-url: Use the specified URL as the root of the bottle’s URL instead of Homebrew’s default.

bump-formula-pr [options] [formula]

Create a pull request to update a formula with a new URL or a new tag.

If a URL is specified, the SHA-256 checksum of the new download should also be specified. A best effort to determine the SHA-256 and formula name will be made if either or both values are not supplied by the user.

If a tag is specified, the Git commit revision corresponding to that tag must also be specified.

Note: this command cannot be used to transition a formula from a URL-and-SHA-256 style specification into a tag-and-revision style specification, nor vice versa. It must use whichever style specification the preexisting formula already uses.

  • --devel: Bump the development rather than stable version. The development spec must already exist.
  • -n, --dry-run: Print what would be done rather than doing it.
  • --write: When passed along with --dry-run, perform a not-so-dry run by making the expected file modifications but not taking any Git actions.
  • --no-audit: Don’t run brew audit before opening the PR.
  • --strict: Run brew audit --strict before opening the PR.
  • --no-browse: Print the pull request URL instead of opening in a browser.
  • --mirror: Use the provided URL as a mirror URL.
  • --version: Use the provided version to override the value parsed from the URL or tag. Note that --version=0 can be used to delete an existing version override from a formula if it has become redundant.
  • --message: Append the provided message to the default PR message.
  • --url: Specify the URL for the new download. If a URL is specified, the SHA-256 checksum of the new download should also be specified.
  • --sha256: Specify the SHA-256 checksum of the new download.
  • --tag: Specify the new git commit tag for the formula.
  • --revision: Specify the new git commit revision corresponding to a specified tag.

create [options] URL

Generate a formula for the downloadable file at URL and open it in the editor. Homebrew will attempt to automatically derive the formula name and version, but if it fails, you’ll have to make your own template. The wget formula serves as a simple example. For the complete API, see: http://www.rubydoc.info/github/Homebrew/brew/master/Formula

  • --autotools: Create a basic template for an Autotools-style build.
  • --cmake: Create a basic template for a CMake-style build.
  • --meson: Create a basic template for a Meson-style build.
  • --no-fetch: Homebrew will not download URL to the cache and will thus not add the SHA-256 to the formula for you, nor will it check the GitHub API for GitHub projects (to fill out its description and homepage).
  • --HEAD: Indicate that URL points to the package’s repository rather than a file.
  • --set-name: Set the name of the new formula to the provided name.
  • --set-version: Set the version of the new formula to the provided version.
  • --tap: Generate the new formula in the provided tap, specified as user/repo.

edit [formulae]

Open a formula in the editor set by EDITOR or HOMEBREW_EDITOR, or open the Homebrew repository for editing if no formula is provided.

extract [options] formula tap

Look through repository history to find the most recent version of formula and create a copy in tap/Formula/formula@version.rb. If the tap is not installed yet, attempt to install/clone the tap before continuing.

  • --version: Extract the provided version of formula instead of the most recent.

formula formulae

Display the path where a formula is located.

irb [options]

Enter the interactive Homebrew Ruby shell.

  • --examples: Show several examples.
  • --pry: Use Pry instead of IRB. Implied if HOMEBREW_PRY is set.

linkage [options] [formulae]

Check the library links for kegs of installed formulae. Raises an error if run on uninstalled formulae.

  • --test: Display only missing libraries and exit with a non-zero status if any missing libraries are found.
  • --reverse: For every library that a keg references, print its dylib path followed by the binaries that link to it.
  • --cached: Print the cached linkage values stored in HOMEBREW_CACHE, set by a previous brew linkage run.

man [options]

Generate Homebrew’s manpages.

  • --fail-if-changed: Return a failing status code if changes are detected in the manpage outputs. This can be used for CI to be notified when the manpages are out of date. Additionally, the date used in new manpages will match those in the existing manpages (to allow comparison without factoring in the date).
  • --link: This is now done automatically by brew update.

mirror formulae

Reuploads the stable URL for a formula to Bintray to use it as a mirror.

prof [ruby options]

Run Homebrew with the Ruby profiler.

Example: brew prof readall

pull [options] patch sources

Get a patch from a GitHub commit or pull request and apply it to Homebrew. Optionally, publish updated bottles for the formulae changed by the patch.

Each patch source may be one of:

~ The ID number of a PR (pull request) in the homebrew/core GitHub repository

~ The URL of a PR on GitHub, using either the web page or API URL formats. In this form, the PR may be on Homebrew/brew, Homebrew/homebrew-core or any tap.

~ The URL of a commit on GitHub

~ A “https://jenkins.brew.sh/job/…” string specifying a testing job ID

  • --bottle: Handle bottles, pulling the bottle-update commit and publishing files on Bintray.
  • --bump: For one-formula PRs, automatically reword commit message to our preferred format.
  • --clean: Do not rewrite or otherwise modify the commits found in the pulled PR.
  • --ignore-whitespace: Silently ignore whitespace discrepancies when applying diffs.
  • --resolve: When a patch fails to apply, leave in progress and allow user to resolve, instead of aborting.
  • --branch-okay: Do not warn if pulling to a branch besides master (useful for testing).
  • --no-pbcopy: Do not copy anything to the system clipboard.
  • --no-publish: Do not publish bottles to Bintray.
  • --warn-on-publish-failure: Do not exit if there’s a failure publishing bottles on Bintray.
  • --bintray-org: Publish bottles at the provided Bintray organisation.
  • --test-bot-user: Pull the bottle block commit from the provided user on GitHub.

release-notes [options] [previous_tag] [end_ref]

Print the merged pull requests on Homebrew/brew between two Git refs. If no previous_tag is provided it defaults to the latest tag. If no end_ref is provided it defaults to origin/master.

  • --markdown: Print as a Markdown list.

ruby [ruby options]

Run a Ruby instance with Homebrew’s libraries loaded.

Example: brew ruby -e "puts :gcc.f.deps" or brew ruby script.rb

  • -e: Execute the provided string argument as a script.

tap-new user/repo

Generate the template files for a new tap.

test [options] formulae

Run the test method provided by an installed formula. There is no standard output or return code, but generally it should notify the user if something is wrong with the installed formula.

Example: brew install jruby && brew test jruby

  • --devel: Test the development version of a formula.
  • --HEAD: Test the head version of a formula.
  • --keep-tmp: Keep the temporary files created for the test.

tests [options]

Run Homebrew’s unit and integration tests.

  • --coverage: Generate code coverage reports.
  • --generic: Run only OS-agnostic tests.
  • --no-compat: Do not load the compatibility layer when running tests.
  • --online: Include tests that use the GitHub API and tests that use any of the taps for official external commands.
  • --only: Run only test_script_spec.rb. Appending :line_number will start at a specific line.
  • --seed: Randomize tests with the provided value instead of a random seed.

update-test [options]

Run a test of brew update with a new repository clone. If no arguments are passed, use origin/master as the start commit.

  • --to-tag: Set HOMEBREW_UPDATE_TO_TAG to test updating between tags.
  • --keep-tmp: Retain the temporary directory containing the new repository clone.
  • --commit: Use provided commit as the start commit.
  • --before: Use the commit at provided date as the start commit.

GLOBAL OPTIONS

These options are applicable across all sub-commands.

  • -q, --quiet: Suppress any warnings.

  • -v, --verbose: Make some output more verbose.

  • -d, --debug: Display any debugging information.

  • -f, --force: Override warnings and enable potentially unsafe operations.

OFFICIAL EXTERNAL COMMANDS

  • bundle command: Bundler for non-Ruby dependencies from Homebrew.

    brew bundle [install] [-v|--verbose] [--no-upgrade] [--file=path|--global]: Install or upgrade all dependencies in a Brewfile.

    brew bundle dump [--force] [--describe] [--file=path|--global]: Write all installed casks/formulae/taps into a Brewfile.

    brew bundle cleanup [--force] [--zap] [--file=path|--global]: Uninstall all dependencies not listed in a Brewfile.

    brew bundle check [--no-upgrade] [--file=path|--global] [--verbose]: Check if all dependencies are installed in a Brewfile. Missing dependencies are listed in verbose mode. check will exit on the first category missing a dependency unless in verbose mode.

    brew bundle exec command: Run an external command in an isolated build environment.

    brew bundle list [--all|--brews|--casks|--taps|--mas] [--file=path|--global]: List all dependencies present in a Brewfile, optionally limiting by types. By default, only brew dependencies are output.

    If -v or --verbose are passed, print verbose output.

    If --no-upgrade is passed, don’t run brew upgrade on outdated dependencies. Note they may still be upgraded by brew install if needed.

    If --force is passed, uninstall dependencies or overwrite an existing Brewfile.

    If --zap is passed, casks will be removed using the zap command instead of uninstall.

    If --file=path is passed, the Brewfile path is set accordingly. Use --file=- to output to console.

    If --global is passed, set the Brewfile path to ~/.Brewfile.

    If --describe is passed, output a description comment above each line. This comment will not be output if the dependency does not have a description.

    If -h or --help are passed, print this help message and exit.

    Homebrew/homebrew-bundle: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle

  • cask [--version | audit | cat | cleanup | create | doctor | edit | fetch | home | info]: Install macOS applications distributed as binaries.

    Homebrew/homebrew-cask: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask

  • services command: Integrates Homebrew formulae with macOS’ launchctl manager.

    [sudo] brew services list: List all running services for the current user (or root).

    [sudo] brew services run (formula|--all): Run the service formula without registering to launch at login (or boot).

    [sudo] brew services start (formula|--all): Start the service formula immediately and register it to launch at login (or boot).

    [sudo] brew services stop (formula|--all): Stop the service formula immediately and unregister it from launching at login (or boot).

    [sudo] brew services restart (formula|--all): Stop (if necessary) and start the service formula immediately and register it to launch at login (or boot).

    [sudo] brew services cleanup: Remove all unused services.

    If sudo is passed, operate on /Library/LaunchDaemons (started at boot). Otherwise, operate on ~/Library/LaunchAgents (started at login).

    Homebrew/homebrew-services: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-services

CUSTOM EXTERNAL COMMANDS

Homebrew, like git(1), supports external commands. These are executable scripts that reside somewhere in the PATH, named brew-cmdname or brew-cmdname.rb, which can be invoked like brew cmdname. This allows you to create your own commands without modifying Homebrew’s internals.

Instructions for creating your own commands can be found in the docs: https://docs.brew.sh/External-Commands

SPECIFYING FORMULAE

Many Homebrew commands accept one or more formula arguments. These arguments can take several different forms:

  • The name of a formula: e.g. git, node, wget.

  • The fully-qualified name of a tapped formula: Sometimes a formula from a tapped repository may conflict with one in homebrew/core. You can still access these formulae by using a special syntax, e.g. homebrew/dupes/vim or homebrew/versions/node4.

  • An arbitrary URL: Homebrew can install formulae via URL, e.g. https://raw.github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/master/Formula/git.rb. The formula file will be cached for later use.

ENVIRONMENT

Note that environment variables must have a value set to be detected. For example, export HOMEBREW_NO_INSECURE_REDIRECT=1 rather than just export HOMEBREW_NO_INSECURE_REDIRECT.

  • HOMEBREW_ARTIFACT_DOMAIN: If set, instructs Homebrew to prefix all download URLs, including those for bottles, with this variable. For example, a formula with a URL of https://example.com/foo.tar.gz but HOMEBREW_ARTIFACT_DOMAIN=http://localhost:8080 would instead download from http://localhost:8080/example.com/foo.tar.gz.

  • HOMEBREW_AUTO_UPDATE_SECS: If set, Homebrew will only check for autoupdates once per this seconds interval.

    Default: 60.

  • HOMEBREW_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, HOMEBREW_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: When using the S3 download strategy, Homebrew will look in these variables for access credentials (see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-chap-getting-started.html#cli-environment to retrieve these access credentials from AWS). If they are not set, the S3 download strategy will download with a public (unsigned) URL.

  • HOMEBREW_BOTTLE_DOMAIN: By default, Homebrew uses https://homebrew.bintray.com/ as its download mirror for bottles. If set, instructs Homebrew to instead use the given URL. For example, HOMEBREW_BOTTLE_DOMAIN=http://localhost:8080 will cause all bottles to download from the prefix http://localhost:8080/.

  • HOMEBREW_BROWSER: If set, uses this setting as the browser when opening project homepages, instead of the OS default browser.

  • HOMEBREW_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE: If set, instructs Homebrew to compile from source even when a formula provides a bottle. This environment variable is intended for use by Homebrew developers. Please do not file issues if you encounter errors when using this environment variable.

  • HOMEBREW_CACHE: If set, instructs Homebrew to use the given directory as the download cache.

    Default: ~/Library/Caches/Homebrew.

  • HOMEBREW_CURLRC: If set, Homebrew will not pass -q when invoking curl(1) (which disables the use of curlrc).

  • HOMEBREW_CURL_VERBOSE: If set, Homebrew will pass --verbose when invoking curl(1).

  • HOMEBREW_DEBUG: If set, any commands that can emit debugging information will do so.

  • HOMEBREW_DEBUG_INSTALL: When brew install -d or brew install -i drops into a shell, HOMEBREW_DEBUG_INSTALL will be set to the name of the formula being brewed.

  • HOMEBREW_DEBUG_PREFIX: When brew install -d or brew install -i drops into a shell, HOMEBREW_DEBUG_PREFIX will be set to the target prefix in the Cellar of the formula being brewed.

  • HOMEBREW_DEVELOPER: If set, Homebrew will tweak behaviour to be more relevant for Homebrew developers (active or budding) e.g. turning warnings into errors.

  • HOMEBREW_EDITOR: If set, Homebrew will use this editor when editing a single formula, or several formulae in the same directory.

    Note: brew edit will open all of Homebrew as discontinuous files and directories. TextMate can handle this correctly in project mode, but many editors will do strange things in this case.

  • HOMEBREW_FORCE_BREWED_CURL: If set, Homebrew will always use a Homebrew-installed curl rather than the system version. Automatically set if the system version of curl is too old.

  • HOMEBREW_FORCE_VENDOR_RUBY: If set, Homebrew will always use its vendored, relocatable Ruby version even if the system version of Ruby is new enough.

  • HOMEBREW_FORCE_BREWED_GIT: If set, Homebrew will always use a Homebrew-installed git rather than the system version. Automatically set if the system version of git is too old.

  • HOMEBREW_GITHUB_API_TOKEN: A personal access token for the GitHub API, which you can create at https://github.com/settings/tokens. If set, GitHub will allow you a greater number of API requests. See https://developer.github.com/v3/#rate-limiting for more information. Homebrew uses the GitHub API for features such as brew search.

    Note: Homebrew doesn’t require permissions for any of the scopes.

  • HOMEBREW_INSTALL_BADGE: Text printed before the installation summary of each successful build. Defaults to the beer emoji.

  • HOMEBREW_LOGS: If set, Homebrew will use the given directory to store log files.

  • HOMEBREW_MAKE_JOBS: If set, instructs Homebrew to use the value of HOMEBREW_MAKE_JOBS as the number of parallel jobs to run when building with make(1).

    Default: the number of available CPU cores.

  • HOMEBREW_NO_ANALYTICS: If set, Homebrew will not send analytics. See: https://docs.brew.sh/Analytics

  • HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE: If set, Homebrew will not auto-update before running brew install, brew upgrade or brew tap.

  • HOMEBREW_NO_COLOR: If set, Homebrew will not print text with color added.

  • HOMEBREW_NO_EMOJI: If set, Homebrew will not print the HOMEBREW_INSTALL_BADGE on a successful build.

    Note: Homebrew will only try to print emoji on Lion or newer.

  • HOMEBREW_NO_INSECURE_REDIRECT: If set, Homebrew will not permit redirects from secure HTTPS to insecure HTTP.

    While ensuring your downloads are fully secure, this is likely to cause from-source SourceForge, some GNU & GNOME based formulae to fail to download.

  • HOMEBREW_NO_GITHUB_API: If set, Homebrew will not use the GitHub API for e.g searches or fetching relevant issues on a failed install.

  • HOMEBREW_PRY: If set, Homebrew will use pry for the brew irb command.

  • HOMEBREW_SVN: When exporting from Subversion, Homebrew will use HOMEBREW_SVN if set, a Homebrew-built Subversion if installed, or the system-provided binary.

    Set this to force Homebrew to use a particular svn binary.

  • HOMEBREW_TEMP: If set, instructs Homebrew to use HOMEBREW_TEMP as the temporary directory for building packages. This may be needed if your system temp directory and Homebrew Prefix are on different volumes, as macOS has trouble moving symlinks across volumes when the target does not yet exist.

    This issue typically occurs when using FileVault or custom SSD configurations.

  • HOMEBREW_UPGRADE_CLEANUP: If set, brew upgrade always assumes --cleanup has been passed.

  • HOMEBREW_VERBOSE: If set, Homebrew always assumes --verbose when running commands.

  • http_proxy: Sets the HTTP proxy to be used by curl, git and svn when downloading through Homebrew.

  • https_proxy: Sets the HTTPS proxy to be used by curl, git and svn when downloading through Homebrew.

  • all_proxy: Sets the SOCKS5 proxy to be used by curl, git and svn when downloading through Homebrew.

  • ftp_proxy: Sets the FTP proxy to be used by curl, git and svn when downloading through Homebrew.

  • no_proxy: Sets the comma-separated list of hostnames and domain names that should be excluded from proxying by curl, git and svn when downloading through Homebrew.

USING HOMEBREW BEHIND A PROXY

Use the http_proxy, https_proxy, all_proxy, no_proxy and/or ftp_proxy documented above.

For example, for an unauthenticated HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy:

export http_proxy=http://$HOST:$PORT

export all_proxy=socks5://$HOST:$PORT

And for an authenticated HTTP proxy:

export http_proxy=http://$USER:$PASSWORD@$HOST:$PORT

SEE ALSO

Homebrew Documentation: https://docs.brew.sh

brew-cask(1), git(1), git-log(1)

AUTHORS

Homebrew’s lead maintainer is Mike McQuaid.

Homebrew’s project leadership committee is Mike McQuaid, JCount, Misty De Meo and Markus Reiter.

Homebrew/brew’s other current maintainers are Claudia, Michka Popoff, Shaun Jackman, Chongyu Zhu, commitay, Vitor Galvao, JCount, Misty De Meo, Gautham Goli, Markus Reiter, Steven Peters, Jonathan Chang and William Woodruff.

Homebrew/brew’s Linux support (and Linuxbrew) maintainers are Michka Popoff and Shaun Jackman.

Homebrew/homebrew-core’s other current maintainers are Claudia, Michka Popoff, Shaun Jackman, Chongyu Zhu, Izaak Beekman, Sean Molenaar, Jan Viljanen, Jason Tedor, Viktor Szakats, FX Coudert, Thierry Moisan, Steven Peters, JCount, Misty De Meo and Tom Schoonjans.

Former maintainers with significant contributions include commitay, Dominyk Tiller, Tim Smith, Baptiste Fontaine, Xu Cheng, Martin Afanasjew, Brett Koonce, Charlie Sharpsteen, Jack Nagel, Adam Vandenberg, Andrew Janke, Alex Dunn, neutric, Tomasz Pajor, Uladzislau Shablinski, Alyssa Ross, ilovezfs and Homebrew’s creator: Max Howell.

BUGS

See our issues on GitHub:

© 2009–present Homebrew contributors
Licensed under the BSD 2-Clause License.
https://docs.brew.sh/Manpage