Having the ability to use the most recent and updated applications on your Mac device is truly legendary. There are formulas packages available for direct installation in Homebrew from its main public repository. There is also the cask (brew-cask), an add-on that gives you access to more binary apps and software packages via the command line. While Linux and other Unix systems’ command line interfaces have many of the same features, macOS does not come with a built-in package management. A package manager is a group of software tools that automate programme setups, upgrades, and installations. Package managers can maintain all software packages on the system in widely used formats and keep the software they install in one central area. We mentioned below are the steps to install and use Homebrew and Cask on MacOS.
Steps to install and use Homebrew and Cask on MacOS
Install Command Line Tools
Step 1: Open a new terminal. You can do this by clicking on the Spotlight magnifying glass at the top right of the screen, type terminal and then click on the Terminal icon. You can check if Command Line Tools or Xcode is installed by typing the command below in your terminal. Step 2: Type the following into your terminal to install Command Line Tools. If you see a prompt like the one in the image below, click on Install. Step 3: Check again to see if Xcode Command Line Tools is installed. You can do this by opening a new terminal and typing in the command below.
Install Homebrew
Step 1: Download the installation script: Step 2: Enter your administrator password when prompted and press Return to continue. Wait for the download to finish. Step 3: Press Return to install Homebrew. The installation may take a couple of minutes, so wait for the Installation successful message to appear.
Turn Off Analytics
Step 1: Homebrew collects some system information by default and sends it back to the developers. It collects the following: Step 2: Disable the analytic data collection by running: Step 3: After disabling analytics, you can check the analytic data collection status by running:
Install, Update or Remove Packages
Installing packages:
Step 1: You can install packages using Homebrew using the following syntax:
Updating packages:
You should regularly update the packages installed via Homebrew, as well as the package manager, to ensure you always have the latest features. Step 1: To see a list of packages that need updating, run the following command: Step 2: Use the following syntax to update a specific package: Step 3: To check if you have the latest Homebrew version, run this command: Step 4: Since we have a fresh Homebrew installation, the output shows everything is up to date.
Final Words
We hope you like our article on how to install and use Homebrew and Cask on MacOS. You can communicate with your computer without using graphics by using the command line interface. Instead of using your mouse to click buttons, you will type commands and get text-based feedback. The command line, commonly referred to as a shell, is a crucial tool for software engineers since it enables you to automate many actions you perform on your computer every day.
