Homebrew (package manager)

For the software built by consumers, see Homebrew (video games).
For other uses, see Homebrew (disambiguation).
Homebrew
Original author(s)Max Howell
Initial release21 May 2009; 15 years ago (2009-05-21)[1]
Stable release
4.3.17[2] Edit this on Wikidata / 19 August 2024; 32 days ago (19 August 2024)
Repository
Written inRuby,[3] HTML,[3] shell script,[3] JavaScript[3] Edit this on Wikidata
Operating systemmacOS, Linux,[4] Windows Subsystem for Linux[4] Edit this on Wikidata
Available inEnglish
Typesystem-level package manager, free and open-source software Edit this on Wikidata
License2-clause BSD License[5] Edit this on Wikidata
Websitebrew.sh Edit this at Wikidata

Homebrew is a free and open-source software package management system that simplifies the installation of software on Apple's operating system, macOS, as well as Linux. The name is intended to suggest the idea of building software on the Mac depending on the user's taste. Originally written by Max Howell, the package manager has gained popularity in the Ruby on Rails community and earned praise for its extensibility.[6] Homebrew has been recommended for its ease of use[7] as well as its integration into the command-line interface.[8] Homebrew is a member of the Open Source Collective,[9] and is run entirely by unpaid volunteers.[10]

Homebrew has made extensive use of GitHub to expand the support of several packages through user contributions. In 2010, Homebrew was the third-most-forked repository on GitHub.[11] In 2012, Homebrew had the largest number of new contributors on GitHub.[12] In 2013, Homebrew had both the largest number of contributors and issues closed of any project on GitHub.[13]

Homebrew has spawned several sub-projects such as Linuxbrew, a Linux port now officially merged into Homebrew;[14][15] Homebrew Cask, which builds upon Homebrew and focuses on the installation of GUI applications;[16] and "taps" dedicated to specific areas or programming languages like PHP.[17]

  1. ^ Homebrew release 0.1 on GitHub
  2. ^ "Release 4.3.17". 19 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Homebrew Open Source Project on Open Hub: Languages Page". Open Hub. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Homebrew 1.9.0". 9 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  5. ^ "brew/LICENSE.txt at master". 4 January 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  6. ^ Arko, Andre. "Homebrew: OS X's Missing Package Manager". Engine Yard blog. Engine Yard. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015.
  7. ^ Hoffman, Chris. "Homebrew for OS X Easily Installs Desktop Apps and Terminal Utilities". How-to Geek. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  8. ^ Terpstra, Brett (25 December 2009). "Homebrew, the perfect gift for command line lovers". Engadget. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Homebrew - Open Collective". 12 January 2024.
  10. ^ McQuaid, Mike. "Homebrew/brew/README.md". GitHub. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ "Popular Forked Repositories". GitHub. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  12. ^ "The Octoverse in 2012". GitHub.
  13. ^ "GitHub Octoverse 2013". Archived from the original on 2014-02-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "Linuxbrew". Linuxbrew. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  15. ^ "Linuxbrew Readme". GitHub. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  16. ^ "Homebrew Cask". Github. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Homebrew/homebrew-php". GitHub. Retrieved 25 June 2015.