If you use Linux, of course, you are familiar with the package manager that is installed by default. For example, apt on ubuntu or yum on all RedHat derivatives like CentOS or others. However, a package manager is not provided by default for the Mac OS operating system because Macs are designed for user convenience.
Instead, Mac OS uses the App Store for fast installation and reasonable update control. However, the App Store feels unsatisfactory for developers who use Mac OS.
For example, you may be more familiar with wget than curl. Well, of course, you have to install wget first. If on Linux, it's straightforward to use apt install wget or yum install wget. But how do you find the install on Mac OS via terminal? The answer is Homebrew.
What is Homebrew?
Homebrew is a free and open-source package manager for Mac OS. It allows Mac OS users to install applications and software not available in the Mac App Store, such as web servers, streaming media, development software, commands commonly used on Linux, and more.
Homebrew provides various options for upgrading, updating, and managing the applications and software installed on a Mac.
Max Howell created Homebrew in 2009, which was written in Ruby. Max Howell, who was a software engineer at Twitter at the time, felt that installing software on Mac OS was very complicated and time-consuming. To make the installation process more accessible, he created Homebrew.
Homebrew simplifies installing software on Mac OS by providing an easy way to install, manage, and update the applications available in packages. With Homebrew, Mac OS users can install applications by running a few terminal command lines.
Homebrew also allows users to easily install various open-source software (in Homebrew, it is referred to as a formula), thus making it the only package manager that can handle cross-platform software management.
Over the years, Homebrew has been the package manager of choice for many Mac OS users. Today, Homebrew is the standard package manager for Mac OS and has become one of the most popular ways to manage applications and software on Mac OS.
Install Homebrew
The homebrew installation process is straightforward, you only need to type one command line, and you don't need to install anything on your Mac as a condition for installing homebrew. To start the installation, open a Mac terminal, then paste the following command.
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"The script will download and install the latest homebrew and all the necessary dependencies. The process is quite long, depending on your computer's and the internet's speed.
When finished, you can try installing your first application, for example, wget. Type the following command to install wget;
brew install wgetTo see all available packages, you can look at the https://formulae.brew.sh/ page.
Update Homebrew
If you have previously installed homebrew, you can update your homebrew to the latest version by typing the command;
brew updateHomebrew will update to the latest version currently available.
If you want to update all installed packages, type the following command;
brew upgradeReinstalling Homebrew
Under certain conditions, sometimes homebrew experiences an error that we are confused and stuck trying to solve the problem. Don't worry; in this case, it's better to uninstall your homebrew, then reinstall it; this will make your homebrew fresh again.
Uninstall Homebrew using the following command;
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/uninstall.sh)"Then reinstall!
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"Done. You have got the latest version of homebrew in new condition.
Conclusion
From this article, we can conclude that Homebrew is a valuable tool for easily and quickly installing applications on Mac OS. Following this article's steps, you can easily install Homebrew on your Mac in minutes.
I hope this article helps.
