How to Install Homebrew on OS X

We are big fans of the Homebrew project for OS X. Homebrew opens up a world of new tools and possibilities for Mac users.

Spend time researching “how to” questions and it is likely you will encounter many answers mentioning specific tools or open source solutions. The answer looks perfect but a new question is raised: how do I get the required tool onto my Mac?

For Mac users Homebrew is the answer.

Homebrew is a package manager for OS X. This means it provides a huge repository of software, almost all open source and free, to install on-demand. Homebrew tools are typically command line based. These tools are available thanks to thousands of volunteers dedicating their time and effort.

Install Homebrew

Let’s install Homebrew on OS X:

• Launch Terminal.app from within Applications > Utilities

• Copy and paste the following single line into the Terminal:

  ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
  

• Once pasted, press the Return key and follow the on screen instructions.

Homebrew takes care not to overwrite or interfere with the standard OS X tools, files, and folders. This is an important consideration when using third party tools; Homebrew does this right. Everything installed by Homebrew is located in /usr/local/Cellar.