Homebrew, often referred to as simply ‘brew’, is an incredibly popular package manager for the macOS operating system. It is an open-source software that simplifies the installation of software on macOS. In this tutorial, we are going to guide you on how to install Homebrew on your Mac system.
Before You Install Homebrew
Before installing brew, ensure that you have a version of macOS that is compatible with Homebrew. Brew supports macOS Mojave (10.14), Catalina (10.15), and Big Sur (11). However, it may also work on older versions of macOS.
Additionally, you’ll need command line tools for Xcode installed on your Mac, which Brew requires. If you don’t already have this, you can install it by running the following command in your terminal:
xcode-select --install
Installing Homebrew
To install Homebrew, you need to perform the following steps:
1. Open Terminal
First, you need to open the Terminal app on your Mac. You can find this in your Applications folder, under Utilities, or you can launch Spotlight (Command + Space) and type ‘terminal’, then press enter.
2. Run the Homebrew Installation Script
Next, copy and paste the following command into your terminal, then press enter:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
This command downloads a script from the Homebrew website and runs it on your computer. The script explains what it will do and prompts you to confirm before it does anything.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
After running the above command, you just need to follow the on-screen instructions. The script will guide you through the rest of the installation process.
Verifying the Installation
Once the installation process is complete, you can verify that brew was successfully installed by running:
brew --version
If everything went well, this command should return the version of Homebrew that you installed. That’s it! Now you have Homebrew installed on your Mac, and you’re ready to use it to simplify the process of installing other software.
Conclusion
Homebrew is an essential tool for any Mac user looking to easily manage and install software packages. With this guide, we hope you’ve successfully installed Homebrew on your Mac and are ready to start using it to its full potential.