Documentation rewrite
Much leaner README now. The website evangelises, and the Wiki is thorough.
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Max Howell
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README.md
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README.md
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Homebrew
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========
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Homebrew is a package management system for OS X. In other words it is a tool
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that helps you manage the installation of other open source software on your
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Mac.
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Here's why you may prefer Homebrew to the alternatives:
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1. Zero configuration installation
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Copy the contents of this directory to /usr/local. Homebrew is now ready
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for use.
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2. Or… install anywhere!
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You can actually stick this directory anywhere. Like ~/.local or /opt or
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/lol if you like. You can even move this directory somewhere else later.
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Homebrew never changes any files outside of its prefix.
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3. The GoboLinux approach
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Packages are installed into their own prefix (eg. /usr/local/Cellar/wget)
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and then symlinked into the Homebrew prefix (eg. /usr/local).
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This way the filesystem is the package database and packages can be
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managed with existing command line tools. For example, you can
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uninstall with rm -rf, list with find, query with du. It also means you
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can install multiple versions of software or libraries and switch
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on demand.
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Of course, you don't have to do anything by hand, we also provide a
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convenient and fully-featured four-letter tool called brew.
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4. You don't have to sudo
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It's up to you.
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5. Create new package descriptions in seconds
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Package descriptions (formula) are simple Ruby scripts. Generate a
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template with:
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brew create http://foo.com/tarball-0.8.9.tgz
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Or edit an existing formula:
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brew edit foo
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6. Package descriptions not required
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MacPorts doesn't support the beta version? Need an older version? Need
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custom compile flags? The Homebrew tool-chain is carefully segregated so
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you can build stuff by hand but still end up with package management.
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Just install to the Cellar and then call brew link to symlink that
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installation into your PATH, eg.
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./configure --prefix=/usr/local/Cellar/wget/1.10
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make install
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brew ln wget
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Or Homebrew can figure out the prefix:
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./configure `brew diy`
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cmake . `brew diy`
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7. Optimization
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We optimize for (Snow) Leopard Intel, binaries are stripped, compile flags
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are tuned to your exact Mac model. Slow software sucks.
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8. Making the most of OS X
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A touch of RubyCocoa, a cheeky sysctl query or two and a smattering of
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FSEvent monitoring. In these manic days of cross-platform development,
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it's can be a welcome relief to use something that is better because
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it isn't too generalized.
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9. No duplication
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MacPorts is an autarky -- you get a duplicate copy of zlib, OpenSSL,
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Python, etc. Homebrew uses what is already there, and consequently,
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most stuff has zero dependencies and builds faster.
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We resist packaging stuff that is already packaged. So we have a [wiki page][wiki]
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that describes how best to use RubyGems, Pip (or easy_install) and
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CPAN with OS X and Homebrew.
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10. Fork with Git
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The formula are all on git, so just fork to add new packages, or add extra
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remotes to get packages from more exotic maintainers.
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11. Surfing the cutting edge
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If the package provides a git://, svn://, cvs:// or hg:// url you can
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choose to install that instead and then update as often as you like.
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12. Homebrew has a beer theme
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Beer goggles will help you to evangelise Homebrew more effectively.
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13. Homebrew can help you hook up
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There's no conclusive scientific evidence as yet, but I firmly believe
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it's just a matter of time and statistics.
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I know I've made it sound so awesome you can hardly wait to embrace the fresh,
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hoppy taste of Homebrew, but I should point out that it is really new and
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still under heavy development. Also:
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1. It's a little more hands-on than the competition. For example, we don't
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set up PostgreSQL for you after installing it, but we do provide
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instructions. This isn't apathy, it's by design -- Homebrew doesn't make
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assumptions about how you want your software to run. You have to have some
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knowledge or be willing to learn to use Homebrew for some tasks.
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2. Dependency resolution and updates are basic or not working yet.
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3. We don't support PowerPC or OS X less than Tiger (though you could always
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maintain your own fork for such things if you like…)
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Max Howell — <http://twitter.com/mxcl>
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Homebrew helps you install the UNIX tools that didn't come with OS X.
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Installation
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============
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You can install Homebrew anywhere:
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Quick Install
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-------------
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Install [Xcode][xcode] and then run this script: <http://gist.github.com/323731>
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mkdir homebrew
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curl -L http://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/tarball/master | tar xz --strip 1 -C homebrew
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If you want to install Homebrew somewhere other than /usr/local see the
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[installation instructions][install].
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Homebrew can already be used, try it:
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homebrew/bin/brew install pip
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homebrew/bin/brew list pip
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Look dude, I know what I'm doing!
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---------------------------------
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Alright then… as long as you're sure:
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Notice how Pip was installed to homebrew/bin/pip — Homebrew never touches
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files outside of its prefix.
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But… we recommend installing to /usr/local because:
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---------------------------------------------------
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1. It's already in your PATH
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2. It makes it easier to install other stuff like Ruby Gems
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Build tools all look to /usr/local for library dependencies and thus you can
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get on with building your own gems and not worry about having to Google for
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unnecessary build assistance.
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But… don't sudo!
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----------------
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Homebrew can be used with or without sudo, but, OS X was designed to
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minimise sudo use, you only need it occasionally. For example, as long as your
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user is in the admin group, this just works:
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cpan -i MP3::Info
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Using sudo all the time is annoying, but far worse — it conditions you to type
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in your root password without thinking about it. Homebrew compliments OS X
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so you are unlikely to install anything that really needs to be chown:root.
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Let this be your last sudo for some time:
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sudo chown -R `whoami` /usr/local
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_NOTE_: If you already installed, eg. MySQL into /usr/local then the recursive
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chown _may_ break it. Fixing MySQL should be as simple as:
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sudo chown -R mysql:mysql /usr/local/mysql
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Installing to /usr/local
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------------------------
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curl -L http://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/tarball/master | tar xz --strip 1 -C /usr/local
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Homebrew can co-exist with any software already installed in its prefix.
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Installing with Git
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-------------------
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cd /usr/local
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git init
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git remote add origin git://github.com/mxcl/homebrew.git
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git pull origin master
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One last important caveat
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-------------------------
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Almost everything Homebrew installs is written in C, so you need Xcode:
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<http://developer.apple.com/technology/xcode.html>
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Uninstallation
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==============
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cd `brew --prefix`
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rm -rf Cellar
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brew prune
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rm -rf Library .git .gitignore bin/brew README.md
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It is worth noting that if you installed somewhere like /usr/local then these
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uninstallation steps will leave that directory exactly like it was before
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Homebrew was installed. Unless you manually added new stuff there, in which
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case those things will still be there too.
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Sample Usage
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============
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Install wget:
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brew install wget
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Two ways to update the package descriptions:
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brew update
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cd /usr/local && git pull
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Two ways to delete a package:
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brew uninstall wget
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rm -rf /usr/local/Cellar/wget && brew prune
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Two ways to list all files in a package:
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brew list wget
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find /usr/local/Cellar/wget
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Two ways to search for a package to install:
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brew search
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ls /usr/local/Library/Formula/
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Two ways to see what is already installed:
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brew list
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ls /usr/local/Cellar/
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Two ways to compute installed package sizes:
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brew info wget
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du /usr/local/Cellar/wget
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Show expensive packages:
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du -md1 /usr/local/Cellar
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Contributing New Formulae
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=========================
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Create a new formula thusly:
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brew create http://example.com/foo-1.2.1.tar.bz2
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Homebrew automatically opens Library/Formula/foo.rb in your $EDITOR. You can
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now install it:
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brew install foo
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The [wiki][] has more help and information.
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Licensing
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=========
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Homebrew is mostly BSD licensed although you should refer to each file to
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confirm. Individual formulae are licensed according to their authors' wishes.
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sudo chown -R $USER .
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curl -sf http://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/tarball/master | tar xz --strip 1
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The Wiki
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========
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The [wiki][] probably has the answers to any other questions you may have.
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--------
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The [wiki][] can answer your remaining questions.
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Who Are You?
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------------
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I'm [Max Howell][mxcl] and I'm a splendid chap.
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[wiki]:http://wiki.github.com/mxcl/homebrew
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[install]:http://wiki.github.com/mxcl/homebrew/Installation
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[xcode]:http://developer.apple.com/technology/xcode.html
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[mxcl]:http://twitter.com/mxcl
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