brew(1) -- The missing package manager for OS X

SYNOPSIS

brew [--verbose|-v] command [options] [formula] ...
brew [--version|-v]

DESCRIPTION

Homebrew is the easiest and most flexible way to install the UNIX tools Apple didn't include with OS X.

OPTIONS

-v, --verbose command [options] [formula] ...: Prints extra, command-specific debugging information. Note that brew -v by itself is the same as brew --version.

ESSENTIAL COMMANDS

For the full command list, see the COMMANDS section.

install : Install .
remove : Uninstall .
update: Fetch the newest version of Homebrew from GitHub using git(1).
list: List all installed formulae.
search, -S |//: Perform a substring search of formula names for . If is surrounded with slashes, then it is interpreted as a regular expression. If no search term is given, all available formula are displayed.

COMMANDS

audit [--strict] []: Check for Homebrew coding style violations. This should be run before submitting a new formula.

If no are provided, all of them are checked.

If --strict is passed, perform additional stricter checks that may not need to be fixed before submitting.

audit exits with a non-zero status if any errors are found. This is useful, for instance, for implementing pre-commit hooks.
cat : Display the source to .
cleanup [--force] []: For all installed or specific formulae, remove any older versions from the cellar. By default, does not remove out-of-date keg-only brews, as other software may link directly to specific versions.

If --force is passed, remove out-of-date keg-only brews as well.
create [--no-fetch] : Generate a formula for the downloadable file at and opens it in $EDITOR. Homebrew will attempt to automatically derive the formula name and version, if it fails, you'll have to make your own template. I suggest copying wget's.

If --no-fetch is passed, Homebrew will not download to the cache and will thus not add the MD5 to the formula for you.
deps [--1] [-n] : Show 's dependencies.

If --1 is passed, only show dependencies one level down, instead of recursing.

If -n is passed, shows dependencies in topological order.
doctor: Check your system for potential problems.
edit: Open all of Homebrew for editing in TextMate.
edit : Open in $EDITOR.
fetch [--force] [-v] [--HEAD] [--deps] : Download the source packages for the given . For tarballs, also print MD5 and SHA1 checksums.

If --HEAD is passed, download the HEAD versions of instead. -v may also be passed to make the VCS checkout verbose, useful for seeing if an existing HEAD cache has been updated.

If --force is passed, remove a previously cached version and re-fetch.

If --deps is passed, also download dependencies for any listed .
home: Open Homebrew's own homepage in a browser.
home : Open 's homepage in a browser.
info : Display information about .
info --github : Open a browser to the GitHub History page for formula .

To view formula history locally: brew log -p <formula>.
info : Print the name and version that will be detected for .
install [--force] [--debug] [--ignore-dependencies] [--use-llvm] [--use-gcc] [--HEAD] : Install .

is usually the name of the formula to install, but may also be the URL for an arbitrary formula.

If --force is passed, will install even if it is already installed. This can be used to re-install a formula without removing it first.

If --debug is passed and brewing fails, open a shell inside the temporary folder used for compiling.

If --ignore-dependencies is passed, skip installing any dependencies of any kind. If they are not already present, the formula will probably fail to install.

If --use-llvm is passed, attempt to compile using the LLVM front-end to GCC. NOTE: Not all formulae will build with LLVM.

If --use-gcc is passed, attempt to compile using GCC. This is useful for systems whose default compiler is LLVM-GCC.

If --HEAD is passed, and defines it, install the HEAD version, aka master, trunk, unstable, dev.

To install a newer version of HEAD use brew rm <foo> && brew install --HEAD <foo> or brew install --force --HEAD <foo>.
install --interactive [--git] : Download and patch , then open a shell. This allows the user to run ./configure --help and otherwise determine how to turn the software package into a Homebrew formula.

If --git is passed, Homebrew will create a Git repository, useful for creating patches to the software.
ln, link : Symlink all of 's installed files into the Homebrew prefix. This is done automatically when you install formula, but can be useful for DIY installations.
list: List all installed formulae.
list : List the installed files for .
log [git-log-options] ...: Show the git log for the given formulae. Options that git-log(1) recognizes can be passed before the formula list.
man: Regenerate this man page using ronn. See man brew-man for details.
missing []: Check the given for missing dependencies.

If no are given, check all installed brews.
options [--compact] [--all] : Display install options specific to .

If --compact is passed, show all options on a single line separated by spaces.

If --all is passed, show options for all formulae.
outdated: Show formula that have an updated version available.
prune: Remove dead symlinks from the Homebrew prefix. This is generally not needed, but can be useful when doing DIY installations.
rm, remove, uninstall [--force] : Uninstall .

If --force is passed, and there are multiple versions of installed, delete all installed versions.
search, -S |//: Perform a substring search of formula names for . If is surrounded with slashes, then it is interpreted as a regular expression. If no search term is given, all available formula are displayed.
search --macports|--fink : Search for on the MacPorts or Fink package search page.
server: Start a local web app that lets you browse available formulae, similar to gem server. Requires sinatra.
test : A few formulae provide a test method. brew test <formula> runs this test method. There is no standard output or return code, but it should generally indicate to the user if something is wrong with the installed formula.

Example: brew install jruby && brew test jruby
unlink : Unsymlink from the Homebrew prefix. This can be useful for temporarily disabling a formula: brew unlink foo && commands && brew link foo.
update: Fetch the newest version of Homebrew from GitHub using git(1).
uses [--installed] : Show the formulas that specify as a dependency. The list is not recursive; only one level of dependencies is resolved.

If --installed is passed, only lists installed formulae.
--cache: Display Homebrew's download cache. Default: ~/Library/Cache/Homebrew
--cache : Display the file or folder used to cache .
--cellar: Display Homebrew's Cellar path. Default: /usr/local/Cellar
--cellar : Display the location in the cellar where would be installed, without any sort of versioned folder as the last path.
--config: Show Homebrew and system configuration useful for debugging. If you file a bug report, you will likely be asked for this information if you do not provide it.
--prefix: Display Homebrew's install path. Default: /usr/local
--prefix : Display the location in the cellar where is or would be installed.
--repository: Display where Homebrew's .git folder is located. For standard installs, the prefix and repository are the same folder.
-v, --version: Print the version number of brew to standard error and exit.

EXTERNAL COMMANDS

Homebrew allows external commands to be defined by putting a +x file named brew-<cmdname> or brew-<cmdname>.rb on the PATH. This will cause Homebrew to recognize brew cmdname.

Some sample commands ship with Homebrew and are enabled by default.

$ ls `brew --repository`/Library/Contributions/examples

ENVIRONMENT

HOMEBREW_CACHE: If set, instructs Homebrew to use the give folder as the download cache. Otherwise, ~/Library/Caches/Homebrew is used.

This can be used to keep downloads out of your home folder, if you have it mounted on an SSD for instance.
HOMEBREW_DEBUG: If set, instructs Homebrew to always assume --debug when running commands.
HOMEBREW_DEBUG_INSTALL: When brew install -d or brew install -i drops into a shell, HOMEBREW_DEBUG_INSTALL will be set to the name of the formula being brewed.
HOMEBREW_DEBUG_PREFIX: When brew install -d or brew install -i drops into a shell, HOMEBREW_DEBUG_PREFIX will be set to the target prefix in the Cellar of the formula being brewed.
HOMEBREW_EDITOR: If set, Homebrew will use this editor when editing a single formula, or several formulae in the same folder.

NOTE: brew edit will open all of Homebrew as discontinuous files and folders. TextMate can handle this correctly in project mode, but many editors will do strange things in this case.
HOMEBREW_KEEP_INFO: If set, Homebrew will not remove files from share/info, allowing them to be linked from the Cellar.
HOMEBREW_SVN: When exporting from Subversion, Homebrew will use HOMEBREW_SVN if set, a Homebrew-built Subversion if installed, or the system-provided binary.

Set this to force Homebrew to use a particular svn binary.
HOMEBREW_TEMP: If set, instructs Homebrew to use HOMEBREW_TEMP as the temporary folder for building packages. This may be needed if your system temp folder and Homebrew Prefix are on different volumes, as OS X has trouble moving symlinks across volumes when the target does not yet exist.

This issue typically occurs when using FileVault or custom SSD configurations.
HOMEBREW_USE_GCC: If set, instructs Homebrew to use gcc, even if the system default is currently set to LLVM.
HOMEBREW_USE_LLVM: If set, instructs Homebrew to use the LLVM front-ends to the GCC compilers.

NOTE: Not all formulae build correctly with LLVM.
HOMEBREW_VERBOSE: If set, instructs Homebrew to always assume --verbose when running commands.

USING HOMEBREW BEHIND A PROXY

Homebrew uses several commands for downloading files (e.g. curl, git, svn). Many of these tools can download via a proxy. It's common for these tools to read proxy parameters from environment variables.

For the majority of cases setting http_proxy is enough. You can set this in your shell profile, or you can use it before a brew command:

http_proxy=http://<host>:<port> brew install foo

If your proxy requires authentication:

http_proxy=http://<user>:<password>@<host>:<port> brew install foo

AUTHORS

Max Howell, a splendid chap.

BUGS

See Issues on GitHub: http://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues

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