What is Homebrew?
Homebrew is the de-facto package manager for macOS and increasingly popular on Linux. With over 16,000 open-source packages and tens of millions of daily users, it's how developers install, update, and manage the tools they need using a single command-line tool called `brew`. Think of it as an app store for developer tooling: instead of hunting for installers, you run one command and you're done.
Homebrew has been around since 2009, growing from a side project into one of the most widely used open-source projects in the world. Every formula and cask in it is built and maintained by a group of dedicated open-source maintainers and contributors. Workbrew sponsors Homebrew, and you can too.
Homebrew organizes packages as formulae (command-line tools like git, wget, ffmpeg) and casks (GUI apps like Chrome, VS Code, Slack). You can also add third-party repositories called taps to extend what's available, and use Brewfiles to bundle your entire dev environment in one file.
Formulae
Packages built from source, primarily command-line tools and libraries. Everything from Python and Node.js to PostgreSQL and OpenSSL.
Casks
Binary packages provided directly from software vendors, primarily GUI macOS applications like google-chrome, visual-studio-code, or slack.
Taps
Third-party repositories that extend Homebrew's package catalog beyond the default set.
Brewfile
A declarative file listing all your packages, letting teams reproduce environments consistently.
Homebrew for one developer vs. Homebrew for a fleet
For an individual developer, managing Homebrew is possible. For an IT team responsible for hundreds or thousands of Macs, default Homebrew can present remote management and visibility challenges.
Individual developer
- One machine, fully in control
- Updates on their own schedule
- No compliance requirements
IT team managing a fleet
- No visibility into what's installed across machines
- Vulnerable packages can persist undetected for months
- No audit trail for compliance or security reviews
- Inconsistent package versions break onboarding and builds
Why install Homebrew?
Homebrew reduces the friction of installing developer tools to a single command. Instead of hunting for installers, navigating disk images, and managing PATH variables manually, you run brew install [package] and it handles everything. It's free, community-maintained, and the tools stay up to date with brew upgrade.
Is it safe to download Homebrew?
Homebrew is safe. It's open source, widely audited, and downloaded from GitHub.
In a regulated company the question is different. Your auditor will ask what's installed on every Mac and who approved it, and without an inventory nobody can answer. Workbrew gives you that inventory for every Homebrew install across your fleet.
Is brew install only for Mac?
No, Homebrew runs on macOS, Linux and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
How do I install Homebrew on my Mac?
You can install Homebrew using the one-liner on brew.sh. Paste it into Terminal and you're up and running. If you want a simpler, zero-touch install for your team, Workbrew is the recommended way to get started.
How can I see Homebrew installs?
Workbrew Free gives you instant visibility into Homebrew installs and detection of vulnerabilities. Connect devices via your MDM of choice like Intune, Iru, Jamf, or Mosyle, and start seeing what's installed within minutes. No developer disruption required.
Workbrew vs. Homebrew?
Homebrew installs software on one Mac. Workbrew manages it across all of yours, with the governance and audit trail a regulated company needs.
Homebrew is a developer package manager. It lets individuals install and manage open-source tools using brew. Workbrew is the organizational layer on top. It provides visibility into what’s installed across your fleet, enforces package policies, supports secure developer onboarding, and helps meet security and compliance requirements.