Usage¶

Brewfile¶

Brew-file manages packages installed by Homebrew. It also supports brew-cask and other Homebrew subcommand installers.

It uses input file. By default, the file is $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/brewfile/Brewfile. If you don’t have $XDG_CONFIG_HOME environment variable, it is ~/.config/brewfile/Brewfile. You can reuse Brewfile for Brewdler, too.

If you want to specify input file, use -f option.

If you want to change default Brewfile, set environmental variable: HOMEBREW_BREWFILE in your setup file (e.g. .bashrc), like:

export HOMEBREW_BREWFILE=~/.brewfile

You can also modify the default installation locations of Cask packages. To make this settings, it is the same as issuing How to Use Homebrew-cask#Options. You might want to add the following line to your .bashrc or .zshenv:

export HOMEBREW_CASK_OPTS="--appdir=$HOME/MyApplications"

If there is no Brewfile, Brew-file will ask you if you want to initialize Brewfile with installed packages or not. You can also make it with install (-i) subcommand.

With install subcommand, Brew-file tries to install packages listed in Brewfile.

Brewfile convention is similar as Brewdler. Normally, you don’t need to modify anything on Brewdler’s Brewfile for Brew-file

Example:

# Tap repositories and their packages
tap rcmdnk/file
brew brew-file

# This will install all packages in rcmdnkpac
tapall rcmdnk/rcmdnkpac

# Homebrew packages
brew mercurial
brew macvim --with-lua

# Cask packages
tap homebrew/cask
cask bettertouchtool

# Additional files
file ~/.Brewfile

First column is command. Second to the last columns are package name and options. They are used as arguments for such brew install, therefore any options of Homebrew can be used.

Command	For what? (X is package+options)
brew	`brew install X`
install	Same as `brew`
tap	`brew tap X`
tapall	`brew tap X`, and installs all packages of Formulae in the tap.
cask	`brew install --cask X`.
appstore	Apps installed from AppStore. The line is like: appstore <identifier> <App Name>. Identifier can be obtained by argon/mas. (It will be installed automatically.) For older OS X, it might be not available. For such a case, only App names are listed by `init`, and `install` command just warns like `Please install <App Name> from App Store!`.
main	Main file. If it exists, new packages will be written to the main file instead of the top file.
file	Additional files. A path is a absolute path, or a relative path, relative to the file which calls it. You can use environmental variables such `file ~/${HOSTNAME}.Brewfile`.
brewfile	Same as `file`.
before	Execute `X` at the beginning of the install.
after	Execute `X` after all install commands.
Anything others	Execute the line (first and other columns as one line) before `after` is executed.

If the second column is install, it will be ignored.

i.e. brew install package is same as brew package.

If you want to build macvim with lua option, you can write as above example Brewfile.

If you use tap, Brew-file only does tap the repository.

If you use tapall, Brew-file does brew install for all Formulae in the repository in addition to do tap the repository.

If you want to divide the list into several files. If the top Brewfile has main, file or brewfile commands, then corresponding argument is used as an external file. The path can be an absolute or a relative. If you use a relative path, like ./Brewfile2, then the start directory is the directory where the main Brewfile is.

You can use a nest of file, too. The relative path starts from the parent file’s directory.

You can also use nested main, though it should be no more than once in one Brewfile.

For the path, such ~ is translated into $HOME. You can use some shell variables: $HOSTNAME, $HOSTTYPE and $OSTYPE. Inaddition, $PLATFORM, which is platform identifier like darwin, linux, or win32.

If you use brew-wrap, any environmental variables can be used.

Warning

Environmental variables are not translated if you do not use brew-wrap or call brew directly like command brew. Only ~, $HOME, $HOSTNAME, $HOSTTYPE, $OSTYPE, and $PLATFORM are translated in these cases.

e.g.

If you have:

file ./${HOSTNAME}.Brewfile

in main Brewfile, and prepare files like:

Brewfile Host1.Brewfile Host2.Brewfile Host3.Brewfile

in the same directory, then brew-file picks up Host1.Brewfile for Host1, and Host2.Brewfile for Host2, etc…

Or if you just have:

file ~/.Brewfile

then you can put Host specific packages in ~/.Brewfile. (If the file doesn’t exist, brew-file just ignores it.)

Other example: Add an option to ignore appstore apps · Issue #22 · rcmdnk/homebrew-file

Some packages such macvim has Application (MacVim.app). If you want to install them to Applications area, please use -l (for ~/Applications/) or -g (for /Applications/).

You can run update/install/clean/clean_non_request/pull/push as dry run mode with option -d/–dry_run.

If you want edit Brewfile, use edit option.

Warning

If you do brew file edit before installing Brewfile and save w/o any modification, you may make empty Brewfile (Be careful, brew -c -C remove all packages :scream:). Therefore I recommend you to do brew file -i at first if you don’t have Brewfile.

Manage Brewfile with Git¶

You can maintain your Brewfile at the git repository. First, make new repository at GitHub (or other git server), which has a file named Brewfile.

Then, set the repository by:

$ brew file set_repo -r <repository>

It will clone the repository. The content of Brewfile in the repository will be used instead of $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/brewfile/Brewfile. (then $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/brewfile/Brewfile will have this repository information.)

repository should be like rcmdnk/Brewfile in GitHub, which should have Brewfile (different file name can be used by -f).

If you want to use other hosts than github, use full path for the repository, like:

$ brew file set_repo -r git@bitbucket.org:rcmdnk/my_brewfile

If the repository doesn’t have Brewfile (or specified by -f, brew file init initialize the file. Then, you can push it by brew file push.

With this procedure, you can synchronize all your Mac easily :thumbsup:

To install new package, use:

$ brew file brew install <package>

instead of brew install <package>, because above command automatically update Brewfile.

This is useful especially if you are using the repository for the Brewfile, and want to use brew file update.

Otherwise, please be careful to use brew file update, because it deletes what you installed, but you have not registered in Brewfile.

Check Apps¶

If you want to check your Apps for Cask, use:

$ brew file casklist

This command makes Caskfile.txt, which is like:

### Cask applications
### Please copy these lines to your Brewfile and use with `brew bundle`.

### tap and install Cask (remove comment if necessary).
#tap homebrew/cask
#install brew-cask

### Apps installed by Cask in /Applications
cask install adobe-reader # /Applications/Adobe Reader.app
cask install xtrafinder # /Applications/XtraFinder.app

### Apps installed by Cask in /Applications/Utilities:
cask install xquartz # /Applications/Utilities/XQuartz.app

### Apps installed by Cask in ~/Applications.
cask install bettertouchtool.rb # ~/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app

#############################

### Apps not installed by Cask, but installed in /Applications.
### If you want to install them with Cask, remove comments.
#cask install keyremap4macbook # /Applications/KeyRemap4MacBook.app

### Apps not installed by Cask, but installed in /Applications/Utilities:
### If you want to install them with Cask, remove comments.

### Apps not installed by Cask, but installed in ~/Applications.
### If you want to install them with Cask, remove comments.
#cask install copy.rb # ~/Applications/Copy.app


#############################

### Apps not registered in Cask, but installed in /Applications.
# /Applications/App Store.app
# /Applications/Calendar.app
...

### Apps not registered in Cask, but installed in /Applications/Utilities:
...

### Apps not registered in Cask, but installed in ~/Applications.

You can find applications which were installed manually, but can be managed by Cask under “Apps not installed by Cask, but installed in…”.

If you want to manage them with Brewfile, just copy above lines w/o “#” for these Apps.

Use machine specific Brewfile¶

You can share Brewfile at different machines by using Dropbox or Git repository Getting Started.

You may also want to have each machine specific packages.

In this case, main command is useful.

First, make Brewfile with common packages:

tap homebrew/core
brew bash
brew neovim

main ./Brewfile.$HOSTNAME

and share it for each machine.

Then, install packages at the machine A.

If you set brew-wrap or run brew file init, new packages will be written into Brewfile.A in the same directory as Brewfile.

If you install packages at the machine B, then new packages will be written into Brewfile.B.

If you have new packages which are common in Brewfile.A and Brewfile.B, edit these files and move the packages into Brewfile.

If you want to have package lists for each platform, it may useful to have main command like:

main ./Brewfile.$OSTYPE.$PLATFORM

This will make unique names like:

macOS, M1 (arm environment): Brewfile.darwin.arm64
macOS, Intel or x86_64 environment at M1: Brewfile.darwin.x86_64
Linux, 64 bit: Brewfile.linux.x86_64
Cygwin, 64 bit: Brewfile.cygwin.x86_64