homebrew-bundle VS HomeBrew

I maintain a Brewfile (https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle) which contains the majority of the non-project specific applications that I like to install on any new Mac:

https://github.com/jonahgeorge/dotfiles/tree/main

What's really nice is the `cask` & `mas` keywords allow you to install .dmg files & directly from the App Store.

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While its not included in there yet, I've been experimenting with maintaining a private Homebrew tap which contains my ~/bin directory as opposed to shell aliases.

> It's strange that people are so against declarative systems, or even file-based OS configuration. When I get my new Macbook I was up-and-running within a few minutes. I can't imagine maintaining a list of brews I need to re-install just to set up everything + my configs + everything else.

I haven’t had time to try Nix yet, but HomeBrew does have a declarative-ish workflow that I’ve been using for years:

[Brew Bundle](https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle) let’s you have a plaintext file listing all packages you want installed on your system. Add a line for stuff you want installed, delete a line for stuff you want removed, invoke it the right way and it will install/remove packages until your system matches the list. The initial list can be generated by “brew bundle dump” or something like that.

For configuration, I find that a normal dotfile repo cloned into my ~/.config (with a script that maintains symlinks to config files in e.g. ~/Library) works well enough for my use.

Brew supports dumping installed things into a brewfile: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle

I was using text files before as well to manage it.

Assuming everyone's on a Mac, I'm actually surprised there isn't that much use of something like homebrew-bundle[1]. It's definitely nicer to have your tooling run natively rather than, say, trying to wrap everything in Docker, or trying to get everybody on board with nix or guix.

I think the only real issue here is that you can't really pin to specific versions unless a formula exists, and there is no guarantee that a formula with a pinned version will stick around because homebrew likes to stay lean.

[1]https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle/

You should checkout Homebrew bundle and create a Brewfile instead. That will let you install both stuff from brew, casks and Mac AppStore apps in one go.

If you use brew bundle and create your own Brewfile, you can store this with your personal dot files and automate bootstrapping (auto-installing all your system tools) a new or recently reformatted Mac by including auto-trader-pro in your Brewfile.

And if you're already loving Homebrew, definitely check out Homebrew Bundle!

If you like homebrew, definitely give homebrew bundle a whirl if you haven't already

Before we start installing anything, if you are a Mac user, you need to install homebrew, a package manager for Mac that will help you install software quickly and easily from this article.

First, we are going to need Node.js. I use nodenv to manage multiple Node.js installations on my machine. The easiest way to install it on a Mac is to use Homebrew (check their Installation documentation if you’re on a different platform):

Homebrew - The Missing Package Manager for macOS (or Linux)

Homebrew is a highly popular package manager on macOS and Linux systems, enabling users to easily install, update, and uninstall command-line tools and applications. Its design philosophy focuses on simplifying the software installation process on macOS, eliminating the need for manual downloads and compilations of software packages.

Homebrew - package manager for linux-based OSs.

Package Manager: Homebrew

Hopping from one distro to another with a different package manager might require some time to adapt. Using a package manager that can be installed on most distro is one way to help you get to work faster. Flatpak is one of them; other alternative are Snap, Nix or Homebrew. Flatpak is a good starter, and if you have a bunch of free time, I suggest trying Nix.

Are you using SQLite that ships with macOS, or SQLite installed from homebrew?

I had a different problem in the past with the SQLite that ships with macOS, and have been using SQLite from homebrew since.

So if it’s the one that comes with macOS that gives you this problem that you are having, try using SQLite from homebrew instead.

https://brew.sh/

Before we begin, make sure you have Homebrew installed on your Mac. Homebrew is a package manager that makes it easy to install software and dependencies. You can install Homebrew by following the instructions on their website: https://brew.sh/

I’m on MacOS and erlang.org, elixir-lang.org, and postgresql.org all suggest installation via Homebrew, which is a very popular package manager for MacOS.