Install Homebrew (macOS and Linux)

Homebrew is an app store for the terminal. You ask for a program by name, and Homebrew downloads and installs it for you. Most of the pages after this one are one short brew command.

NOTE

On Windows, this page is for you too. Your Ubuntu terminal is Linux, and that is where Homebrew goes. Use the Windows section below. Don't install Homebrew on Windows itself.

Install it

Click the name of your computer's system to open its section.

macOS

Check if it's already installed. In Terminal, run:

brew --version

• If you see a line like Homebrew 7.0.2, you already have Homebrew, and there is nothing to install: skip the rest of this section.
• If you see command not found: brew, do the steps below.

Install it.

1. Copy this command into the terminal and press Return:

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

2. Type your Mac password when it asks, and press Return. Nothing shows while you type. That is normal.

3. Press Return again to start. Homebrew also installs Apple's Command Line Tools, which the Make page needs later. This can take 5 to 10 minutes.

4. At the end, Homebrew may show Next steps with a few commands. Copy those commands into the terminal and press Return. They tell your terminal where to find brew.

Check that it works. In the terminal, run:

brew --version

You should see a line like Homebrew 7.0.2. Your number may be different.

If you still see command not found: brew, you missed the Next steps commands in step 4. Close the terminal, open a new one, and run them.

Windows

Homebrew goes inside Ubuntu, not on Windows itself. Windows gets its own app store for the terminal on the next page, Chocolatey, and the two do different jobs.

This needs WSL 2, which you checked on the terminal page. Homebrew does not work properly on WSL 1.

Check if it's already installed. In the Ubuntu terminal, run:

brew --version

• If you see a line like Homebrew 7.0.2, you already have Homebrew, and there is nothing to install: skip the rest of this section.
• If you see command not found: brew, do the steps below.

Install it.

1. In the Ubuntu terminal, install the pieces Homebrew needs:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y build-essential procps curl file git

   Type your Ubuntu password if it asks. This also installs Git and Make, so two later pages have less to do.

2. Copy this command into the Ubuntu terminal and press Enter:

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

   Press Enter again to start. This takes a few minutes.

3. At the end, Homebrew shows Next steps with two or three commands that start with echo and eval. Copy them into the terminal and press Enter. They tell your terminal where to find brew, and they keep working after you close it.

Check that it works. In the Ubuntu terminal, run:

brew --version

You should see a line like Homebrew 7.0.2. Your number may be different.

If you still see command not found: brew, you missed the Next steps commands in step 3. Run them, then close the terminal and open a new one.

Linux

Check if it's already installed. In the terminal, run:

brew --version

• If you see a line like Homebrew 7.0.2, you already have Homebrew, and there is nothing to install: skip the rest of this section.
• If you see command not found: brew, do the steps below.

Install it.

1. In the terminal, install the pieces Homebrew needs. On Ubuntu or Debian:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y build-essential procps curl file git

   On Fedora, run this instead:

   sudo dnf install -y @development-tools procps-ng curl file git

   Type your password if it asks. This also installs Git and Make, so two later pages have less to do.

2. Copy this command into the terminal and press Enter:

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

   Press Enter again to start. This takes a few minutes.

3. At the end, Homebrew shows Next steps with two or three commands that start with echo and eval. Copy them into the terminal and press Enter. They tell your terminal where to find brew, and they keep working after you close it.

Check that it works. In the terminal, run:

brew --version

You should see a line like Homebrew 7.0.2. Your number may be different.

If you still see command not found: brew, you missed the Next steps commands in step 3. Run them, then close the terminal and open a new one.

Next

On Windows, one more app store to install: Chocolatey.

On macOS and Linux, you can skip that page. Go straight to Install Git.