Homebrew is a package manager for command line tools on macOS. It can be installed by issuing the following command:
/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
Packages can be installed with brew install <packagename> and updated with brew update.
Packages I generally install on a new Mac are:
wget– for command line downloadingimagemagick– for image manipulationmas– for command line updating of (non-Apple) App Store softwareyoutube-dl– for downloading youtube videos for offline viewing
Once you have homebrew installed then it’s possible to script a software update solution that includes all Apple software, all non-Apple software, and everything installed through homebrew. It’s not quite as good as a Linux package manager, but it’s getting there.
The current script I use for this is:
#!/bin/bash
echo "updateall v.1.1 for macOS"
# Run this as a normal user. Your admin password will be asked for if required.
# Update all Apple software (requires admin password at this point)
sudo softwareupdate -i -a
# Update all software installed via Homebrew (as a normal user)
brew update
# Update all other software
mas upgrade
echo "The script has now finished running."