If you’re developing on macOS, then you probably know what we’re going to talk about: Homebrew 🍺 the most popular package manager for macOS.
If you don’t know Homebrew, it’s a command-line tool that allows you to install software on your Mac. We could call it “the missing app store” for your console. But Homebrew is much more than that! There is an entire ecosystem of contributors that maintain formulas to make it easy to install software on your Mac.
Today I have the honor to speak with Mike McQuaid, the Homebrew project leader. In this episode we’re going to talk about how Homebrew started, how it works internally, how it’s funded, and how you can contribute to it. I’m glad I also had the chance to touch on some more contentious topics like telemetry and handling burnout in the OSS space.
Show Notes
00.11 Intro
00.57 Episode Start
01.32 Mike’s Introduction
02.31 What is Homebrew?
03.07 The history of Homebrew
06.56 Have you ever felt you were done with Homebrew?
10.58 What happens when you brew install?
12.45 What is a formula?
15.55 Rolling release package manager
17.04 What is a cask?
20.01 Brew bundle
21.34 Where is so much software stored?
23.32 Homebrew trust model
27.57 What’s the most downloaded package?
29.27 Telemetry & Open Source
32.50 Opt-in vs Opt-out telemetry
40.33 Entitelment in the OSS space & handling burnouts
43.20 How is Homebrew funded?
48.18 Homebrew & Legal entity
50.28 How to become a Homebrew maintainer?
52.39 Do-ocracy
53.53 Engaging with the Homebrew community
54.49 What’s next for Homebrew?
57.17 Further reading
58.53 Where people can find you online?Resources
Homebrew/brew on GitHub
Homebrew Official Website
Mentioned Resources:
Open Source Maintainers Owe You Nothing - Mike McQuaid
Replacing Boxen - Mike McQuaid
Howembrew Analytics Install
Mike’s Brewfile on GitHub
Related Projects:
Homebrew/homebrew-core on GitHub
Homebrew/homebrew-cask on GitHub
Homebrew/homebrew-bundle on GitHub
MikeMcQuaid/strap on GitHub
@MikeMcQuaid on Twitter
@MikeMcQuaid on GitHub
@mike on Mastodon
Mike’s WebsiteShow links
Podcast Website
The Developers’ Bakery on Spotify
The Developers’ Bakery on Apple Podcasts
The Developers’ Bakery on Google Podcasts
@thebakerydev on Twitter
@cortinico on Twitter