Homebrew Environment Manager

This skill helps you manage macOS development environments using Homebrew's bundle feature with a declarative Brewfile. It provides commands for installing packages, syncing environments, generating configurations, and maintaining system consistency.

What This Skill Does

Instructions

When the user requests Homebrew environment management tasks, follow these steps:

1. Understanding the Repository Structure

First, recognize that this is a Brewfile-based environment repository with:

2. Common Operations

**Install/Update from Brewfile:**

```bash

brew bundle

```

Use this to install all packages defined in the Brewfile or update existing ones.

**Check Environment Sync:**

```bash

brew bundle check

```

Verifies that all packages in the Brewfile are installed. Returns exit code 0 if in sync.

**Generate Brewfile from Current Environment:**

```bash

brew bundle dump --describe --force

```

Creates a Brewfile from currently installed packages. `--describe` adds comments, `--force` overwrites existing file.

**Clean Up Unused Packages:**

```bash

Dry run to see what would be removed

brew bundle cleanup --dry-run

Actually remove packages not in Brewfile

brew bundle cleanup

```

**Update All Packages:**

```bash

brew update && brew upgrade

```

Updates Homebrew itself and upgrades all installed packages.

3. Initial Setup

For new environments, create the symlink:

```bash

ln -s $(pwd)/Brewfile ~/Brewfile

```

To install from a specific Brewfile location:

```bash

brew bundle --file=/path/to/Brewfile

```

4. Working with the Brewfile

The Brewfile contains three main entry types:

When modifying the Brewfile:

5. Troubleshooting

6. Best Practices

Example Usage

**User**: "Install all packages from the Brewfile"

**Action**: Run `brew bundle` and report installation results

**User**: "Check if my environment matches the Brewfile"

**Action**: Run `brew bundle check` and explain sync status

**User**: "Generate a new Brewfile from my current setup"

**Action**: Run `brew bundle dump --describe --force` and confirm generation

**User**: "Clean up packages not in the Brewfile"

**Action**: Run `brew bundle cleanup --dry-run` first to show preview, then ask for confirmation before running actual cleanup

Constraints