grew

✨ What it does

🚀 Getting Started

1. Get grew

Download the latest release for your platform from the Releases page, extract it, and run setup:

# Download from GitHub Releases
tar -xzf grew_*.tar.gz
./grew setup

Or build from source

Prerequisites: Go 1.26+, git, and a dream.

git clone https://github.com/homegrew/grew.git
cd grew
make build          # or: go generate ./pkg/... && go build -o grew

2. Set up the prefix

grew needs a home — a directory tree for the Cellar, symlinks, taps, and config. The setup command creates it and copies the binary into place:

./grew setup   # macOS ARM → /opt/homegrew, Intel → /usr/local/homegrew

The system prefix isolates sandboxed builds from $HOME, preventing them from reaching ~/.ssh, ~/.gnupg, or other sensitive dotfiles. After setup, ownership is transferred to your user — no root needed at runtime.

Developer builds (make dev) can install to ~/.homegrew without root using ./grew setup --unsafe.

3. Wire up your shell

# bash (~/.bashrc) or zsh (~/.zshrc)
eval "$(grew shellenv)"

# fish (~/.config/fish/config.fish)
grew shellenv fish | source

4. Install something

grew i jq                      # 'i' is an alias for 'install'
grew install --cask firefox    # going big

That's it. No dark rituals. No 47-step setup guide.

📖 Day-to-day usage

grew i jq nmap                 # install multiple formulas (alias 'i')
grew install --force jq        # force reinstall even if already installed
grew install -s ldns           # build from source, like a purist
grew install --force-bottle jq # pour a bottle (current or newest macOS), never build
grew install --cask firefox    # going big
grew link jq                   # stitch it in
grew deps --tree jq            # what hath jq wrought
grew up                        # stay fresh (alias for update)
grew ug                        # upgrade all (alias for upgrade)
grew version                   # what are we running
grew autoremove --dry-run      # see which orphaned dependencies would be removed
grew autoremove                # clean up unused dependencies
grew rm --force jq             # uninstall even if not installed (alias 'rm')
grew cleanup -n                # peek before you sweep
grew cleanup --scrub           # aggressive cache cleaning
grew cleanup --prune=7         # remove cache older than a week
grew verify jq                 # check installed files against manifest
grew vuln-scan -q              # scan for CVEs, only show critical/high severity findings
grew lock                      # pin your environment
grew audit --strict            # lint your formulas
grew cache                     # show download cache
grew cache jq                  # show cache path for jq
grew cache --os=darwin jq      # show cache path for a different OS
grew leaves -r | xargs grew uninstall  # uninstall all top-level packages installed on request
grew dr                        # check for common problems (alias for doctor)

🗑️ Uninstallation

grew stores most of its data in its prefix directory, but some items (like Cask applications and background services) are linked to system directories. To completely remove grew and all of its traces:

1. Clean up installed packages (Casks and Services)

# Stop and remove all background services
for s in $(grew services ls | awk 'NR>1 {print $1}'); do grew services stop $s; done

# Uninstall all macOS casks
for c in $(grew list --cask | awk '{print $1}'); do grew uninstall --cask $c; done

2. Delete the prefix directory

# macOS (Apple Silicon):
sudo rm -rf /opt/homegrew

# macOS (Intel):
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/homegrew

# Devmode (User-local install via --unsafe):
rm -rf ~/.homegrew

3. Clean up your shell profile

Open your shell configuration file (e.g., ~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, or ~/.config/fish/config.fish) and remove the line that initializes grew:

# Remove this line:
eval "$(/opt/homegrew/bin/grew shellenv)"

Restart your terminal, and grew is completely gone.

🗺️ Commands

⚙️ Configuration

grew keeps its stuff tidy under one roof. Tweak it with env vars:

Directory Structure

Everything flows from the prefix:

/opt/homegrew/              (or /usr/local/homegrew on Intel)
├── Cellar/        ← installed packages (each keg has a .MANIFEST.json)
├── Taps/          ← formula definitions (git-cloned or API-fetched)
├── bin/           ← symlinked binaries
├── lib/           ← symlinked libraries
├── include/       ← symlinked headers
├── opt/           ← per-formula keg symlinks
├── etc/           ← trusted-keys (Ed25519 public keys, one per line)
├── tmp/           ← ephemeral stuff
├── var/log/       ← audit log
└── grew.lock      ← lockfile (opt-in, created by `grew lock`)

🔐 Security: grew vs Homebrew

grew is designed to be more secure than Homebrew out of the box:

Gradual rollout: signature verification doesn't block installs until you add keys to etc/trusted-keys. Tap verification is opt-in via HOMEGREW_TAP_VERIFY. This lets you adopt security features incrementally.

🗺️ Roadmap

Got ideas? Bugs? Grievances? → Open an issue

✅ Recently Completed

• Linker & Symlink Management: Ownership tracking prevents accidental overwrites; version-family conflict guard blocks incompatible family members from both claiming shared links
• Dependency Resolver: Structured DepKind enum (Runtime, Build, Test, Optional, Recommended), topological sort with Kahn's algorithm, cycle detection with path reporting
• Comprehensive Documentation: Expanded technical documentation with 8 new sections covering architecture, formula definitions, installation flow, tap management, download/caching, logging/audit trails, error handling, and testing

🚀 Coming Soon

• Build vs Runtime Dependency distinction (runtime filtering)
• SLSA provenance attestations for bottles
• Content-addressable bottle storage
• Windows support (one day, probably, maybe)