Show HN: Brewer X, a native macOS client for Homebrew (panini.house)
Brewer X is graphical interface that lives on top of Homebrew. Leveraging the power of native APIs improves the classic experience and unlocks new features. For example:
• bulk actions are performed in parallel
• syncing the entire library locally provides incredible search performances and the ability to query descriptions and other previously unaccessible fields
• maintenance scripts run automatically for you
• last but not least... app icons (or favicons when not available) let you quickly identify what you're looking for
The app is written in Swift and uses only AppKit with Nib files for top performance, pixel perfect design, and maximum flexibility.
We also designed the app icon and all the others in the UI ourselves. Following the great insights from Sketch[^1] we managed to make them super crispy. We're also very proud to have been featured in the macOS App Icon Book[^2].
The app has only been out for a couple of weeks, but we've already seen an amazing response from the community. We can't tell you all of our future plans yet, but here's a list of things we'd like to see in the app in the near future:
• Import/Export
• Automatic replacement of apps installed without Homebrew
• Notifications about available updates
• Finder actions
• Spotlight integration
I hope you find Brewer X interesting. We're happy to answer any question!
[^1]: https://www.sketch.com/blog/how-we-redesigned-our-toolbar-ic...
41 comments
[ 5.8 ms ] story [ 83.9 ms ] threadAs others have noted, the up-front honesty and realistic pricing are a lot more refreshing and encouraging than some race-to-the-bottom pricing that guarantees the dev is not paying attention or is going to be forced to find other ways to feed their family.
If you aren’t prepared to compensate someone for the value they’ve created that’s fair, but claiming it’s somehow their fault is not being honest.
This is the first place where we received such negative feedback. Even if we're a bit surprised, I think some of them might be quite useful and interesting. However, some of them are just not even worth responding, to use kind words ahah
I'm already in the terminal!
You get a perpetual licence with an option for continuing to get updates after the first year.
If it was a monthly subscription there would be lots of complaints too.
Maybe it is a bit expensive but I do think we should reserve the word “scam” for actual scams :) The pricing is at least extremely clear, even if you don’t agree with it.
I agree a trial would be nice. I wouldn’t buy this without being able to try it.
We would really like to offer some sort of trial. Can I ask you if you would prefer a perpetual one where just the basic features are unlocked or a time-limited one where you have everything availble? Maybe we can even do both... after the time-limited trial the app locks all the advanced/non-essential features. We're open to ideas here.
I'd prefer to see, $49 for version 1. Then an upgrade price in a few years when they release version 2.
Of course, our hope for the future is to add enough new and cool features that brew could never offer that the app might be interesting also for everyone else. Till then keep using the terminal ;)
I feel like people here likely aren't willing to pay for UIs on top of ffmpeg, brew, git, etc.
Especially with open source versions:
https://github.com/buresdv/Cork https://github.com/brunophilipe/Cakebrew
Just my take- could be totally wrong / have a poor perception of who uses HN these days.
> Cork is licensed under Commons Clause.
> This means that Cork open-source
even though the very FAQ for the Commons Clause asserts otherwise [2]:
> Is this “Open Source”?
> “Open source”, has a specific definition that was written years ago and is stewarded by the Open Source Initiative, which approves Open Source licenses. Applying the Commons Clause to an open source project will mean the source code is available, and meets many of the elements of the Open Source Definition, such as free access to source code, freedom to modify, and freedom to re-distribute, but not all of them. So to avoid confusion, it is best not to call Commons Clause software “open source.”
The Commons Clause bans selling of the software and is written in a way that allows the copyright holder to add more restrictions [2]. Cork does add more restrictions [1]:
> This means that Cork open-source and you can do whatever you want with Cork's source, like modifying it, contributing to it etc., but you can't sell or distribute Cork or modified versions of it.
> Moreover, you can’t distribute compiled versions of Cork without consulting me first. Compiling versions for your personal use is fine.
[1] https://github.com/buresdv/Cork
[2] https://commonsclause.com/
Although, I think it's worth pointing out that Cakebrew hasn't been actively maintained in 3 years and has never supported Casks. Cork on the other hand is actively developed and supports Casks, but we think the interface and user experience are not the best. For what we've seen so far Brewer X mostly appeals someone who can't get along with poorly designed UIs just to use a free tool.
Repo link: https://github.com/brunophilipe/Cakebrew
This phrase has lost all meaning. We can see from your screenshots that the table titles are misaligned from the items, as is the “Search” text.
Don’t call something “pixel perfect” unless you really went in there and manually nudged every element pixel by pixel.
Those who know how much had work it takes to build and launch a product like this - especially such a nice looking one, appreciate your work!
We clearly didn't expect some of these reactions but we probably didn't know the audience of this website very well... Our bad.
Thanks for the "nice looking" :)
if this was a one off $20-$25, i would buy it.
You don't have to pay an annual subscription for updates. If you decide to not do that you can continue using the app. Was it clear in the copy or not? Maybe we can make it even clearer. Thanks
i don't mean to diminish your work at all - it really does look great and i mean that, and hopefully you'll prove me wrong, but i don't think you've properly considered what value this actually provides to the people you want to buy it.
you might say that $49 + an annual subscription (and it is a subscription by the way, you can call it what you like but that's objectively what it is) is what you need to charge in order to make the time/effort you spent on development worth it for you, which is fair, but consider it from the POV of a potential customer: it's $49 + an annual subscription for a prettier way to achieve something that they probably use quite rarely, something they can already do, and something which there are already free alternatives to.
consider something like bettermouse (https://better-mouse.com). macOS is borderline unusable without it, i'd sell my computer and switch to linux that same week if bettermouse disappeared. i make use of it for 100% of the time i use my computer, and it costs $7.99 one time, forever. the developer could double or even triple the price, and it still wouldn't even be half of what you're asking for.
Off topic, but can you tell me exactly why?
We know that not everybody has the some financial conditions but we didn't expect such harsh reactions for the price. I agree that maybe we could improve some of the wording we're using, but the price itself seems pretty reasonable to me. Personally I have multiple pieces of software which I pay 50 bucks a month or more to use. $49 for the first year and optionally $29 after that didn't seem a problem for us...
• Automatic replacement of apps installed without Homebrew
Does that mean your app would look in the homebrew repo to find similar apps and links it?