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Ask HN: New to OS X; is homebrew safe to install for non-developer?

2 points by o_s_m ↗ HN
I just bought a MBA and have heard a lot about Homebrew. There seems to be a ton of packages that it installs. Is this necessary for a non-developer? Would it open me up to a lot more vulnerabilities, or is it like aptitude and only installs those packages when I tell it to? Thank you.

10 comments

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sanswork
It is exactly like aptitude. The choice of packages could open you up to more vulnerabilities but homebrew itself shouldn't.

It's one of the first things I install whenever I reinstall my OS. That said if you're not doing dev I'm not sure what packages on it you are looking for?

o_s_m
Thanks. In Linux I used aptitude quite often to clean old kernel versions and install other verified software, and it felt good to install software from a relatively safe location. So, does this only install things that are in the Mac App Store?
sanswork
No, homebrew has a different repository from the app store.
o_s_m
Great. I will play around with it.
xxxmadraxxx
No. Homebrew is pretty much exclusively for installing GUI-less command line 'stuff' in OSX. Things like Nginx, mySQL, RVM, Golang, Bitcoind, etc. etc. Unlikely you'd even need it unless you're doing some kind of development or non-Apple-approved tinkerage.
CyberFonic
I've been using a MBP (currently on v10.9.4) for over five years as a developer and I've never had the need to install or use Homebrew. All the programs that I use are available as .dmg or .pkg for installation. Of course YMMV.

I suggest that you wait time a "must have" program is only available as Homebrew, then go with it. As a general rule, I think it is unwise to install programs that you "think you might" need. As Sanswork hints, Apple App Store is where you'll get your OS updates from.

o_s_m
Great answers folks. I don't think I will need it in the immediate future, and will attempt to only install necessary software that I anticipate that I will need. I bought the 4gb RAM MBA and it does well...much better in Chrome than in Safari..still learning.
yen223
I'd say homebrew is a little bit more secure than others, because they are pretty fussy about not installing to system-wide libraries.

That said, I can't think of a reason for a non-developer to use the packages found on homebrew.

tumdum_
Is HN safe from non-developers?