Homebrew is a widely used package manager in Mac systems. Additionally, you can install Homebrew on Linux and perform package management tasks such as installing and upgrading software packages. Homebrew cask provides support for quick installation of application such as VLC, Google Chrome and so much more.

Here at Ibmi Media, as part of our Server Management Services, we regularly help our Customers to perform related package manager configuration queries.

In this context, we shall look into the complete installation procedure of Homebrew on Ubuntu 20.04.

Steps to install Homebrew on Ubuntu Linux system 

1. Perform System Update

Start by updating the system's package lists with the below command:

$ sudo apt update

2. Install Dependencies

Once the update of the package index is complete, install the build-essential meta-package. This provides a link to several other packages that are going to be installed on your system as dependencies:

$ sudo apt install build-essential

Next, install the git version control package:

$ sudo apt install git

Great, we are all good with the dependencies, let's now proceed and install HomeBrew.

3. Download and run the Homebrew installation script

There is a prebuilt shell script that automates the installation of Homebrew. So, execute the following command to download and run the shell script:

$ /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

The execution of the script creates a linuxbrew directory in the home directory that contains Homebrew settings, libraries, configuration files, and other crucial files.

4. Add Homebrew to your PATH

Once the command is fully executed, Some additional steps are required to add Homebrew to your PATH.

Now, run the below commands:

$ echo 'eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"'’ >> /home/winnie/.profile
$ eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

You can confirm the version of Brew installed with the below command:

$ brew --version

Next, give Homebrew a try and see if we can install some packages.

How to Confirm that Homebrew works ?

To verify that Homebrew is working as expected, run the command:

$ brew doctor

You will get confirmation that your system is ready to use brew.

Now, you can use Homebrew to install software using the syntax:

$ brew install package-name

For example, to install Python3, run the command:

$ brew install python3

When the installation of Python3 is complete, verify the version installed as follows:

$ python3 -V

How to Uninstall Homebrew from your Ubuntu Linux system ?

If you want to remove Homebrew, then here is the brew uninstallation script, also available on GitHub:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/uninstall.sh)"

[Need help to install missing packages on your Ubuntu Linux system ? We can help you. ]