brew Operations

The brew module manages packages and casks on macOS using Homebrew package manager.

Functions

packages

Install, remove, or update brew packages.

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.packages(
    name="Install development tools",
    packages=["vim", "git"],
    update=True,
)

str | list[str]

List of packages to ensure.

bool

default:true

Whether the packages should be installed.

bool

default:false

Whether to upgrade packages without a specified version.

bool

default:false

Run brew update before installing packages.

bool

default:false

Run brew upgrade before installing packages.

Package versions can be pinned like brew: <pkg>@<version>

Examples

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# Update package list and install packages
brew.packages(
    name="Install Vim and vimpager",
    packages=["vimpager", "vim"],
    update=True,
)

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# Install the latest versions of packages (always check)
brew.packages(
    name="Install latest Vim",
    packages=["vim"],
    latest=True,
)

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# Install specific version
brew.packages(
    name="Install Python 3.9",
    packages=["python@3.9"],
)

update

Update brew package repositories.

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.update(
    name="Update brew repositories",
)

This operation is not idempotent - it will always execute.

upgrade

Upgrade all brew packages.

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.upgrade(
    name="Upgrade all packages",
)

This operation is not idempotent - it will always execute.

casks

Install, remove, or update brew casks (applications).

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.casks(
    name="Install desktop applications",
    casks=["firefox", "visual-studio-code"],
)

str | list[str]

List of casks to ensure.

bool

default:true

Whether the casks should be installed.

bool

default:false

Whether to upgrade casks without a specified version.

bool

default:false

Run brew cask upgrade before installing casks.

Cask versions can be pinned like brew: <pkg>@<version>

Example

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.casks(
    name="Upgrade and install the latest cask",
    casks=["godot"],
    upgrade=True,
    latest=True,
)

cask_upgrade

Upgrade all brew casks.

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.cask_upgrade(
    name="Upgrade all casks",
)

This operation is not idempotent - it will always execute.

tap

Add or remove brew taps (third-party repositories).

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.tap(
    name="Add a brew tap",
    src="homebrew/cask-fonts",
)

str

The name of the tap (e.g., user/repo).

bool

default:true

Whether this tap should be present or not.

str

The URL of the tap. See https://docs.brew.sh/Taps

Examples

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.tap(
    name="Add a brew tap",
    src="includeos/includeos",
)

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# Just url is equivalent to:
# brew tap kptdev/kpt https://github.com/kptdev/kpt
brew.tap(
    name="Add tap from URL",
    url="https://github.com/kptdev/kpt",
)

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# src and url is equivalent to:
# brew tap example/project https://github.example.com/project
brew.tap(
    name="Add custom tap",
    src="example/project",
    url="https://github.example.com/project",
)

from pyinfra.operations import brew

for tap in ["includeos/includeos", "ktr0731/evans"]:
    brew.tap(
        name=f"Add brew tap {tap}",
        src=tap,
    )

Common Use Cases

Development Environment Setup

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# Update brew
brew.update(
    name="Update Homebrew",
)

# Install development tools
brew.packages(
    name="Install development tools",
    packages=[
        "git",
        "vim",
        "tmux",
        "wget",
        "curl",
        "jq",
        "python@3.11",
        "node",
    ],
)

# Install desktop applications
brew.casks(
    name="Install development applications",
    casks=[
        "visual-studio-code",
        "iterm2",
        "docker",
        "postman",
    ],
)

Install from Custom Tap

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# Add custom tap
brew.tap(
    name="Add custom tap",
    src="homebrew/cask-fonts",
)

# Install from tap
brew.casks(
    name="Install fonts",
    casks=[
        "font-fira-code",
        "font-jetbrains-mono",
    ],
)

Full System Update

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# Update brew
brew.update(
    name="Update Homebrew",
)

# Upgrade all packages
brew.upgrade(
    name="Upgrade all packages",
)

# Upgrade all casks
brew.cask_upgrade(
    name="Upgrade all casks",
)

Database Tools

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.packages(
    name="Install database tools",
    packages=[
        "postgresql@14",
        "redis",
        "mysql",
    ],
    update=True,
)

Install Browser for Testing

from pyinfra.operations import brew

brew.casks(
    name="Install browsers",
    casks=[
        "google-chrome",
        "firefox",
        "microsoft-edge",
    ],
)

Homebrew-Specific Tips

Services Management

Homebrew provides service management for installed packages:

from pyinfra.operations import server

# Start a service
server.shell(
    name="Start PostgreSQL",
    commands=["brew services start postgresql@14"],
)

# Stop a service
server.shell(
    name="Stop PostgreSQL",
    commands=["brew services stop postgresql@14"],
)

# Restart a service
server.shell(
    name="Restart PostgreSQL",
    commands=["brew services restart postgresql@14"],
)

Cleanup Old Versions

Remove old versions of installed packages:

from pyinfra.operations import server

server.shell(
    name="Clean up old versions",
    commands=["brew cleanup"],
)

Check Installation Health

Verify Homebrew installation:

from pyinfra.operations import server

server.shell(
    name="Run brew doctor",
    commands=["brew doctor"],
)

Formula vs Cask

Formulae are command-line tools and libraries (use brew.packages)
Casks are macOS applications (use brew.casks)

from pyinfra.operations import brew

# Command-line tool
brew.packages(
    name="Install git",
    packages=["git"],
)

# Desktop application
brew.casks(
    name="Install VS Code",
    casks=["visual-studio-code"],
)

Overview

Package Managers

Language Packages

Service Management

System Operations

Containers

Databases

Version Control

Security

brew Operations

Functions

packages

Examples

update

upgrade

casks

Example

cask_upgrade

tap

Examples

Common Use Cases

Development Environment Setup

Install from Custom Tap

Full System Update

Database Tools

Install Browser for Testing

Homebrew-Specific Tips

​Functions

​packages

​Examples

​update

​upgrade

​casks

​Example

​cask_upgrade

​tap

​Examples

​Common Use Cases

​Development Environment Setup

​Install from Custom Tap

​Full System Update

​Database Tools

​Install Browser for Testing

​Homebrew-Specific Tips

Functions

packages

Examples

update

upgrade

casks

Example

cask_upgrade

tap

Examples

Common Use Cases

Development Environment Setup

Install from Custom Tap

Full System Update

Database Tools

Install Browser for Testing

Homebrew-Specific Tips