A Few GUI Tools for the Homebrew Curious

If you'd like to explore some of what's available in macOS through Homebrew, the command line package manager but you are a little intimidated by the terminal, you are in luck. There are some apps with graphical user interfaces to help you see what's available, what you have installed and what needs updating. using them in concert doesn't hurt one bit.

Get Homebrew here

The first app is Applite, is a free application manager using a graphical user interface for apps installed using the CLI Homebrew package manager. Applite allows you to download, manage and update your Homebrew installed apps, even the ones you installed prior to using Applite. It has a clean and simple user interface and is designed for non-technical users. It is free and open source. There are no trackers.  One complaint I've heard from users is that does not seem to update all packages they have installed. It doesn't list everything they have installed either. Some of the packages (for example, ffmpeg) are not available on Applite when searched for.

The second app is CakeBrew. CakeBrew can also download and update apps but it has a feature Applite doesn't have, the Homebrew Doctor. The doctor is a Homebrew feature that detects the most common causes of errors. 

The third app is Cork, and I know it only from its great reputation. I hope to have a copy to fully check it out soon but based on other reviews and the developer's GitHub site, Cork simplifies the HomeBrew experience and speeds things up quite a bit. You can compile it yourself from the code on GitHub or buy it for 25€ from the developer (includes updates). Some of the things Cork does that Homebrew does not include:

• Automatically respecting system proxy.
• Clearing of cached downloads.
• Updating packages from the Menu Bar without having an app open.
• Seeing much info about a package in one convenient location.
• Tagging packages. This is a Cork-only feature that lets you mark any number of packages you'd like to keep track of.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience with Cork.