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The zb migrate command helps you transition from Homebrew to zerobrew by automatically installing your existing Homebrew packages using zerobrew, and optionally uninstalling them from Homebrew.

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When to Use

Use zb migrate when you:
  • Want to switch from Homebrew to zerobrew for your existing packages
  • Need to preserve your current development environment while gaining zerobrew’s performance benefits
  • Want to automatically handle package migration instead of reinstalling manually
zerobrew is experimental. We recommend running it alongside Homebrew rather than as a replacement. Only core formulas from homebrew-core can be migrated.

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Usage

zb migrate [OPTIONS]

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Options

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-y, --yes
flag
Skip confirmation prompts and proceed with migration automatically
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--force
flag
Pass --force to brew uninstall when removing packages from Homebrew (uninstalls even if other packages depend on them)

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What Gets Migrated

The migration process handles different package types:
  • Core formulas (from homebrew-core): ✅ Migrated to zerobrew
  • Non-core formulas (from third-party taps): ⚠️ Skipped (not supported)
  • Casks (GUI applications): ⚠️ Skipped (zerobrew only supports CLI tools)

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Migration Process

The command follows these steps:
  1. Discovery: Scans your Homebrew installation for all installed packages
  2. Filtering: Identifies which packages can be migrated (core formulas only)
  3. Confirmation: Prompts for confirmation unless --yes is used
  4. Installation: Installs each formula using zerobrew
  5. Cleanup: Optionally uninstalls successfully migrated formulas from Homebrew

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Examples

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Interactive Migration

Review packages and confirm before proceeding: 
zb migrate
Output: 
==> Fetching installed Homebrew packages...
    42 core formulas, 3 non-core formulas, 5 casks found

Note: Formulas from non-core taps cannot be migrated to zerobrew:
    • custom-tool (homebrew/custom)

Note: Casks cannot be migrated to zerobrew (only CLI formulas are supported):
    • visual-studio-code
    • firefox

The following 42 formulas will be migrated:
    • jq
    • wget
    • git
    ...

Continue with migration? [y/N]

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Non-Interactive Migration

Skip all prompts: 
zb migrate --yes

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Force Uninstall from Homebrew

Use --force to uninstall packages from Homebrew even if they have dependents: 
zb migrate --yes --force
Using --force may break other Homebrew packages that depend on the formulas being uninstalled.

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Error Handling

If some packages fail to install:
  • Successful installations are tracked separately
  • Failed packages remain in Homebrew
  • Only successfully migrated packages are offered for Homebrew uninstallation
  • A summary shows which packages failed and why

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Post-Migration

After migration:
  • Successfully migrated packages are available via zerobrew
  • Run zb list to see installed packages
  • You can still use Homebrew for packages that couldn’t be migrated
  • Non-core formulas and casks remain in Homebrew

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