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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,
)
​
packages
str | list[str]
List of packages to ensure.
​
present
bool
default:true
Whether the packages should be installed.
​
latest
bool
default:false
Whether to upgrade packages without a specified version.
​
update
bool
default:false
Run brew update before installing packages.
​
upgrade
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,
)

​
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"],
)
​
casks
str | list[str]
List of casks to ensure.
​
present
bool
default:true
Whether the casks should be installed.
​
latest
bool
default:false
Whether to upgrade casks without a specified version.
​
upgrade
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",
)
​
src
str
The name of the tap (e.g., user/repo).
​
present
bool
default:true
Whether this tap should be present or not.
​
url
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",
)

​
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",
        "[email protected]",
        "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

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"],
)
Remove old versions of installed packages:
from pyinfra.operations import server

server.shell(
    name="Clean up old versions",
    commands=["brew cleanup"],
)
Verify Homebrew installation:
from pyinfra.operations import server

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

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