Homebrew

Homebrew is an optional, user-space package manager that installs software under /home/linuxbrew/. It is useful if you are familiar with macOS tooling, need a package that is not in Nix, or want cross-platform consistency between macOS and Linux environments.

Homebrew is not pre-installed on Shanios — use Nix or Distrobox first. Install Homebrew only if you have a specific reason to.

Installing Homebrew

# Install Homebrew (user-space, no root required)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# No PATH setup needed: Shanios's shell defaults (Zsh, Bash and Fish) pick
# Homebrew up automatically once /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew exists.
# Skip the installer's "add brew shellenv to your rc file" step and just
# open a new terminal.

Basic Usage

# NOTE: `brew` is NOT in the image. It is an optional per-user install (see
# above) - until it exists, every command below is "command not found".
# Search for a package
brew search keyword

# Install a package
brew install package-name

# Install a GUI application (cask — limited on Linux)
brew install --cask app-name

# List installed packages
brew list

# Update Homebrew and all formulae definitions
brew update

# Upgrade installed packages
brew upgrade

# Upgrade a specific package
brew upgrade package-name

# Remove a package
brew uninstall package-name

# Check for issues with your Homebrew installation
brew doctor

Storage

Homebrew installs everything under /home/linuxbrew/, which lives on the @home Btrfs subvolume. Installed packages persist across all system updates and rollbacks automatically.

Homebrew vs Nix

For most cases on Shanios, Nix is preferred — it is pre-installed, supports multiple package versions simultaneously, and has built-in rollback. Use Homebrew only when a specific tool is not available in Nix or when cross-platform brew scripts are a requirement.

See Also

• Nix Package Manager — pre-installed, preferred for CLI tools
• Flatpak — GUI app store
• Distrobox — full mutable environments
• Migrating from Traditional Linux — Homebrew workflow changes