Adjust Homebrew Auto-Update Frequency or Disable Auto-Update

🛠 Tools and Programming
1

This article is transcribed by 简悦 SimpRead, original at juejin.cn

Summary of “Pitfalls” and “Fixes” Experiences in Using Homebrew!

  1. Homebrew Auto-Update Issue

Problem: When running brew install or upgrade, Homebrew forcibly runs update, which takes time.

Solutions (ranked by recommendation):

  1. Export environment variable (recommended): Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

    bash

    export HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1

    Globally disable auto-update; need to manually run brew update to check for updates.

  2. Use alias: Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

    bash

    alias brew="HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1 brew"

    Same effect as above, but only effective for brew command.

  3. Disable once: Temporarily disable auto-update:

    bash

    HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1 brew install <formula>

  4. Use Homebrew/aliases:

    bash

    brew alias install_no_autoupdate='!HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1 brew install'

    Then replace brew install with brew install_no_autoupdate.

Supplement:

  • After disabling auto-update, periodically run brew update manually to get the latest formulas.
  • To temporarily enable auto-update, run unset HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE.
  1. Confusion Between Cask and App Store Apps

Problem: Both Cask and App Store install apps into /Applications, causing:

  1. Unable to distinguish source of installation.
  2. The same app might be overwritten.

Solution:

  • Set Cask installation path: Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

    bash

    export HOMEBREW_CASK_OPTS="--appdir=~/Applications/_"

    Cask apps will be installed into ~/Applications/_/, separated from /Applications.

Author’s app management suggestions:

  • App Store: Install to /Applications.
  • Cask: Install to ~/Applications/_/.
  • Cracked apps: Install to ~/Applications/#/.
  • JetBrains IDE: Manage via JetBrains Toolbox (Toolbox itself is installed via Cask).
  • Open source / free apps: Install to ~/Applications.

Supplement:

  • Ensure ~/Applications/_ and ~/Applications/# directories exist; create them manually if needed:

    bash

    mkdir -p ~/Applications/_ ~/Applications/#

  • To avoid permission issues, check and adjust directory permissions:

    bash

    chmod -R u+rwX ~/Applications
  1. Bulk Update Issue for Cask

Problem: Old scripts no longer work; need a more efficient way to update Cask apps.

Solution:

  • Install cask-upgrade:

    bash

    brew tap buo/cask-upgrade

  • Use commands:

    • Update all updatable apps:

      bash

      brew cu

    • Update specific app:

      bash

      brew cu <app>

    • Common options:

      • -a: Include auto-updated apps.
      • -f: Force update apps with version marked as latest.
      • -y: Auto-confirm all update prompts.

Supplement:

  • Project address: buo/homebrew-cask-upgrade.

  • Before running brew cu, it is recommended to run brew update to ensure the Cask repo is up to date.

  • If update fails, try updating apps individually and check logs:

    bash

    brew cu <app> --verbose
  1. Slow Homebrew Speeds Due to Domestic Network

Problem: brew update and brew install are slow due to network issues.

Solution:

  1. Change source (recommended):

    • Refer to Tsinghua mirror guide:

      • brew update slow: change Homebrew core repo source.

      • brew install slow: change Homebrew Bottles source.

      • Configuration steps (example using Tsinghua source):

        bash

        # Change core repo
git -C "$(brew --repo)" remote set-url origin https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/git/homebrew/brew.git
git -C "$(brew --repo homebrew/core)" remote set-url origin https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/git/homebrew/homebrew-core.git
git -C "$(brew --repo homebrew/cask)" remote unstoppable https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/git/homebrew/homebrew-cask.git
# Change Bottles source
echo 'export HOMEBREW_BOTTLE_DOMAIN=https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/homebrew-bottles' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

      • Tsinghua source address: mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn.

    • Other optional sources: University of Science and Technology of China, Alibaba Cloud, etc.

  2. Proxy:

    • Set proxy (replace with your own proxy address and port):

      bash

      export all_proxy=socks5://<host>:<port>

    • Suitable for users with stable proxy, generally faster.

Supplement:

  • The first brew update after changing source may be slow, but subsequent runs improve significantly.

  • If a mirror becomes invalid, switch back to official source:

    bash

    git -C "$(brew --repo)" remote set-url origin https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git

  • Proxy settings may affect other tools; you can unset after use:

    bash

    unset all_proxy
  1. SHA256/Checksum Mismatch Problem

Problem:

  • Error: SHA256 mismatch (brew) or Error: Checksum mismatch (cask), due to mismatch between repo checksum and actual file.

Solutions:

  1. Clear cache (try this first):

    bash

    rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Homebrew
brew install <formula/app>

    Applies when distributor modifies files without updating version number.

  2. Manually modify checksum (if clearing cache doesn’t help):

    • Brew:

      • Edit formula file:

        bash

        nano /usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-core/Formula/<formula>.rb

      • Replace sha256 value with actual file checksum (can get via shasum -a 256).

    • Cask:

      • Edit Cask file:

        bash

        nano /usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-cask/Casks/<app>.rb

      • Update sha256 value.

    • After saving, rerun brew install or brew cask install.

  3. Notes:

    • Disable auto-update to prevent modifications from being overwritten:

      bash

      export HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1

    • Keep the editor, undo changes after successful install (to avoid Git conflicts).

    • Restore repos if conflict occurs:

      bash

      cd /usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-core
git reset --hard
cd /usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-cask
git reset --hard