Package Manager Reference: Homebrew, APT, DNF/YUM

Homebrew (macOS)

Install, Remove, Upgrade

brew install <package>              # Install a formula
brew install <package>@<version>    # Install specific version
brew uninstall <package>            # Remove a package
brew reinstall <package>            # Reinstall (useful after macOS upgrades)
brew update                         # Update Homebrew itself and tap metadata
brew upgrade                        # Upgrade all outdated packages
brew upgrade <package>              # Upgrade one package
brew outdated                       # List outdated packages

Search and Inspect

brew search <term>                  # Search by name or partial match
brew info <package>                 # Version, dependencies, install path
brew list                           # All installed formulae
brew list --versions                # Installed formulae with versions
brew deps --tree <package>          # Dependency tree

Casks (GUI Applications)

Casks manage macOS GUI applications (.app bundles, installers, fonts).

brew install --cask <app>           # Install a GUI app
brew list --cask                    # List installed casks
brew upgrade --cask                 # Upgrade all casks
brew uninstall --cask <app>         # Remove a cask
brew search --cask <term>           # Search casks

Taps (Third-Party Repositories)

brew tap <user/repo>                # Add a third-party repository
brew tap                            # List all taps
brew untap <user/repo>              # Remove a tap
brew install <user/repo>/<formula>  # Install from a specific tap

Brewfile (Reproducible Setups)

brew bundle dump --file=~/Brewfile          # Export current packages
brew bundle dump --force --file=~/Brewfile  # Overwrite existing Brewfile
brew bundle install --file=~/Brewfile       # Install from Brewfile
brew bundle check --file=~/Brewfile         # Check what is missing
brew bundle cleanup --file=~/Brewfile       # Remove unlisted packages

Example Brewfile:

tap "homebrew/bundle"
tap "hashicorp/tap"
brew "git"
brew "node@20"
brew "python@3.12"
cask "visual-studio-code"
cask "docker"
mas "Xcode", id: 497799835   # Mac App Store (requires mas)

Services

brew services start <service>       # Start (e.g., postgresql, redis)
brew services stop <service>        # Stop
brew services restart <service>     # Restart
brew services list                  # List all managed services
brew services run <service>         # Run once, no startup registration

Cleanup

brew cleanup                        # Remove old versions and stale downloads
brew cleanup -n                     # Dry run
brew cleanup -s                     # Remove all cache files
du -sh "$(brew --cache)"            # Show cache size

Pin Packages

Pinning prevents a package from being upgraded by brew upgrade.

brew pin <package>
brew unpin <package>
brew list --pinned

Troubleshooting

brew doctor                         # Run diagnostic checks
brew update-reset                   # Reset to clean state (re-fetches taps)
brew --prefix <package>             # Show install path
brew install -v <package>           # Verbose install for debugging

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APT (Debian / Ubuntu)

Install and Remove

sudo apt install <package>                # Install
sudo apt install -y <package>             # Install without prompting
sudo apt install <package>=<version>      # Specific version
sudo apt remove <package>                 # Remove (keeps config files)
sudo apt purge <package>                  # Remove including config files
sudo dpkg -i <file.deb>                   # Install local .deb file

Update vs Upgrade vs Full-Upgrade

sudo apt update                    # Refresh package index (installs nothing)
sudo apt upgrade                   # Upgrade installed packages (never removes)
sudo apt full-upgrade              # Upgrade, removing obsolete packages if needed

Always run apt update before apt upgrade.

Search and Inspect

apt search <term>                  # Search by name or description
apt show <package>                 # Package details
apt list --installed               # List installed packages
apt list --upgradable              # List upgradable packages
apt-cache policy <package>         # Version and repository info

PPAs (Personal Package Archives)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:<user>/<ppa-name>
sudo apt update
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:<user>/<ppa-name>   # Remove a PPA
# List configured repos
grep -r --include='*.list' '^deb ' /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/

On newer Ubuntu, repos use DEB822 .sources files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/.

Hold Packages

sudo apt-mark hold <package>       # Prevent upgrades
sudo apt-mark unhold <package>     # Allow upgrades again
apt-mark showhold                  # List held packages

Cleanup

sudo apt autoremove                # Remove orphaned dependencies
sudo apt clean                     # Clear local package cache
sudo apt autoclean                 # Remove only outdated cached packages

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DNF / YUM (RHEL / Fedora / CentOS)

DNF replaced YUM starting with Fedora 22 and RHEL 8. Command syntax is nearly identical.

Install and Remove

sudo dnf install <package>         # Install
sudo dnf install -y <package>      # Install without prompting
sudo dnf remove <package>          # Remove
sudo dnf reinstall <package>       # Reinstall

Upgrade

sudo dnf upgrade                   # Upgrade all packages
sudo dnf check-update              # Check for updates without installing
sudo dnf upgrade <package>         # Upgrade one package

dnf update is an alias for dnf upgrade.

Search and Inspect

dnf search <term>                  # Search
dnf info <package>                 # Package details
dnf list installed                 # List installed
dnf list updates                   # List available updates
dnf provides <file-or-command>     # Find which package provides a file

Repositories

dnf repolist                                    # List enabled repos
dnf repolist all                                # List all repos
sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo <url>        # Add a repo
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled <repo-id> # Enable a repo
sudo dnf config-manager --set-disabled <repo-id># Disable a repo

Version Lock

sudo dnf install dnf-plugin-versionlock    # Install the plugin
sudo dnf versionlock add <package>         # Lock a package
sudo dnf versionlock delete <package>      # Unlock
dnf versionlock list                       # List locked packages

Cleanup

sudo dnf autoremove                # Remove unneeded dependencies
sudo dnf clean all                 # Clean cached metadata and packages
sudo dnf clean packages            # Clean cached packages only

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Cross-Platform Comparison

Task	Homebrew (macOS)	APT (Debian/Ubuntu)	DNF (RHEL/Fedora)
Refresh package index	brew update	sudo apt update	sudo dnf check-update
Install	brew install pkg	sudo apt install pkg	sudo dnf install pkg
Remove	brew uninstall pkg	sudo apt remove pkg	sudo dnf remove pkg
Upgrade all	brew upgrade	sudo apt upgrade	sudo dnf upgrade
Upgrade one	brew upgrade pkg	sudo apt install --only-upgrade pkg	sudo dnf upgrade pkg
Search	brew search term	apt search term	dnf search term
Package info	brew info pkg	apt show pkg	dnf info pkg
List installed	brew list	apt list --installed	dnf list installed
List outdated	brew outdated	apt list --upgradable	dnf list updates
Hold / pin version	brew pin pkg	sudo apt-mark hold pkg	sudo dnf versionlock add pkg
Remove unused deps	brew autoremove	sudo apt autoremove	sudo dnf autoremove
Clean cache	brew cleanup	sudo apt clean	sudo dnf clean all
Diagnose issues	brew doctor	sudo apt --fix-broken install	sudo dnf distro-sync
Add third-party repo	brew tap user/repo	add-apt-repository ppa:u/repo	dnf config-manager --add-repo