Homebrew Can Now Help You Install Flatpaks Too (yahoo.com)
(Sunday December 07, 2025 @11:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the delivering-packages dept.)
- Reference: 0180319795
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/07/0651234/homebrew-can-now-help-you-install-flatpaks-too
- Source link: https://tech.yahoo.com/computing/articles/homebrew-now-help-install-flatpaks-175146379.html
"Homebrew, the package manager for macOS and Linux, just got a handy new feature in the latest v5.0.4 update," [1]reports How-To Geek .
Brewfile install scripts "are now more like a one-stop shop for installing software, as Flatpaks are now supported alongside Brew packages, Mac App Store Apps, and other packages."
> For those times when you need to install many software packages at once, like when setting up a new PC or virtual machine, you can [2]create a Brewfile with a list of packages and run it with the ' brew bundle ' command. However, the Brewfile isn't limited to just Homebrew packages. You can also use it to install Mac App Store apps, graphical apps through [3]Casks , Visual Studio Code extensions, and Go language packages. Starting with this week's Homebrew v5.0.4 release, Flatpaks are now supported in Brewfiles as well...
>
> This turns Homebrew into a fantastic setup tool for macOS, Linux, and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) environments. You can have one script with all your preferred software, and [4]use 'if' statements with platform variables and existing file checks for added portability.
[1] https://tech.yahoo.com/computing/articles/homebrew-now-help-install-flatpaks-175146379.html
[2] https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/blob/main/docs/Brew-Bundle-and-Brewfile.md
[3] https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/
[4] https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/5.0.4
Brewfile install scripts "are now more like a one-stop shop for installing software, as Flatpaks are now supported alongside Brew packages, Mac App Store Apps, and other packages."
> For those times when you need to install many software packages at once, like when setting up a new PC or virtual machine, you can [2]create a Brewfile with a list of packages and run it with the ' brew bundle ' command. However, the Brewfile isn't limited to just Homebrew packages. You can also use it to install Mac App Store apps, graphical apps through [3]Casks , Visual Studio Code extensions, and Go language packages. Starting with this week's Homebrew v5.0.4 release, Flatpaks are now supported in Brewfiles as well...
>
> This turns Homebrew into a fantastic setup tool for macOS, Linux, and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) environments. You can have one script with all your preferred software, and [4]use 'if' statements with platform variables and existing file checks for added portability.
[1] https://tech.yahoo.com/computing/articles/homebrew-now-help-install-flatpaks-175146379.html
[2] https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/blob/main/docs/Brew-Bundle-and-Brewfile.md
[3] https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/
[4] https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/5.0.4
So what's the actual advantage to this? (Score:2)
Bookkeeping?
I mean, both Mac App Store packages and Flatpaks are already self-contained... so there's no dependency management you have to think about with those "apps". And WSL already supports numerous Linux distros, each of which already has its own package manager (e.g. dnf, apt).