How to Install and Use Homebrew on Linux in CircleCI

Overview

If you need to use brew in a CircleCI job and it isn't available in your convenience image, you can install it as a step in your job config.

Note: Linuxbrew has been merged into Homebrew. The Linuxbrew/install repository is deprecated — use the official Homebrew install script instead.

Installing Homebrew in a CircleCI job

Add the following run step before any step that uses brew. It installs Homebrew and makes it available to all subsequent steps via $BASH_ENV:

- run:
    name: Install and configure Homebrew
    command: |
      sudo apt-get install -y build-essential curl file git
      /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
      echo 'eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> $BASH_ENV
      source $BASH_ENV

CircleCI sources $BASH_ENV at the start of each subsequent run step, so Homebrew will remain available throughout the rest of the job without any additional setup.

Verifying the installation

To confirm Homebrew is installed and accessible, add a verification step:

- run:
    name: Verify Homebrew
    command: brew --version

Installing packages with brew

Once installed, use brew install as normal:

- run:
    name: Install packages with Homebrew
    command: |
      brew install wget
      brew install jq

Caching the Homebrew installation

Installing Homebrew on every run adds build time. You can cache the installation directory to speed up subsequent jobs:

- restore_cache:
    keys:
      - homebrew-v1-{{ arch }}

- run:
    name: Install and configure Homebrew
    command: |
      if ! command -v brew &>/dev/null; then
        sudo apt-get install -y build-essential curl file git
        /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
      fi
      echo 'eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> $BASH_ENV
      source $BASH_ENV

- save_cache:
    key: homebrew-v1-{{ arch }}
    paths:
      - /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew

Notes

• Homebrew on Linux installs to /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew by default.
• The brew command should not be run with sudo after installation.
• For full details on Homebrew on Linux, see the official Homebrew Linux documentation.

Additional Resources

• Homebrew