What is Homebrew?
Homebrew is the most popular free package manager for macOS — it installs command-line tools and desktop apps from the terminal with a single command, handling downloads, dependencies, and updates for you.
Install Homebrew (paste into Terminal):
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"What Homebrew does
Homebrew lets you install software Apple does not ship by default — both command-line tools (git, node, ffmpeg) and graphical apps (VS Code, Arc, Figma) — without hunting for installers or dragging apps to the Applications folder. You run one command and Homebrew downloads the software, resolves its dependencies, and keeps it updatable. It is written in Ruby and Git, and on Apple Silicon Macs it installs everything under /opt/homebrew (Intel Macs use /usr/local).
Formulae vs. casks
Homebrew installs two kinds of packages. A formula is a command-line tool or library (installed with brew install <name>). A cask is a graphical macOS app (installed with brew install --cask <name>), which Homebrew downloads and moves into Applications for you. Most desktop apps on Bundl install as casks.
Why it is the standard on Mac
Homebrew is reproducible (a Brewfile captures your whole setup in one text file), scriptable (perfect for setting up a new Mac in one pass), and cleaner than manual installs (one command to update or uninstall everything). That is exactly why Bundl generates a Homebrew command for the apps you pick.