How to Install Apps on Mac (2026)
The fastest way to install apps on a Mac is Homebrew: open Terminal, install Homebrew once, then run brew install --cask <app> to download and set up any app automatically — no .dmg dragging, and one command to update everything later.
- 1
Open Terminal
Open Terminal from Applications → Utilities, or press Cmd + Space, type "Terminal", and hit Enter. Terminal is where you will paste each command.
- 2
Install Homebrew (one time)
Homebrew is the free package manager that does the installing. Paste this command and follow the prompts — you only do this once per Mac. It installs to /opt/homebrew on Apple Silicon.
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" - 3
Install an app
Use brew install --cask <app> for graphical apps (a "cask"), or brew install <tool> for command-line tools (a "formula"). For example, install the VS Code editor:
brew install --cask visual-studio-code - 4
Launch it
Casks land in your Applications folder — open them from Launchpad or Spotlight (Cmd + Space). Command-line tools are ready to run by name in any new Terminal window.
- 5
Keep everything updated
One command updates every app you installed with Homebrew — no per-app updaters, no nag screens.
brew update && brew upgrade
Why install with Homebrew?
Installing from Homebrew beats hunting for installers: it is reproducible (a Brewfile captures your whole setup), scriptable (set up a new Mac in one pass), and tidy (one command to update or remove anything). Bundl uses exactly this — pick the apps you want and it generates a single Homebrew command that installs them all.