Homebrew vs. MSYS2 Comparison


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About The missing package manager for macOS (or Linux). The script explains what it will do and then pauses before it does it. Homebrew installs the stuff you need that Apple (or your Linux system) didn’t. Homebrew installs packages to their own directory and then symlinks their files into /usr/local (on macOS Intel). Homebrew won’t install files outside its prefix and you can place a Homebrew installation wherever you like. Trivially create your own Homebrew packages. It’s all Git and Ruby underneath, so hack away with the knowledge that you can easily revert your modifications and merge upstream updates. Homebrew formulae are simple Ruby scripts. Homebrew complements macOS (or your Linux system). Install your RubyGems with gem and their dependencies with brew. Homebrew Cask installs macOS apps, fonts and plugins and other non-open source software. Making a cask is as simple as creating a formula.	About MSYS2 is a collection of tools and libraries providing you with an easy-to-use environment for building, installing and running native Windows software. It consists of a command line terminal called mintty, bash, version control systems like git and subversion, tools like tar and awk and even build systems like autotools, all based on a modified version of Cygwin. Despite some of these central parts being based on Cygwin, the main focus of MSYS2 is to provide a build environment for native Windows software and the Cygwin-using parts are kept at a minimum. MSYS2 provides up-to-date native builds for GCC, mingw-w64, CPython, CMake, Meson, OpenSSL, FFmpeg, Rust, Ruby, just to name a few. To provide easy installation of packages and a way to keep them updated it features a package management system called Pacman, which should be familiar to Arch Linux users.
Platforms Supported Windows Not Supported Mac Supported Linux Supported Cloud Not Supported On-Premises Not Supported iPhone Not Supported iPad Not Supported Android Not Supported Chromebook Not Supported	Platforms Supported Windows Supported Mac Not Supported Linux Not Supported Cloud Not Supported On-Premises Not Supported iPhone Not Supported iPad Not Supported Android Not Supported Chromebook Not Supported
Audience Professional users in search of a solution to create and install packages to their own directory	Audience Developers in need of a software distribution and building platform for Windows
Support Phone Support Not Supported 24/7 Live Support Not Supported Online Supported	Support Phone Support Not Supported 24/7 Live Support Not Supported Online Supported
API Offers API Supported	API Offers API Not Supported
Screenshots and Videos View more images or videos	Screenshots and Videos View more images or videos
Pricing Free Free Version Supported Free Trial Not Supported	Pricing Free Free Version Supported Free Trial Not Supported
Reviews/Ratings Overall 5.0 / 5 ease 5.0 / 5 features 5.0 / 5 design 4.0 / 5 support 4.0 / 5 Read all reviews	Reviews/Ratings Overall 0.0 / 5 ease 0.0 / 5 features 0.0 / 5 design 0.0 / 5 support 0.0 / 5 This software hasn't been reviewed yet. Be the first to provide a review: Review this Software
Pros & Cons from Real Users Pros Homebrew is a really easy way to install and upgrade various tools and packages on MacOS, for free. Its great for development, to make your mac a bit more like a linux box with common packages, GNU tools, etc. Its frequently updated so has lots of packages and quite recent versions of them. Cons Sometimes upgrading or installing one package triggers a lot of other packages to get upgraded too. Homebrew has its reasons for this, but it can be annoying when it takes a lot longer than you're expecting for just the package your interested in installing.
Training Documentation Supported Webinars Not Supported Live Online Not Supported In Person Not Supported	Training Documentation Supported Webinars Not Supported Live Online Not Supported In Person Not Supported
Company Information Homebrew brew.sh/	Company Information MSYS2 www.msys2.org
Alternatives Fink	Alternatives Cygwin
Rudix	fpm
ServBay	Shell Assistant
Homebrew Cask Homebrew	Dev-C++ Embarcadero
Updatest View All	Pacman View All
Categories Package Managers Supported Software Deployment Supported	Categories Package Managers Supported

Integrations Fortran Package Manager Supported Caxton Supported Defang Supported Echidna Supported Git Supported Jumpcut Supported Koi Supported Koidex Supported Macsmith Supported OpenAPI Generator Supported Pacman Not Supported Ruby Supported SOOS Supported Updatest Supported Xdebug Supported ent Supported gitleaks Supported { Gisto } Supported Show More Integrations View All 17 Integrations	Integrations Fortran Package Manager Supported Caxton Not Supported Defang Not Supported Echidna Not Supported Git Not Supported Jumpcut Not Supported Koi Not Supported Koidex Not Supported Macsmith Not Supported OpenAPI Generator Not Supported Pacman Supported Ruby Not Supported SOOS Not Supported Updatest Not Supported Xdebug Not Supported ent Not Supported gitleaks Not Supported { Gisto } Not Supported Show More Integrations View All 2 Integrations
Claim Homebrew and update features and information Claim Homebrew and update features and information	Claim MSYS2 and update features and information Claim MSYS2 and update features and information