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# "To install, drag this icon..." no more!
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Let's see if we can get the elegance, simplicity, and speed of Homebrew for the
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installation and management GUI Mac applications like Google Chrome and Adium.
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`brew-cask` provides a friendly homebrew-style CLI workflow for the
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administration of Mac applications distributed as binaries.
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It's implemented as a `homebrew` "[external
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command](https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/wiki/External-Commands)" called
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`cask`.
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# Let's try it!
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## Get brew-cask
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Tap this repository and install the `brew-cask` tool:
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$ brew tap phinze/homebrew-cask
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$ brew install brew-cask
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## Now let's install our first Cask
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Let's see if there's a Cask for Chrome:
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$ brew cask search chrome
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google-chrome
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Cool, there it is. Let's install it.
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$ brew cask install google-chrome
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Downloading...
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Success! google-chrome installed to /usr/local/Cellar/google-chrome/17.0.963.56
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Now we have `Google Chrome.app` in our Cellar, let's get it linked somewhere useful:
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$ brew cask linkapps
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/Users/phinze/Applications/Google Chrome.app -> /usr/local/Cellar/google-chrome/17.0.963.56/Google Chrome.app
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And there we have it. Google Chrome installed with a few quick commands; no clicking, no dragging, no dropping.
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open "~/Applications/Google Chrome.app"
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# What Casks are available?
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Just run `brew cask search` with no arguments to get a list.
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# How do I update brew-cask?
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Currently you'll have to `brew rm brew-cask` and then run the command above to reinstall.
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# What is a Cask?
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A `Cask` is like a `Formula` in Homebrew except it describes how to download
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and install a binary application.
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Casks currently have three fields:
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* __url__: (required) points to binary distribution of the application
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* __version__: (required) describes the version of the application available at the URL
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* __homepage__: the same as Homebrew's - it doesn't do anything yet, but will be wired in
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# What's the status of this project? Where's it headed?
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It's really just a start at this point, but it works, and I've got big plans!
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`brew-cask` currently understands how to install `dmg` and `zip` files that
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contain a `app` file. I'd like to extend it to be able to handle `pkg` files
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as well as the numerous other permutations of compression and distribution in
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the wild (`app` inside `dmg` inside `zip`; folder inside `dmg`; etc.).
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I plan to use the `Cask` model to allow per-project customization of behavior,
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like Homebrew does with `Formula`. This would allow weirdo applications like
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Eclipse ("really you want me to drag that whole folder to `Applications`?") to
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contain their complexity.
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Each Cask will then encapsulate and automate the story of how a given
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application should be installed. If all goes well - I'm hoping to build up a
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community-maintained collection of Casks that becomes the standard way that
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hackers install Mac apps.
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# Alfred Integration
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I've been using Casks along with Alfred to great effect. Just add
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`/usr/local/Cellar` as a Search Scope in Alfred's preferences, and then
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applications become available in Alfred immediately after a `brew cask
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install`. Your fingertips will thank you!
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