README.md

September 4, 2026 · View on GitHub

WailBrew - Homebrew GUI Manager for macOS

A modern, native Homebrew GUI for macOS to install, update, and manage brew packages, casks, and services - an actively maintained, open-source Cakebrew alternative.

WailBrew demo - browsing, installing, and upgrading Homebrew packages on macOS

⚡ Quick Install

brew install --cask wailbrew

Prefer a direct download? Grab the latest release. See Installation for details.

📖 Table of Contents

Quick Install
About
Why WailBrew?
Features
Screenshots
Installation
Uninstall
Requirements
WailBrew vs. Cakebrew
Localizations
FAQ
Featured In
Sponsor
Contributing
Troubleshooting & Support
License
Acknowledgments

WailBrew is a modern and intuitive graphical interface for Homebrew on macOS. It makes package management accessible to everyone - no terminal required - while still giving power users full control over formulae, casks, taps, and services.

WailBrew was inspired by Cakebrew, bringing modern UI design and enhanced functionality to Homebrew package management. Built with Wails, Go, and React, it combines native performance with a beautiful, responsive interface.

Requests, Questions, Troubleshooting? => r/WailBrew

⭐ Why WailBrew?

🚀 Native & fast - a real macOS app built on Wails (Go + React), not a browser wrapper.
🍎 Universal - runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
🧩 Complete - manages formulae, casks, taps, and services - not just packages.
🌍 Localized - a fully translated UI in 11 languages.
🔒 Signed & notarized - distributed through the official Homebrew cask.
💚 Actively maintained & open source - MIT licensed, with regular releases.

✨ Features

📦 Package management

Browse and manage installed formulae and casks
Instant search and filtering across all packages
Install, uninstall, and upgrade - individually, in bulk (multi-select), or all at once
View detailed package info, including dependencies and dependents
Leaves view to find packages you can safely remove

🔄 Updates

Check for outdated packages and update them individually or all at once
Background update checks with a Dock badge showing available updates
Configurable outdated-check flags (e.g. include greedy cask updates)

🗄️ Taps & repositories

List, tap, and untap repositories
Trust untrusted taps and view tap info

⚙️ Homebrew Services

List all services and their status
Start, stop, restart, and run services directly from the UI

🩺 Maintenance

Built-in brew doctor with deprecated-formula detection
Cleanup with dry-run preview before removing old versions and caches
Brewfile export (brew bundle dump)
Self-manage Homebrew itself (brew update, version info)

🎛️ Power-user extras

Command palette and keyboard shortcuts
Light / dark mode synced with macOS appearance
Proxy and mirror source support (including China mirrors) for faster, restricted-network installs
Custom brew path with architecture auto-detection, custom cask options, no-quarantine toggle, auto-relaunch & auto-cleanup after upgrades
Session logging for transparency into every command run

📸 Screenshots

WailBrew - Homebrew GUI showing installed formulae, casks, and available updates on macOS

WailBrew Casks view - pinning a cask to block its updates WailBrew Services view - managing Homebrew services WailBrew Doctor view - diagnosing Homebrew issues with brew doctor WailBrew in light mode

📥 Installation

📦 Installation via Homebrew (recommended):

brew install --cask wailbrew

Or download the latest version directly from GitHub Releases.

🗑️ Uninstall

brew uninstall --cask wailbrew

💻 Requirements

WailBrew supports the following macOS versions:

Apple Silicon (ARM): macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) and later
Intel: macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) and later

Homebrew must be installed. While the app is primarily tested on the latest macOS versions, we strive to maintain compatibility with older supported versions. If you encounter any issues on your macOS version, please let us know by opening an issue or providing feedback.

🆚 WailBrew vs. Cakebrew

WailBrew is inspired by Cakebrew and aims to be a modern, actively maintained successor.

	WailBrew	Cakebrew
Manage formulae	✅	✅
Manage casks	✅	⚠️ Limited
Homebrew services management	✅	❌
`brew doctor` & cleanup	✅	⚠️ Partial
Apple Silicon native	✅	✅
Localized UI (11 languages)	✅	❌
Light / dark mode	✅	⚠️
Actively maintained	✅	❌
Open source	✅ (MIT)	✅

🌍 Localizations

WailBrew ships with a fully translated UI in the following languages:

🇺🇸 English
🇩🇪 German
🇫🇷 French
🇹🇷 Turkish
🇨🇳 Chinese (Simplified)
🇹🇼 Chinese (Traditional)
🇧🇷 Português do Brasil
🇷🇺 Russian
🇰🇷 Korean
🇮🇱 Hebrew
🇪🇸 Spanish

Want to see WailBrew in your language? Contributions are welcome - open a Pull Request or create an Issue. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the translation guide.

❓ FAQ

Is WailBrew free? Yes. WailBrew is completely free and open source under the MIT license.

Does it work on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)? Yes - WailBrew runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Do I still need Homebrew installed? Yes. WailBrew is a graphical front-end for Homebrew, so brew must be installed. WailBrew auto-detects the brew path for your architecture.

How is WailBrew different from Cakebrew? WailBrew is an actively maintained, modern alternative with cask and services management, a localized UI in 11 languages, light/dark mode, and native Apple Silicon support. See the comparison above.

Does WailBrew run my commands safely? Yes - WailBrew simply calls the brew CLI. Every command is transparent, and session logging lets you see exactly what runs.

Is it available for Linux or Windows? WailBrew targets macOS. There is partial Linux support; see the troubleshooting note below.

📰 Featured In

WailBrew has been featured by a number of publications and communities:

See more coverage

WailBrew is free and open source, built and maintained in my spare time. Sponsorship helps cover the Apple Developer Program membership ($99/year, required for code signing & notarization) and funds time for new features like Brewfile import, native notifications, and faster large-list performance.

If WailBrew saves you time, please consider supporting its development: