Install GNU and non-GNU Tools via Homebrew

OS X
Install GNU and non-GNU tools using Homebrew, and save yourself a headache and valuable time when you need newer software versions.
Author

Mauricio “Pachá” Vargas S.

Published

July 15, 2017

Updated 2022-05-28: Updated links.

Why should you do this?

On a previous post about installing R and Python on OS X I described some potential problems when using R or Python libraries.

After doing a fresh OS X install I had some problems with \(\LaTeX\) and XQuartz. The root of the problem is directories location that is easily solved with Homebrew as it doesn’t touch the system and provides symlinks for its packages.

What do you need to do this?

You’ll need Homebrew and XCode installed. How to do that? check these links

Its possible to install just Command Line Tools for XCode from Apple Developers instead of full XCode. The script below contains a line to install that.

How do you do this?

This script will install coreutils, bash, git and more updated tools. Don’t forget to read How to install and codesign GDB on OS X El Capitan to make it work.