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https://github.com/lgug2z/bfm

Brewfile Manager
https://github.com/lgug2z/bfm

homebrew macos

Last synced: 3 months ago
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Brewfile Manager

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README 

        
# Brewfile Manager

Brewfile Manager (bfm) is a command line tool for managing

a dependency whitelist in the form of a Brewfile in a less

active and more comprehensible way.



## Requirements

* [Homebrew](https://github.com/homebrew/brew)

* [Homebrew Bundle](https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle)

* [Go](https://github.com/golang/go)



## Install

The latest version of bfm can be installed using `go get`.



```

go get -u github.com/LGUG2Z/bfm

```



Make sure `$GOPATH` is set correctly that and that `$GOPATH/bin` is in your `$PATH`.



The `bfm` executable will be installed under the `$GOPATH/bin` directory.



In order to use bfm the following environment variables

first need to be exported in your shell rc file:



```

BFM_BREWFILE=/path/to/your/Brewfile

BFM_LEVEL=[required, recommended, optional, build]

```



## Overview

When adding a new package to a Brewfile whitelist, it is

not uncommon for that package to install other packages

which are required dependencies, and depending on the

arguments given, recommended and optional dependencies too.



These additional dependencies, if not also added to the

Brewfile, get marked for removal by the `brew bundle cleanup`

command. So you add those dependencies to your Brewfile too,

and eventually you end up with a Brewfile you struggle to

make sense of for all of these additional dependencies that

have been added for the cleanup command to remain useful.



Take as an example the neovim package:



```

neovim: stable 0.2.0 (bottled), HEAD

Ambitious Vim-fork focused on extensibility and agility

https://neovim.io/

/usr/local/Cellar/neovim/0.2.0_1 (1,352 files, 17.2MB) *

  Poured from bottle on 2017-08-04 at 15:25:02

From: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/blob/master/Formula/neovim.rb

==> Dependencies

Build: luajit ✘, cmake ✔, [email protected] ✘, pkg-config ✔

Required: gettext ✔, jemalloc ✔, libtermkey ✔, libuv ✔, libvterm ✔, msgpack ✔, unibilium ✔

```



If only neovim is whitelisted in the Brewfile, then the

`brew bundle cleanup` command will suggest the removal of the

required dependencies that are not directly whitelisted in the

Brewfile but necessary to be able to use neovim. These can be

added manually to the Brewfile, but this approach very quickly

leads to a Brewfile full of tersely named packages which may

or may not all be required as packages are added and removed

from the Brewfile over a period of time.



Ultimately, a whitelist where you can't look at the

packages included and know exactly what is whitelisted and

why, is not a very useful whitelist at all.



By setting a `BFM_LEVEL`, when performing any operation with

bfm, the level of dependencies to operate on can be kept

consistent.



When you add and remove packages using bfm, depending on the

level chosen, all of the required, recommended, optional or

build dependencies belonging to that package can also be

added, complete with annotations, or removed from the Brewfile

at the same time.



### Use Cases

I have developed this tool primarily for my own personal use.

I am a consultant and can find myself working on multiple

different software projects throughout the course of a year,

often with quite a short turn around time between them. While

it would be nice to have a fresh install of macOS every time I

join a new project or to use Vagrant for every project to ensure

a clean development environment, this is not always practical or

possible.



By having a well managed and comprehensible Brewfile whitelist,

firstly, I can run `brew bundle cleanup --global --force` at the

end of a project and be sure that I have no lingering packages

that are unneeded going forward into a new project, and secondly,

I can look at my whitelist at any time and have great certainty

about what every brew installed package on my system is being

used for.



## Usage

### Basics

The main commands of bfm are `add`, `remove`, `clean`, `check` and `refresh`. Information

for any of these commands can be found by running `bfm [cmd] --help`.



#### Add, Remove, Clean

`add`, `remove` and `clean` are destructive commands that will permanently modify your Brewfile without creating a backup.



It is recommended that if you are using bfm for the first time, you run these commands with the `--dry-run` flag.



When adding to the Brewfile, a flag must be used to specify what is being added:



```

bfm add --tap homebrew/dupes

bfm add --brew vim --args HEAD,with-override-system-vi

bfm add --brew crisidev/chunkwm/chunkwm --restart-service changed

bfm add --cask macvim

bfm add --mas Xcode --mas-id 497799835

```



Additional arguments for brew dependencies can be specified with the `--args` flag and service restart behaviour (`always`, `changed`) can be specified with the `--restart-service` flag.



The same flags must also be used with the `remove` and `check` commands.



```

bfm remove --tap homebrew/dupes

bfm check --brew vim

bfm remove --cask macvim

bfm check --mas Xcode

```



The `clean` command will organise your Brewfile and sort it into sections in

the following order: taps -> primary brews -> dependent brews -> -> casks -> mas apps.



Before: 

```

mas 'Xcode', id: 497799835

cask 'macvim'

brew 'neovim'

brew 'gettext'

brew 'jemalloc'

brew 'libtermkey'

brew 'libuv'

brew 'libvterm'

brew 'msgpack'

brew 'unibilium'

# brew 'emacs'

cask 'firefox'

tap 'caskroom/cask'

tap 'homebrew/dupes'

# cask 'google-chrome'

brew 'cmus'

```



After:

```

tap 'caskroom/cask'

tap 'homebrew/dupes'

 

brew 'cmus'

brew 'neovim'



brew 'gettext' # [required by: neovim]

brew 'jemalloc' # [required by: neovim]

brew 'libtermkey' # [required by: neovim]

brew 'libuv' # [required by: neovim]

brew 'libvterm' # [required by: neovim]

brew 'msgpack' # [required by: neovim]

brew 'unibilium' # [required by: neovim]



cask 'firefox'

cask 'macvim'

 

mas 'Xcode', id: 497799835

```



Splitting up the brews into primary and dependent sections helps to separate the signal

from the noise. Essentially, you should have a clear understanding of what every package

in the primary brews section does and why it is there. If you don't, it is worth rethinking

its place in your whitelist.



The Brewfile is automatically cleaned after every `add` and `remove` operation.



#### Check

The `check` command is a quick way to get feedback about the presence of a package

in the Brewfile and, if it is a brew package, to get feedback about what its

dependencies are and if the package itself is a dependency of another package.



```

❯ bfm check -b neovim

neovim is present in the Brewfile.



Required dependencies: gettext, jemalloc, libtermkey, libuv, libvterm, msgpack, unibilium

Build Dependencies: luajit, cmake, [email protected], pkg-config



Not a required, recommended, optional or build dependency of any other package.

```



```

❯ bfm check -b gettext

gettext is present in the Brewfile.



No required, recommended, optional or build dependencies.



Required dependency of: glib, gnupg, libmp3splt, neovim, weechat

```



#### Refresh

The `refresh` command will get information about all installable brews and casks

given the repositories that have been tapped on the system, and stores it in a

BoltDB file in the home folder.



This command should be run after adding a new tap and periodically to stay up

to date with new information added after every `brew update`.