This script installs Homebrew to its preferred prefix (`/usr/local` for macOS Intel, `/opt/homebrew` for Apple Silicon and `/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew` for Linux) so that [you don’t need sudo](FAQ.md#why-does-homebrew-say-sudo-is-bad) when you `brew install`. It is a careful script; it can be run even if you have stuff installed in the preferred prefix already. It tells you exactly what it will do before it does it too. You have to confirm everything it will do before it starts.
You can use geolocalized Git mirrors to speed up Homebrew's installation and `brew update` by setting `HOMEBREW_BREW_GIT_REMOTE` and/or `HOMEBREW_CORE_GIT_REMOTE` in your shell environment with this script:
However do yourself a favour and use the installer to install to the default prefix. Some things may not build when installed elsewhere. One of the reasons Homebrew just works relative to the competition is **because** we recommend installing here. *Pick another prefix at your peril!*
Create a Homebrew installation wherever you extract the tarball. Whichever `brew` command is called is where the packages will be installed. You can use this as you see fit, e.g. to have a system set of libs in the default prefix and tweaked formulae for development in `~/homebrew`.
If you want a non-interactive run of the Homebrew installer that doesn't prompt for passwords (e.g. in automation scripts), prepend [`NONINTERACTIVE=1`](https://github.com/Homebrew/install/#install-homebrew-on-macos-or-linux) to the installation command.
<aname="2"><sup>2</sup></a> 10.15 or higher is recommended, while 10.11–10.14 are supported on a best-effort basis. For 10.4–10.6 see [Tigerbrew](https://github.com/mistydemeo/tigerbrew).
<aname="3"><sup>3</sup></a> Most formulae require a compiler. A handful require a full Xcode installation. You can install Xcode, the CLT, or both; Homebrew supports all three configurations. Downloading Xcode may require an Apple Developer account on older versions of Mac OS X. Sign up for free at [Apple's website](https://developer.apple.com/register/index.action).
<aname="4"><sup>4</sup></a> The one-liner installation method found on [brew.sh](https://brew.sh) requires the Bourne-again shell, i.e. `bash`. Notably, `zsh`, `fish`, `tcsh` and `csh` will not work.