homebrew-cask/doc/automation.md

Automating with Homebrew-cask

Homebrew-cask allows you to install several applications at once. Calling brew cask install with multiple arguments works as you would expect:

brew cask install vagrant virtualbox
==> Downloading https://dl.bintray.com/mitchellh/vagrant/Vagrant-1.4.3.dmg
==> Running installer for vagrant…
==> Success! vagrant installed to /opt/homebrew-cask/Caskroom/vagrant/1.4.3
==> Downloading http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/4.3.8/VirtualBox-4.3.8
==> Running installer for virtualbox…
==> Success! virtualbox installed to /opt/homebrew-cask/Caskroom/virtualbox/4.3.8

However, this approach doesn't scale very well. For large numbers of applications, you want a list that's easy to organize and a way to use it when needed. In Homebrew-cask, the Caskfile is one such list, and brew bundle is the way to use it.

brew bundle Caskfile

A Caskfile is a plain text document containing a set of Homebrew commands, one per line. brew bundle will read it and execute all instructions in the order they appear.

For example, on a freshly installed OS X, you could brew bundle the following Caskfile to set up Homebrew-cask and a few basic tools:

# Install Homebrew-cask
install caskroom/cask/brew-cask

# Productivity tools
cask install alfred
cask install slate

# Utilities
cask install asepsis
cask install caffeine
cask install flux
cask install qlstephen

# Virtualization
cask install vagrant
cask install virtualbox

# Applications
cask install git-annex
cask install google-chrome
cask install iterm2

Dotfiles

Dotfiles are a popular way to configure OS X. They are easy to use, backup, move around, and share.

Integrating Homebrew-cask in your dotfiles is immediate; indeed, the Caskfile is most commonly used as a dotfiles module, to provision machines with binary apps and precompiled software.

If you want to fully automate the deployment process by scripting the execution of brew bundle, it is sufficient to ensure that the following steps happen in the correct order:

• install git
• install Homebrew

1. brew update
2. brew install caskroom/cask/brew-cask, either in the script or as part of the first Caskfile loaded
3. brew bundle your Caskfiles.