BrewMenuBar

A lightweight macOS menu bar app that monitors Homebrew package updates.

Features

• 🔔 Live update count in menu bar
• 🎨 Visual indicators (✓ up-to-date, ↑ updates available, ! many updates)
• 📦 Click individual packages to upgrade them
• ⚡ Upgrade all packages at once
• 📊 Shows version changes (current → new)
• ⏰ Auto-refresh every hour
• 🕐 Last checked timestamp
• 🔄 Manual refresh option

Requirements

• macOS 13.0 or later
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel Mac
• Homebrew installed at /opt/homebrew/bin/brew (Apple Silicon) or /usr/local/bin/brew (Intel)

For Developers: Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Xcode Command Line Tools installed (xcode-select --install)

Build Steps

1. Clone or download this repository

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd BrewWidget

3. Compile the app:

   swiftc -parse-as-library -o BrewMenuBar BrewMenuBar.swift

4. Create the app bundle:

   mkdir -p /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app/Contents/{MacOS,Resources}
   cp BrewMenuBar /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app/Contents/MacOS/
   chmod +x /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app/Contents/MacOS/BrewMenuBar

5. Create Info.plist:

   cat > /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app/Contents/Info.plist << 'EOF'
   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
   <plist version="1.0">
   <dict>
       <key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
       <string>BrewMenuBar</string>
       <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
       <string>com.brewmenubar.app</string>
       <key>CFBundleName</key>
       <string>BrewMenuBar</string>
       <key>CFBundlePackageType</key>
       <string>APPL</string>
       <key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key>
       <string>1.0</string>
       <key>LSUIElement</key>
       <true/>
   </dict>
   </plist>
   EOF

6. Launch the app:

   open /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app

Building Universal Binary (Apple Silicon + Intel)

To create a universal binary that works on both architectures:

# Build for both architectures
swiftc -parse-as-library -target arm64-apple-macos13.0 -o BrewMenuBar-arm64 BrewMenuBar.swift
swiftc -parse-as-library -target x86_64-apple-macos13.0 -o BrewMenuBar-x86_64 BrewMenuBar.swift

# Create universal binary
lipo -create BrewMenuBar-arm64 BrewMenuBar-x86_64 -output BrewMenuBar

# Copy to app bundle
cp BrewMenuBar /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app/Contents/MacOS/

For Users: Installation

Option 1: Download Pre-built App (if available)

1. Download BrewMenuBar.app.zip
2. Unzip the file
3. Move BrewMenuBar.app to your Applications folder
4. Right-click the app and select "Open" (first time only, to bypass Gatekeeper)
5. The app icon will appear in your menu bar

Option 2: Build from Source

Follow the "Building from Source" instructions above.

Enable Auto-Start at Login

Method 1: System Settings (Recommended)

1. Open System Settings
2. Go to General → Login Items
3. Click the + button under "Open at Login"
4. Navigate to Applications folder
5. Select BrewMenuBar.app
6. Click Add

Method 2: LaunchAgent (Advanced)

1. Create a LaunchAgent plist file:

   cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.brewmenubar.app.plist << 'EOF'
   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
   <plist version="1.0">
   <dict>
       <key>Label</key>
       <string>com.brewmenubar.app</string>
       <key>ProgramArguments</key>
       <array>
           <string>/Applications/BrewMenuBar.app/Contents/MacOS/BrewMenuBar</string>
       </array>
       <key>RunAtLoad</key>
       <true/>
       <key>KeepAlive</key>
       <false/>
   </dict>
   </plist>
   EOF

2. Load the LaunchAgent:

   launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.brewmenubar.app.plist

Usage

Menu Bar Icon States

• ✓ (Checkmark) - All packages up to date
• ↑ (Arrow) - 1-5 packages need updates
• ! (Exclamation) - 6+ packages need updates
• ↻ ... (Spinner) - Currently checking for updates

Menu Options

• Package list - Click any package to upgrade just that one
• Refresh (⌘R) - Manually check for updates
• Upgrade All (⌘U) - Upgrade all outdated packages
• Quit (⌘Q) - Close the app

Automatic Updates

The app automatically checks for updates every hour. You can also manually refresh at any time.

Troubleshooting

App won't open

• Right-click the app and select "Open" to bypass Gatekeeper
• Or run: xattr -cr /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app

No icon appears in menu bar

• Make sure the app is running: ps aux | grep BrewMenuBar
• Try quitting and reopening the app

Homebrew not found

• Verify Homebrew is installed: which brew
• If installed in a non-standard location, you'll need to modify the source code

Multiple icons appear

The app includes single-instance protection, but if you see multiple icons:

killall BrewMenuBar
open /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app

Uninstallation

1. Quit the app (click icon → Quit)
2. Remove from Login Items (System Settings → General → Login Items)
3. Delete the app: rm -rf /Applications/BrewMenuBar.app
4. (Optional) Remove LaunchAgent: rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.brewmenubar.app.plist

License

This project is provided as-is for personal use.

Credits

Built with SwiftUI and AppKit for macOS.