A 100x faster* alternative to homebrew

A new software named zerobrew has emerged, offering a speedy alternative to Homebrew on macOS and Linux systems. The installer for zerobrew modifies your shell configuration, and upon completion, you simply need to restart your terminal or execute the provided command. If you utilized the standalone installer, it is necessary to run the installer again. However, if you installed from the old lucasgelfond/zerobrew tap, it is now outdated and should be switched to the newer version.

In a test conducted on October 8, 2026, using zerobrew version 0.3.5 and Homebrew 7.0.8 on a MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro processor, 18 GB of RAM, and a download speed of approximately 318 Mbit/s, the benchmarking results demonstrated that zerobrew operates at a speed 100 times faster than Homebrew. To reproduce these findings, one must run the bench --full results/ command on a machine without any Homebrew installations.

The benchmark script resets zerobrew, uninstalls all the packages it previously installed in Homebrew, and then generates a detailed table of the benchmark results in results/benchmark.md. A compact version of the benchmark operates within the Continuous Integration (CI) system, installing a predefined set of formulae using both zerobrew and Homebrew on the same runner.

The timing workflow measures the performance of various formulae, including Node.js and Python 3.14, both in warm and cold states, along with the previous zerobrew release.

It is crucial to understand that both Homebrew and zerobrew retrieve the same bottles from Homebrew's build farm. The primary distinction lies in the post-download process: Homebrew executes Ruby to evaluate the formula, performs unpacking, path rewriting with install_name_tool, and individually resigns each binary. In contrast, zerobrew handles relocation in-process and draws from a content-addressed store, resulting in the initial download being performed once, with minimal additional resources required afterward.

The speed of zerobrew is solely attributed to the installation method, not the content of the packages themselves. This software relies on the extensive work conducted by Homebrew's bottle build farm, which builds, tests, and publishes every package. It is essential to acknowledge that zerobrew does not compile anything, maintain formulae, or contribute to the development of packages—it simply functions as a performance-optimized client for the Homebrew ecosystem.

Please note that zerobrew is an experimental project, and its developers recommend running it in conjunction with Homebrew rather than attempting to replace it. Additionally, they advise against completely replacing Homebrew with zerobrew unless one is certain of the potential consequences.