Your Mac has 47 outdated packages and 2.3GB of old versions sitting around. Let’s fix that.
Check outdated packages#
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| # List all outdated packages
brew outdated
# Show what will be upgraded
brew outdated --verbose
# Check specific package
brew outdated <package-name>
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Update Homebrew and packages#
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| # Update Homebrew itself (fetch latest package info)
brew update
# Upgrade all outdated packages
brew upgrade
# Upgrade specific package only
brew upgrade <package-name>
# Update Homebrew + upgrade all packages (common combo)
brew update && brew upgrade
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Find and remove unused dependencies#
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| # List packages installed as dependencies but no longer needed
brew autoremove --dry-run
# Actually remove them
brew autoremove
# Alternative: list all dependencies no longer needed
brew leaves
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Note: brew leaves shows top-level packages you installed directly (not dependencies). Everything else could potentially be removed if no longer needed.
Clean up old versions#
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| # Remove old versions of installed packages
brew cleanup
# See what will be cleaned without removing
brew cleanup --dry-run
# Clean up everything older than 30 days
brew cleanup --prune=30
# Remove ALL old versions (aggressive)
brew cleanup -s
# Check how much space you'll save
brew cleanup --dry-run | grep "=>"
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Check Homebrew health#
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| # Diagnose potential issues
brew doctor
# See what's taking up space
brew info --installed | grep "GB\|MB"
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Useful info commands#
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| # List all installed packages
brew list
# List top-level packages (not dependencies)
brew leaves
# Show package details
brew info <package-name>
# Show package dependencies
brew deps <package-name>
# Show what depends on a package
brew uses <package-name> --installed
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Complete maintenance routine#
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| # Full cleanup in one go
brew update && \
brew upgrade && \
brew autoremove && \
brew cleanup --prune=30 && \
brew doctor
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Pin packages (prevent updates)#
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| # Pin a package to current version
brew pin <package-name>
# Unpin it
brew unpin <package-name>
# List pinned packages
brew list --pinned
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Pro tip: Run brew update && brew upgrade && brew cleanup monthly to keep your system tidy. Use brew autoremove to catch orphaned dependencies. The cleanup command alone can often reclaim 1-2GB.