> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/lucasgelfond/zerobrew/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> zerobrew is a fast Homebrew-compatible package installer that brings uv-style architecture to macOS and Linux

# zerobrew

zerobrew is a fast Homebrew-compatible package installer written in Rust that brings uv-style architecture to Homebrew packages on macOS and Linux.

## Why zerobrew?

zerobrew is more of a performance-optimized client for the Homebrew ecosystem. It relies on Homebrew's formula definitions, pre-built bottles, and package infrastructure while providing significant performance improvements through:

* **Content-addressable storage** for deduplication
* **APFS clonefiles** for zero-overhead copying on macOS
* **Source build fallback** using Homebrew's Ruby DSL
* **Parallel downloads** and installations

## Performance snapshot

| Package               | Homebrew | ZB (cold) | ZB (warm) | Cold Speedup | Warm Speedup |
| --------------------- | -------- | --------- | --------- | ------------ | ------------ |
| **Overall (top 100)** | 452s     | 226s      | 59s       | **2.0x**     | **7.6x**     |
| ffmpeg                | 3034ms   | 3481ms    | 688ms     | 0.9x         | 4.4x         |
| libsodium             | 2353ms   | 392ms     | 130ms     | 6.0x         | 18.1x        |
| sqlite                | 2876ms   | 625ms     | 159ms     | 4.6x         | 18.1x        |
| tesseract             | 18950ms  | 5536ms    | 643ms     | 3.4x         | 29.5x        |

<Note>
  zerobrew is experimental. We recommend running it alongside Homebrew rather than as a replacement, and do not recommend purging Homebrew unless you are absolutely sure about the implications.
</Note>

## Get started

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Installation" icon="download" href="/installation">
    Install zerobrew on macOS or Linux in seconds
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quick start" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Get started with your first zerobrew command
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Project status

zerobrew is currently experimental, but already useful for many common Homebrew formulas. If you hit incompatibilities, please open an issue or PR on [GitHub](https://github.com/lucasgelfond/zerobrew).

## License

Dual-licensed under Apache 2.0 OR MIT, at your choice.