Homebrew Audit Skill

Quickly audit your Homebrew installation for outdated packages, cleanup opportunities, and health issues.

Usage

# Full audit (outdated + cleanup + doctor + summary)
bash scripts/brew-audit.sh

# Specific sections
bash scripts/brew-audit.sh --section outdated
bash scripts/brew-audit.sh --section cleanup
bash scripts/brew-audit.sh --section doctor

# JSON output (outdated only)
bash scripts/brew-audit.sh --json --section outdated

What It Checks

📦 Outdated Packages

Lists all formulae and casks with newer versions available, with current → available version info.

🧹 Cleanup Opportunities

Shows how many old versions/downloads can be removed and estimated disk savings. Run brew cleanup to reclaim.

🩺 Health Check

Runs brew doctor to detect:

• Formulae with no source (orphaned kegs)
• Deprecated/disabled packages needing replacement
• Permission issues, broken symlinks, config problems

📊 Summary

Total formulae, casks, and Homebrew prefix.

When to Use

• Periodic system maintenance (weekly/monthly)
• Before major upgrades
• When disk space is low
• After noticing build failures (doctor check)

Updating Packages

After reviewing the audit:

brew upgrade              # upgrade all outdated
brew upgrade <formula>    # upgrade specific package
brew cleanup              # remove old versions