Homebrew Cask Scraper - Mac App Metadata, Versions & Downloads

Extract comprehensive macOS application data from the Homebrew Cask registry. This Actor retrieves thousands of macOS app listings including application names, versions, download URLs, SHA256 checksums, dependencies, and metadata from the official Homebrew Cask database. Perfect for developers, security researchers, and IT administrators who need to track macOS software inventory at scale.

Homebrew Cask is the de facto standard for installing macOS applications via the command line. With over 4,000 casks covering everything from developer tools to productivity apps, the registry contains a wealth of structured data about the macOS software ecosystem. This Actor makes that data accessible in a clean, structured format for analysis, monitoring, and integration into your workflows.

Use Cases

• Software Inventory Management - Build a complete catalog of available macOS applications for enterprise deployment planning
• Version Tracking - Monitor application versions across the ecosystem to identify outdated software
• Security Auditing - Collect SHA256 checksums and download URLs for supply chain verification
• Market Research - Analyze the macOS software landscape by categories, dependencies, and popularity indicators
• Dependency Analysis - Map application dependencies to understand installation requirements and compatibility

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
searchQuery	String	No	Filter casks by name or description keyword. Leave empty to retrieve all casks.
maxItems	Number	No	Maximum results to extract (default: 1000, max: 10000)
includeDetails	Boolean	No	Include artifacts, caveats, dependencies, and variations (default: true)
proxyConfiguration	Object	No	Proxy configuration for requests

Output

The Actor outputs a dataset with the following fields:

{
  "token": "google-chrome",
  "name": "Google Chrome",
  "desc": "Web browser",
  "homepage": "https://www.google.com/chrome/",
  "version": "126.0.6478.127",
  "url": "https://dl.google.com/chrome/mac/universal/stable/GGRO/googlechrome.dmg",
  "sha256": "a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
  "tap": "homebrew/cask",
  "deprecated": false,
  "disabled": false,
  "outdated": false,
  "artifacts": "[{\"app\":[\"Google Chrome.app\"]}]",
  "caveats": null,
  "dependsOn": "{\"macos\":{\"\">=\":{\"10.15\"}}}"",
  "variations": null
}

Pricing

Pay per event: $0.001 per cask extracted. No minimum charges. The Actor makes a single API request to retrieve all cask data, then filters and processes locally for maximum efficiency.

Limitations

• Homebrew Cask data reflects the current state of the registry and may not include all historical versions
• Some cask fields may be null if not provided by the upstream maintainer
• Download URLs and SHA256 checksums are provided by Homebrew maintainers and should be verified independently for critical security use cases
• The API returns all casks in a single response; large extractions are processed entirely in memory

FAQ

Q: How often is the Homebrew Cask data updated? A: The data is fetched live from the official Homebrew API on each run, so you always get the latest registry state.

Q: Can I filter by specific application categories? A: The search query supports keyword matching on names, tokens, and descriptions. For category filtering, retrieve all casks and post-process the results.

Q: Does this include Homebrew Formulae (command-line tools)? A: No, this Actor focuses on Casks (macOS GUI applications). Use a separate Homebrew Formula scraper for command-line tools.

Changelog

• v1.0.0 - Initial release with full cask extraction, search filtering, and detailed metadata support