# Homebrew Package Lookup (`m_ctim/homebrew-package-lookup`) Actor

Look up current version, dependencies, deprecation/disable status, and 30/90/365-day install counts for any Homebrew formula or cask via the official formulae.brew.sh API. For DevOps and tooling teams tracking package health and adoption.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/m\_ctim/homebrew-package-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [Timothy Kelvin](https://apify.com/m_ctim) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Homebrew Package Lookup

Look up current version, dependencies, deprecation/disable status, and
30/90/365-day install counts for any Homebrew formula (CLI package) or
cask (macOS app), straight from the official `formulae.brew.sh` API.

Built for DevOps and tooling teams tracking package health and
adoption — e.g. spotting a deprecated dependency before it's
disabled, or gauging real install volume for a tool before adopting
it.

### Input

```json
{
  "packages": ["wget", "curl"],
  "packageType": "formula"
}
```

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `packages` | array of strings (required) | One or more Homebrew tokens to look up, e.g. `"wget"` or `"visual-studio-code"`. Use the exact lowercase, hyphenated token — not the display name. |
| `packageType` | string | `"formula"` (CLI package) or `"cask"` (macOS GUI app). All packages in one run must be the same type. Default `"formula"`. |

### Output

One record per requested package:

```json
{
  "name": "wget",
  "packageType": "formula",
  "found": true,
  "displayName": "wget",
  "version": "1.25.0",
  "description": "Internet file retriever",
  "homepage": "https://www.gnu.org/software/wget/",
  "license": "GPL-3.0-or-later",
  "tap": "homebrew/core",
  "dependencies": ["libidn2", "libpsl", "openssl@3", "gettext", "libunistring"],
  "deprecated": false,
  "deprecationReason": null,
  "disabled": false,
  "disableReason": null,
  "installs30d": 16727,
  "installs90d": 56777,
  "installs365d": 330125
}
```

An unknown package name returns `{ "found": false }` for that entry
rather than failing the whole run or being silently skipped — useful
when checking a longer list where one name might be a typo or a
renamed/removed formula.

### How it works

Direct calls to the official [formulae.brew.sh
API](https://formulae.brew.sh/api/) (the same data source that
powers Homebrew's own package pages) — no proxy, no key, no scraping.

### Pricing note

Billed per **lookup** (one run), not per package returned — one
charge whether you request 1 package or 20.

### Related products

- [npm Package Tracker](https://github.com/timmKal01/npm-package-tracker) — release/deprecation events for npm packages
- [Docker Hub Image Tracker](https://github.com/timmKal01/docker-hub-image-tracker) — new/updated tags for container images

# Actor input Schema

## `packages` (type: `array`):

One or more Homebrew names to look up, e.g. "wget" or "visual-studio-code". Use the exact formula/cask token (lowercase, hyphenated), not the display name.

## `packageType` (type: `string`):

"formula" is a command-line package (brew install), "cask" is a macOS GUI app (brew install --cask). All packages in one run must be the same type.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "packageType": "formula"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("m_ctim/homebrew-package-lookup").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("m_ctim/homebrew-package-lookup").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call m_ctim/homebrew-package-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,m_ctim/homebrew-package-lookup"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/HTV68xmmRkWskiRM5/builds/tprhxTe4TtI7nvwWd/openapi.json