Frequently Asked Questions

Adopt Apps is a feature that scans your /Applications folder to find apps that match Homebrew casks. If you installed an app manually (from a website, DMG, or other source) but Homebrew has a cask for it, you can "adopt" that app into Homebrew without reinstalling. This lets you keep your existing installation while gaining Homebrew's version tracking and update management. Taphouse even compares versions and can update apps during adoption if a newer version is available.

Yes! If you've used Flatpak or GNOME Software on Linux, Taphouse provides a similar visual package management experience for macOS. While Flatpak is a containerized package format and Homebrew uses traditional packages, the user experience is comparable — you get a beautiful GUI to browse, install, update, and manage software without touching the terminal.

A Homebrew GUI is a graphical user interface for Homebrew, the popular package manager for macOS. Instead of typing commands in Terminal, a GUI like Taphouse lets you browse packages visually, click to install, and manage everything through an intuitive app interface. It's perfect for developers who prefer visual tools or Mac users new to package management.

Yes, Taphouse requires Homebrew to be installed on your Mac. Homebrew is a free package manager for macOS. If you don't have it yet, visit brew.sh to install it with a single command. Once Homebrew is set up, Taphouse provides the visual interface to manage all your packages.

There are two ways to install Taphouse. You can download the DMG directly from this website and drag it to your Applications folder. Alternatively, if you already have Homebrew installed, you can install Taphouse directly from the command line with: brew install --cask taphouse. Both methods give you the same app — choose whichever is more convenient for you.

Taphouse requires macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later. The app is built with SwiftUI and takes full advantage of the latest macOS features including native dark mode support, modern design language, and optimized performance for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Taphouse complements the Mac App Store rather than replacing it. While the App Store focuses on consumer apps, Homebrew (and therefore Taphouse) excels at developer tools, CLI utilities, programming languages, databases, and open-source software. Many developers use both — the App Store for everyday apps and Taphouse/Homebrew for development tools.

Taphouse Pro integrates with the Mac App Store through the mas CLI tool. Simply search for "mas" in Taphouse and install it with one click — then you can browse installed App Store apps, check for updates, uninstall apps, search the App Store directly, and batch-upgrade outdated applications, all from within Taphouse's beautiful interface.

Yes! With Taphouse Pro, you can export your entire Homebrew setup to a Brewfile and import it on a new Mac. This makes setting up a new development machine incredibly fast — just import your Brewfile and all your packages will be installed automatically.

No subscriptions! The core features of Taphouse are free forever. The Pro upgrade is a one-time payment of €9.99 — pay once, own it forever. We believe great software shouldn't require monthly fees for features you've already paid for.

The Free version includes everything you need for basic Homebrew management: browsing packages, installing, uninstalling, updating, service management, and diagnostics. Pro unlocks power-user features like Adopt Apps (bring existing apps into Homebrew), third-party app updates, security insights, menu bar mode, Mac App Store integration, Brewfile import/export, bulk operations, favorites, and background auto-updates. You can try all Pro features free for 14 days.

After your 14-day trial, Pro features are disabled but the app continues to work perfectly with all Free features. There's no pressure, no nag screens, and no data loss. You can upgrade to Pro anytime to unlock the advanced features again. Your settings, favorites, and history are preserved regardless of your license status.

The Pro license covers up to 3 Macs. If you have more Macs or want to share with family members, the Family license covers up to 10 Macs for one price. Both licenses are one-time purchases with no recurring fees, and include all future updates.

No. Taphouse is just a visual interface for Homebrew — it runs the same brew commands you would run in Terminal. It doesn't modify Homebrew itself or store packages differently. You can use Taphouse and Terminal interchangeably, and uninstalling Taphouse has zero effect on your Homebrew installation or packages.

Click the "Update Homebrew" button in the toolbar. This runs brew update to fetch the latest package info from Homebrew servers, then shows any newly available updates.

Taphouse shows a clear "Failed" status with a red error banner explaining the operation requires administrator privileges. For Adopt Apps, it copies the command to your clipboard and opens Terminal so you can run it with your password.

Yes! In the Updates section, click "Select" to enter multi-select mode. Choose the packages you want, then click "Upgrade Selected." This is a Pro feature.

macOS quarantines downloaded apps until you approve them. Taphouse can scan your apps for quarantine flags and remove them from trusted apps, eliminating the "app is damaged" or "can't be opened" warnings.

Go to the Taps section, click the + button, and enter the tap name (e.g., homebrew/cask-fonts). Taphouse will add it and make those packages available for installation.

Yes! Press ⌘R to refresh, ⌘F to search, and use standard macOS shortcuts throughout the app. The app is designed to feel native and familiar.