Features
Macbrew is packed with powerful features designed to enhance your command-line experience.
Core Features
🎯 Real Python Execution
Execute Python scripts and interactive Python sessions directly from the terminal:
# Run a Python script
python script.py
# Interactive Python session
python
# One-liner execution
python -c "print('Hello from Python!')"
📚 Command History
Persistent command history with search and navigation:
# View history
history
# Search history
history | grep "python"
# Navigate with arrow keys or Ctrl+R
🔍 Intelligent Autocomplete
Smart command and file path completion:
# Tab completion for commands
py<TAB> # Completes to "python"
# File path completion
ls /usr/loc<TAB> # Completes to "/usr/local/"
⚙️ Job Control
Manage background processes with advanced job control:
# Run command in background
long_running_command &
# List background jobs
jobs
# Bring job to foreground
fg 1
# Continue background job
bg 1
# Kill job
kill %1
🔌 Plugin System
Extensible plugin architecture for custom commands:
# List installed plugins
plugins list
# Install a plugin
install-plugin my-plugin
# Use plugin commands
hello World
weather Tokyo
File Operations
Basic Commands
# File listing and navigation
ls -la
cd /path/to/directory
pwd
# File viewing and editing
cat filename.txt
head -n 10 file.txt
tail -f log.txt
# File manipulation
cp source.txt destination.txt
mv oldname.txt newname.txt
rm filename.txt
mkdir newdirectory
Advanced File Operations
# Find files
find . -name "*.txt" -type f
# Search in files
grep "pattern" file.txt
grep -r "pattern" directory/
# File permissions
chmod 755 script.sh
chown user:group file.txt
chgrp developers file.txt
Text Processing
# Text manipulation
sort file.txt
uniq file.txt
cut -d',' -f1,3 data.csv
paste file1.txt file2.txt
tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]' < input.txt
# Advanced text processing
sed 's/old/new/g' file.txt
awk '{print $1, $3}' file.txt
System Administration
Process Management
# View processes
ps aux
ps -ef
# Monitor system resources
top
htop
# Kill processes
kill -9 process_id
pkill process_name
System Services
# Service management
systemctl status service_name
systemctl start service_name
systemctl stop service_name
systemctl restart service_name
systemctl enable service_name
User Management
# User operations
useradd username
userdel username
passwd username
# Group operations
groupadd groupname
groupdel groupname
usermod -aG groupname username
Networking
Network Diagnostics
# Connectivity testing
ping google.com
ping6 ipv6.google.com
# Network information
ifconfig
ip addr show
netstat -tuln
ss -tuln
Network Tools
# HTTP requests
curl https://api.github.com
wget https://example.com/file.zip
# SSH operations
ssh user@hostname
scp file.txt user@hostname:/path/
rsync -av source/ destination/
Network Analysis
# Port scanning
nmap localhost
nmap -p 80,443 example.com
# Network monitoring
iftop
nethogs
tcpdump -i eth0
Security & Cryptography
Hashing
# Generate hashes
md5sum file.txt
sha256sum file.txt
sha512sum file.txt
Encryption
# File encryption
openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -in file.txt -out file.enc
openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -d -in file.enc -out file.txt
# GPG operations
gpg --encrypt file.txt
gpg --decrypt file.txt.gpg
SSH Key Management
# Generate SSH keys
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
ssh-keygen -t ed25519
# Copy public key
ssh-copy-id user@hostname
Package Management
Homebrew Integration
# Package operations
brew install package_name
brew uninstall package_name
brew search query
brew update
brew upgrade
brew list
Python Package Management
# pip operations
pip install package_name
pip uninstall package_name
pip list
pip freeze > requirements.txt
# conda operations
conda install package_name
conda create -n env_name python=3.11
conda activate env_name
Node.js Package Management
# npm operations
npm install package_name
npm uninstall package_name
npm list
npm update
# yarn operations
yarn add package_name
yarn remove package_name
yarn list
DevOps & Cloud
Container Management
# Docker operations
docker run -it ubuntu bash
docker ps
docker images
docker build -t myimage .
# Kubernetes operations
kubectl get pods
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl logs pod-name
Infrastructure as Code
# Terraform operations
terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply
terraform destroy
# Ansible operations
ansible-playbook playbook.yml
ansible -m ping all
Text Editors
Command Line Editors
# Vim
vim file.txt
# Nano
nano file.txt
# Emacs
emacs file.txt
Pagers
# Less (more features)
less file.txt
# More (basic paging)
more file.txt
Compression & Archives
File Compression
# Compress files
gzip file.txt
bzip2 file.txt
xz file.txt
# Decompress files
gunzip file.txt.gz
bunzip2 file.txt.bz2
unxz file.txt.xz
Archive Management
# Create archives
tar -czf archive.tar.gz directory/
zip -r archive.zip directory/
# Extract archives
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz
unzip archive.zip
Logging & Monitoring
System Logs
# View system logs
dmesg
journalctl -f
tail -f /var/log/syslog
# Log analysis
logwatch
Terminal Multiplexing
Session Management
# Screen sessions
screen -S session_name
screen -ls
screen -r session_name
# tmux sessions
tmux new-session -s session_name
tmux list-sessions
tmux attach-session -t session_name
Customization
Aliases
# Set aliases
alias ll='ls -la'
alias g='git'
alias p='python'
# List aliases
alias
# Remove aliases
unalias ll
Environment Variables
# Set environment variables
export EDITOR=vim
export PATH=$PATH:/custom/path
# Show environment
env
# Unset variables
unset VARIABLE_NAME
Performance Features
High Performance
- Rust Backend: Blazing fast performance with memory safety
- Optimized Commands: Efficient implementations of common operations
- Smart Caching: Intelligent caching for frequently used operations
Memory Management
- Efficient Memory Usage: Minimal memory footprint
- Garbage Collection: Automatic cleanup of unused resources
- Resource Monitoring: Built-in resource usage tracking
Cross-Platform Support
Windows
- Full Windows compatibility
- PowerShell integration
- Windows-specific optimizations
macOS
- Native macOS integration
- Homebrew package manager support
- macOS-specific features
Linux
- Comprehensive Linux support
- Package manager integration
- Systemd service management
Accessibility
Screen Reader Support
- Terminal output optimization for screen readers
- Keyboard navigation support
- High contrast mode support
Internationalization
- Unicode support
- Multi-language command help
- Locale-aware formatting
Next Steps
Now that you’ve explored the features, check out:
- Command Reference - Detailed command documentation
- Plugin System - Extend functionality with plugins
- Configuration - Customize your experience
- API Reference - Programmatic access to Macbrew