Installing Homebrew

A terminal is a way to type instructions directly to your computer — like texting your Mac instead of clicking buttons. It looks old-fashioned and a bit intimidating, but it's completely normal. Every professional developer uses one daily. The terminal that Vibecheck opens is doing one specific job (installing Homebrew) and you don't need to type anything in it yourself — just leave it open and let it run.

Yes. That's the Homebrew installer running. Don't close it. Leave it open until you see a "Installation successful" message or the cursor returns to a % prompt.

Yes, completely safe. Homebrew is asking your Mac for permission to install software — the same permission Mac asks for when you install any app. The password goes directly to macOS (your operating system), not to Homebrew, Vibecheck, or the internet. It's the same Mac login password you use when your computer starts up. Type it and press Enter. You won't see any dots or characters as you type — that's a Mac security feature, not a bug.

You may have typed it wrong (it's hard without visual feedback). Press Enter anyway. If it says "Sorry, try again", type it again more carefully. Make sure Caps Lock is off.

That's expected — click Install. Xcode Command Line Tools are basic developer utilities Mac needs before it can install anything else. Think of them as the foundation everything else gets built on. It's free, it's safe, and Homebrew needs it. The download can take 5–20 minutes depending on your internet speed. Once it's done, Homebrew will continue automatically.

This usually means the password was wrong. Try clicking "Install Homebrew" again and retype your Mac login password carefully. If it keeps failing, your Mac account may not have admin rights — common on work Macs. In that case, use a personal Mac, or ask IT to install: Homebrew, Node.js 18+, and Claude Code (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code).

Click "Check Again" in the extension. The extension checks for Homebrew every few seconds — it may just need a moment. If it's still not detected after 30 seconds, click "Install Homebrew" again.

That's normal. On first install, Homebrew also installs Apple's Xcode Command Line Tools, which can take 5–15 minutes depending on your internet speed. A progress bar or spinning indicator should be visible in the terminal. Don't close it — just let it run.

Homebrew requires admin privileges to install. If your work Mac doesn't allow it, you'll need to either use a personal Mac or have IT install the tools manually: Homebrew, Node.js 18+, and Claude Code CLI (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code).