Brewlight Privacy Policy
Summary
Brewlight is a free, local-first macOS companion app for Homebrew. It does not require an account, does not include advertising, and does not upload your installed package list or command history.
Data Brewlight Stores Locally
Brewlight may store the following data on your Mac:
- Onboarding completion state.
- The selected Homebrew prefix path and security-scoped bookmark, if you choose a prefix.
- Local inventory scan timestamps.
- Cached public Homebrew formula and cask metadata for offline browsing.
- Command history for commands you explicitly copy from preview sheets.
This data is stored locally on your Mac and is used to make the app work offline, remember your selected prefix, and show your recent copied commands.
Public Metadata Downloads
Brewlight can download public Homebrew formula and cask metadata from Homebrew's public metadata endpoints. These downloads are used for catalog browsing, package details, latest-known version comparisons, and search.
Brewlight does not send your installed package list to Homebrew or to the developer when fetching public metadata.
Local Homebrew Inspection
If you select a Homebrew prefix, Brewlight reads local Homebrew folders in read-only mode to show installed formulae, installed casks, version information, and cleanup guidance.
Brewlight does not run brew, does not install packages, does not update packages, does not remove packages, does not clean files, does not control services, and does not request administrator privileges.
Command Preview And History
Brewlight generates command text for manual Terminal use. Commands are shown in preview sheets and are copied only when you choose Copy.
When you copy a command, Brewlight records a local command history entry containing the command text, operation type, package target when applicable, source screen, and copy time. Command history is not uploaded and can be cleared from History or Settings.
Clearing Local Data
Brewlight includes local controls to clear metadata cache, clear command history, reset the selected Homebrew prefix, and reset onboarding. These actions affect Brewlight's local app data only and do not modify your Homebrew installation.
No Tracking Or Accounts
Brewlight v1 does not require an account and does not include default telemetry, analytics, advertising tracking, subscriptions, in-app purchases, or paid unlocks.
External Links
Brewlight may include user-initiated external links, such as links to package homepages or the Homebrew website. External websites are governed by their own privacy policies.
Contact
For privacy questions, use the Brewlight support contact channel published with the app or linked from the Brewlight support page.