Why Your Mac Software Installation is Broken (And How to Fix It in 10 Minutes)
Last Saturday, I watched my friend spend four hours setting up his new MacBook Pro. Four. Hours.
He wasn't doing anything complicated. Just installing the basics: Chrome, Slack, VSCode, Zoom, Docker, Git — maybe 20 apps total. The same apps he had on his old machine.
But each one required the same painful ritual: Google the name, hope the first result isn't malware, download, wait, open the DMG, drag to Applications, eject, delete the installer. Then do it all over again.
By hour three, he looked at me and asked: "There has to be a faster way to do this, right?"
The truth is, there is. And the fact that most Mac users don't know about it reveals something most people never realize: your Mac's software installation process is fundamentally broken.
It's not your fault. Apple designed it this way. But here's what they won't tell you: you're probably wasting 30+ hours per year on software installation and updates. Hours you could spend doing literally anything else.
In the next 7 minutes, I'll show you exactly what's broken about how you install software, why it's costing you time and creating security risks, and a 10-minute fix that solves it permanently.
What "Normal" Installation Actually Costs You
Let's talk about what you're really doing when you install software the "normal" way.
Problem 1: The Security Roulette Game
Every time you Google "install [app name]," you're playing Russian roulette with malware.
Type "download Chrome" into Google right now. You'll see ads for chrome-download.com, downloadchrome.com, and a dozen other sites that aren't Google. Some are legitimate mirrors. Others bundle adware. Some are straight-up malware.
My friend learned this the hard way last month. Downloaded "Chrome" from what looked like an official site. Got Chrome plus three browser extensions he didn't ask for and a "system optimizer" that was actually spyware.
The hidden cost: 10+ minutes per app verifying you're on the real website, plus the risk of spending hours cleaning up malware if you guess wrong.
Problem 2: The Dependency Black Hole
Some software needs other software to work. But they won't tell you this upfront.
Try installing Python from python.org. It'll work. Then you try to use it and get an error about missing Xcode Command Line Tools. So you Google that, find a 500MB download, wait 20 minutes for it to install, and finally Python works.
Or try installing ffmpeg manually. I'll wait. You'll need 12+ dependencies, each with its own website, download, installation process, and cryptic README file explaining which other dependencies you need first.
The hidden cost: 1-2 hours minimum troubleshooting "why doesn't this work?" and hunting down dependencies.
Problem 3: The Update Nightmare
Quick question: When was the last time you updated all your software?
Chrome nags you with a red dot every week. VSCode shows a badge. Slack slides in a banner. But Git? Node? Python? They just sit there, silently outdated, with security vulnerabilities piling up.
Each app updates differently:
- Some auto-update in the background
- Some require you to download a new installer and repeat the whole process
- Some don't tell you updates exist at all
The hidden cost: 20-30 minutes every month clicking through individual app updaters, or running old, insecure software because updating is too annoying.
Problem 4: The Version Chaos
Pop quiz: Which version of Python is installed on your Mac right now?
If you said "I don't know" or "There's more than one?!", you're not alone. Most Mac users have multiple versions of the same software scattered around their system, with no idea which one runs when they double-click.
Three Python versions in different locations. Old apps forgotten in the Applications folder. Adobe trials you installed once in 2019. No way to track what you actually have or which versions conflict with each other.
The hidden cost: 15+ minutes diagnosing "it worked yesterday" problems when version conflicts break things.
Problem 5: The Downloads Folder Graveyard
Check your Downloads folder right now. I'll bet you $20 there are .dmg and .pkg files in there from software you installed six months ago.
Firefox 118.dmg. VSCode-darwin.zip. Docker.dmg. Zoom.pkg. Each one is 50-500MB. You're never going to use them again, but they're just sitting there, wasting gigabytes of disk space.
You have two choices: spend an hour manually cleaning them out, or live with eternal clutter.
The hidden cost: Wasted disk space and mental clutter from a folder that looks like a software graveyard.
These aren't edge cases. This is the standard Mac experience. But here's what most people don't know...
The Tool Mac Should've Included (But Didn't)
If you've ever used Linux, you know about package managers. Type apt install firefox or yum install git and boom — software installs automatically, with all dependencies, from verified sources.
Windows doesn't have a great package manager either. But at least they're working on one (winget).
macOS? You get the Mac App Store. Which is fine for consumer apps, but it's missing 90% of the software developers use and doesn't give you control over versions or updates.
What's a Package Manager?
Think of it like an App Store, but:
- It has everything (not just what Apple approves)
- It's controllable from your keyboard (no clicking through GUIs)
- It handles updates all at once (not app-by-app)
- It tracks versions and dependencies automatically
Here's the secret every Mac developer knows: there's been a free, open-source package manager for Mac since 2009. It's called Homebrew, it's maintained by thousands of contributors, and it solves every problem I just described.
Why haven't you heard of it?
Because it requires using Terminal. And Terminal scares people.
But here's the truth: you don't need to be a developer to use it. If you can copy and paste, you can fix your installation process forever.
How to Never Manually Download Software Again
Let me show you what Homebrew actually does.
Before Homebrew:
Google → Find website → Download → Wait → Open installer → Drag to Applications → Eject → Delete installer → Repeat × 20
After Homebrew:
Type brew install firefox → Press Enter → Done.
That's it. One command. From verified sources. With all dependencies. In seconds.
Real numbers from my friend's setup:
- Installing 15 apps manually: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Installing 15 apps with Homebrew: 2 minutes 30 seconds
Here's how to set it up in 10 minutes.
The 10-Minute Setup
Step 1: Open Terminal (1 minute)
Press Command + Space, type "Terminal", press Enter.
A window with a black background will open. Don't panic — you're just going to copy and paste two things. That's literally it.
Step 2: Install Homebrew (3 minutes)
Copy this command and paste it into Terminal:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
Press Enter. It'll ask for your Mac password (the one you use to log in). Type it and press Enter again.
You'll see text scrolling by. That's normal. It's downloading and installing Homebrew. Takes 2-3 minutes.
Important: If you have an M1, M2, M3, or M4 Mac (Apple Silicon), Terminal will show you one more command to copy at the end. It looks like this:
echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"
Copy and paste that too. This adds Homebrew to your system's PATH so it actually works.
Step 3: Verify It Works (1 minute)
Type this and press Enter:
brew doctor
If you see "Your system is ready to brew", you're golden. If not, the error message will tell you exactly how to fix it.
Step 4: Install Your First Apps (5 minutes)
Now for the fun part.
To install GUI applications (the ones you're used to):
brew install --cask firefox
brew install --cask visual-studio-code
brew install --cask slack
To install command-line tools:
brew install git
brew install wget
Want to install multiple apps at once?
brew install --cask firefox google-chrome visual-studio-code slack zoom rectangle
What just happened:
You installed 6 applications in about 60 seconds. All from official sources. No clicking through installers. No dragging to Applications. No Downloads folder mess.
When my friend saw this, his exact words were: "You're telling me I could've done this in 5 minutes instead of 4 hours?"
Yes. Yes, I am.
The Commands You'll Actually Use
You don't need to memorize 50 commands. Here are the five that cover 90% of daily use:
Search for software:
brew search chrome
Install software:
brew install --cask firefox
Update everything at once:
brew update # Updates Homebrew itself
brew upgrade # Upgrades all your apps
Remove software:
brew uninstall firefox
Clean up old versions (free disk space):
brew cleanup
My weekly routine (takes 2 minutes):
brew update && brew upgrade && brew cleanup
That's it. One command, once a week, and everything stays updated.
Compare that to clicking through 20 individual app updaters.
What This Actually Fixes
Let's do a reality check on what just changed:
Security: Homebrew only downloads from official sources. No more sketchy download sites, no more wondering if you're getting malware.
Dependencies: Installing ffmpeg? Homebrew automatically installs all 12 dependencies in the right order. You just get working software.
Updates: One command updates everything. Not Chrome's updater, then VSCode's, then Slack's. One command. Two minutes. Weekly.
Versions: Homebrew tracks everything. Type brew list and see exactly what's installed. No more mystery software lurking in your Applications folder.
Disk Space: No installer pile-up in Downloads. Homebrew cleans up automatically with brew cleanup.
Last week I got a new MacBook. Using Homebrew, I installed everything I needed in 8 minutes. My colleague doing it the "normal" way took 3 hours. We installed the same 25 apps.
But here's the bigger win: It's not just about speed.
It's about confidence. No more wondering if you downloaded from the right site. No more mystery errors about missing dependencies. No more update anxiety.
The 10 Minutes That Saves You 30 Hours
Let's be honest about what we're talking about here:
Before: Hours of downloading, clicking, dragging, deleting. Repeated every time you get a new machine or need new software.
After: One command per app. Updates in 2 minutes weekly. Setup that works forever.
Time saved: 30+ hours per year. That's not an exaggeration — that's adding up 5 minutes per app across 20 apps, plus monthly updates, plus troubleshooting dependencies.
I know what you're thinking: "But I'm not technical..."
Here's the thing: Neither was I when I started. And you're already doing harder things. Manually managing 20+ apps with different update mechanisms and dependency requirements is objectively more complex than typing brew install firefox.
The only skill you need is copy-paste.
The real question isn't "Should I learn this?"
It's "Why didn't anyone tell me this existed?"
Key Takeaways
- Mac's default installation process wastes hours and creates security and dependency risks
- Package managers like Homebrew solve this completely and automatically
- Setup takes 10 minutes and works forever
- This isn't just for developers — it's for anyone who installs software
Ready to fix this?
- Open Terminal right now (5 seconds)
- Go to brew.sh and copy the installation command
- Paste it and press Enter
- In 10 minutes, you'll wonder why you waited this long
Now I'm curious: What's the first app you'll install with Homebrew? And how long did it take you to install it the old way? Drop a comment below — I want to hear your horror stories about manual installation.
Related Posts:
- How I Stopped Manually Installing Software on Mac (And You Should Too) — Complete Homebrew tutorial with more examples
Resources:
- Official Homebrew Website — Installation and documentation
- Homebrew Package Search — Browse 6,000+ available packages
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