Homebrew vs. "In-App" version updates

[tomstone74]

Hello,

my new 14" (first MacOS device) arrived. A beauty and a beast . For my MBP usage, in particular my dev use case, I want to use homebrew as much as possible, at least I think this is a good idea to have installed stuff somehow managed centralized etc ...

I do wonder though, how forthcoming application updates are handled, in case I allow the application itself to update to a newer version like IntelliJ IDEA provides its own update mechanism etc ... How does this work together with homebrew? Is homebrew confused then, if IntelliJ IDEA updates itself?

How do others deal with an initial homebrew based setup of their environment vs. "in-app" version updates?

Thanks!

 

[rpmurray]

I found out about MacUpdater a little while back and it does a great job of keeping my apps up to date.

 

[HDFan]

MacUpdater for app, but probably not Homebrew, updates.

 

[gilby101]

How do others deal with an initial homebrew based setup of their environment vs. "in-app" version updates?

Are we taking about GUI apps installed via homebrew? That is, apps installed with '--cask'.

My update rules are:

• If app is installed via homebrew, do all the version management via homebrew. This is essential for command line apps. But the `brew upgrade --cask` does not reliably do updates - fallback is to use MacUpdater.
• If app is installed from the developer web site, let the app update itself or (better) use MacUpdater.
• If app is installed from Mac App Store, update via App Store (but let MacUpdater alert you).

My preferences for sourcing apps:

• Command line apps, prefer to get via homebrew, not developer.
• Avoid homebrew casks for GUI apps, prefer from developer.
• When available both from developer or App Store, assess each app on its merits and pricing.

As you can see, I am a MacUpdater fan. Just attempting to justify.

 

[bogdanw]

"Latest is a free and open-source app for macOS that checks if all your apps are up to date."
https://github.com/mangerlahn/Latest

 

[gilby101]

"Latest is a free and open-source app for macOS that checks if all your apps are up to date."

I have never heard of Latest before, so I downloaded and ran. Quick comparison:
Not as comprehensive in reach as MacUpdater because it is limited to App Store and Sparkle - only checks about 50% of my apps (more like 80% of those I commonly use). Latest has found some very new versions that MacUpdater has not yet discovered. Latest has a cleaner interface, but does not provide the level of detail given by MacUpdater. MacUpdater is perhaps more 'nerdy' - e.g. its settings are complex and level of detail more than most need.

I will stick with MacUpdater, but want to like Latest.