What is Homebrew and how to install it (FFmpeg)

💻 Environment/Context

• Homebrew
• Terminal
• Troubleshooting
• Large MXF files
• FFprobe
• FFmpeg

❓ Issue/Question

• What is Homebrew and what is it used for?

👌 Resolution/Answer

• Homebrew is a "package manager", like an app store for command-line tools. You type a short command, and it downloads, installs, and sets up the tool for you, handling all the fiddly bits automatically.
• In our case, we want it so we can install FFmpeg (which includes ffprobe, the tool for inspecting large MXF stuck video files).

• How to install it:
  • Step 1 — Open Terminal
  • Step 2 — Copy the official install command and paste it into the Terminal
    • /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
  • Step 3 — Type your password when asked
    • It will ask for your Mac login password. 
    • Important: the screen shows nothing as you type — no dots, no cursor movement. This is normal and intentional. Just type your password and press Return.
  • Step 4 — Wait
    • It downloads and sets things up. This takes a few minutes. You'll see lots of text scroll by — that's expected.
  • Step 5 — Finish the setup (this step is easy to miss)
    • When it's done, the installer prints two lines under a heading like "Next steps" that you need to run so your Mac knows where Homebrew lives. They look like this: echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"
    • Copy the exact lines the installer shows you, paste them in, and press Return after each.
  • Step 6 — Check it worked
    • Type brew --version
    • If it shows a version number, you're done
  • Step 7 - You can run the ffprobe command on your stuck file by following the article below
    • Large MXF uploads stay preparing for playback 
  • Step 8 - Now install FFmpeg using Homebrew
    • Open Terminal and type in brew install ffmpeg
    • Wait for the installation to complete.
  • Step 9 - Check FFmpeg installed correctly
    • In the Terminal type in ffmpeg -version
    • If it shows FFmpeg version information, the installation was successful.

🔖 Notes 

• Get the help of Claude if you're stuck in any of these steps