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nicknacnic / homebrew-prune

A utility that identifies installed home-brew formulae, when they were last accessed, and removes them.
Apache License 2.0
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homebrew-prune 🍺

A tool that identifies installed homebrew formulae, when they were last accessed, and removes them based off set date of expiry.

prune

[!NOTE] brew-autoremove removes orphaned dependencies, brew cleanup removes outdated formulae and clears old downloads/logs/cache. These are definitely un-needed, but what about 'actively updated' not orphaned packages you don't use anymore? Enter prune.

Usage

Installation:

Tap the formulae. brew tap nicknacnic/prune

Install the formulae. brew install prune

Run the formulae. prune -h

[!TIP] Use -t for test / dry-run purposes. prune -d 20210101 -t

Overview:

This script is designed to help clean up your macOS system by uninstalling Homebrew packages and casks that haven't been used for a significant amount of time.

How It Works:

The script operates in several steps:

  1. Date Comparison Setup: It sets up a comparison date against which the last access dates of the packages will be compared. Default is two years prior to when prune is run.

  2. Iterating Over Homebrew Packages: The script lists all packages installed via Homebrew and processes each one individually.

  3. Determining File Paths: For each package, the script checks for the presence of its main executable or library file in standard Homebrew installation paths (/usr/local/bin for executables and /usr/local/lib for libraries).

  4. Last Access Time Retrieval: If the file is found, the script retrieves its last access time using the ls -lu command.

  5. Date Parsing and Comparison: The script then parses this last access date. It handles different date formats depending on whether the date is from the current year or a previous year. The parsed date is compared against the set comparison date.

  6. Conditional Uninstallation: If a package's last access date is before the comparison date, the script uninstalls the package using brew uninstall.

  7. Logging: All actions, including checks, uninstallations, and any errors (like missing files), are logged to an output file (brew_package_usage.txt) for review.

Notes:

[!IMPORTANT] Backup: Before running this script, ensure you have a backup of your system or at least a list of installed packages. The script will uninstall software based on the last access date, which might sometimes lead to the removal of packages still needed.

[!WARNING] Date Formats: The script assumes specific date formats for the ls -lu output. If your system uses a different format, the script might need adjustments.

[!CAUTION] Manual Review Recommended: It's advisable to manually review the list of packages to be uninstalled before running the script, especially if you have critical Homebrew packages installed.

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