Anyone who uses Homebrew to manage databases, web servers, or background services knows the drill. You open Terminal, type brew services list, squint at the output, then run another command to start or stop something. It works, but for tools you interact with daily, constantly jumping to the command line gets tedious fast.
BrewServicesManager puts Homebrew service control directly in your menu bar. Click the icon and you see all your Homebrew services with their current status. Starting, stopping, or restarting any service takes a single click. The app supports both user-level services and system-wide services, with the latter requiring administrator authentication when needed.
What makes this tool particularly useful for developers is the real-time monitoring. Service statuses update automatically based on a configurable refresh interval, so you always know what’s actually running. I’ve been testing this on my Mac Mini M4 while working on a Rails project that requires PostgreSQL and Redis. Being able to see at a glance which services are active saves the constant Terminal checking I was doing before.
The app includes batch operations for managing multiple services simultaneously. “Start All,” “Stop All,” and “Restart All” functions are available when you need to quickly bring up or shut down your entire development environment. There’s also a debug mode that provides verbose output, which has proven helpful when troubleshooting service startup issues.
BrewServicesManager automatically detects your Homebrew installation, checking both /opt/homebrew/bin/brew for Apple Silicon Macs and /usr/local/bin/brew for Intel machines. The app runs as a menu bar-only utility with no traditional window, keeping it unobtrusive while remaining instantly accessible.
System requirements specify macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later, which limits compatibility to recent machines. The project is open source under the MIT license and available on GitHub. You can download pre-built releases or build from source if you prefer. The codebase is built with Swift 6.2 and SwiftUI, and development requires Xcode 26.0 or later.
During my usage, the app has been stable and responsive. The interface clearly indicates which services are running versus stopped, and actions execute quickly. One consideration is that this tool assumes you’re already comfortable with Homebrew concepts. If you’re not familiar with which services you have installed or what they do, the app won’t provide that context. It’s a control interface, not a learning tool.
For developers who regularly work with Homebrew services, especially those managing multiple databases or background processes for different projects, BrewServicesManager eliminates the friction of command-line service management. The menu bar access makes it easy to quickly check status or toggle services as you switch between projects. It’s the kind of utility that becomes part of your workflow and makes you wonder how you worked without it.
