How to Fix the 'Command Not Found: Brew' Error in Zsh [Mac Terminal Guide]

The error message zsh: command not found: Brew occurs when a programmer forgets to install Brew or when the path is not provided in the instructions. To resolve the issue of "zsh: command not found: brew", refer to the quick navigation below:

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A shell is a command-line interface (CLI) and interpreter for communicating with an operating system through a series of commands.

Every Unix-based operating system has a preferred package manager, and on macOS, that package manager is Homebrew. However, while package managers make it incredibly simple to manage and install tools on your computer, they can occasionally run into issues like the zsh command not found, zsh: command not found: npm, and zsh: command not found: node errors.

In this article, we will focus specifically on the "zsh: command not found: brew" error.

First Aid: Recover Deleted Data on Your Mac with Terminal

On a Mac, one significant use of Terminal is to delete or recover files. Sometimes, you may find your zsh command not found because of accidental deletion. Hence, recovering deleted files on Mac Terminal might be unreliable, due to corrupted or wrong downloads. As a result, once a recovery is attempted via Terminal, Mac users might find their crucial files or data missing.

Otherwise, if the zsh utility is incorrectly updated or the command is wrongly entered, you might lose your files and data. Hence, it pays to be careful with your data. Here is a good Mac Trash Recovery tool to recover your data: the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.

• If you don't know how to use Terminal command lines and don't have a Time Machine backup, this is your best bet.
• You can also use it to recover deleted files from Mac trash when they're lost due to system crashes or virus attacks.
• Data Recovery Wizard for Mac can also retrieve files erased using the Terminal command line.

Check out the steps and learn how to use the software to recover deleted files from Mac.

Step 1. Select the disk to scan

In the main Data Recovery Wizard utility window, all drives connected to the Mac will be listed. Select the drive from which you wish to recover lost/deleted files and click on the 'Search for Lost Files' button.

Note: Before data recovery, it's better to click “Disk Backup” from the left sidebar and create a backup for your Mac to prevent further data loss. After the backup, the software can recover data from the Mac backup, and your computer can write new data again.

Step 2: Choose the lost data/files you want to recover

Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will scan the disk volume you select immediately, and display the scan results on the left. If you're looking for specific files, you can sort the results to locate the file you need.

Select the lost data/files you want to recover:

Step 3: Recover Lost/Deleted Data

Once the scan is complete and the files to be recovered are found, preview them and then click “Recover” to start restoring your deleted or lost Mac files.

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How to Fix the 'zsh: command not found: Brew' Issue on Mac

Homebrew, often abbreviated as Brew, is an open-source package manager designed for Linux and macOS. It lets you download, install, update, and uninstall software packages through a user-friendly command-line interface. In this section, we'll learn how to fix the "zsh: command not found: brew" error when running brew commands in the Terminal on your Mac.

Before we proceed with the fixes, watch this video first. It contains additional information on how to properly resolve the Zsh command not found: brew error.

If in doubt, consult the following remedies.

1. Solution 1: Reinstall Zsh with Brew
2. Solution 2: Add Brew to the PATH Variable
3. Solution 3: Fix Homebrew Installation
4. Solution 4: Install Arm Version on M1 Mac
5. Solution 5: Install Xcode on Mac

Solution 1: Reinstall Zsh with Brew

The best thing to do is to uninstall Homebrew, and then reinstall it if you're still having problems. If you want to remove Homebrew and all of its cached files, open Terminal on your Mac, and enter the following command:

The official Homebrew developers provide this command on GitHub.

After you've completely uninstalled Homebrew, restart your computer. Then, visit the Homebrew website and paste the installation code into it:

This line changes the shebang to /bin/bash, because Homebrew has been rewritten from Ruby to “Bash.”

Fix 2: Add Brew to the PATH variable

Upon installation, Homebrew should automatically add its directory to your PATH. However, occasionally this might not work, and you'll need to manually add the path to resolve the `zsh: command not found: brew` error.

For Bash -

To do this, use the following command:

If Homebrew is installed in a different location, replace /usr/local/bin with the target directory. For example, on macOS, Homebrew might be installed at /opt/homebrew/bin.

For Zsh -

Similarly, you can replace /usr/local/bin with the target directory.

Command is being executed.

This will indicate that the command was successful.

With the installation complete, you can now access Homebrew through a terminal session.

While the above approach with running brew works on a Mac, it's better to add the installation location of brew to your .zshrc file.

Use the command `nano ~/.zshrc` to open the `.zshrc` file. Now, add the following line to your `.zshrc` file: `$PATH:/opt/homebrew/bin`, which exports the path. Save the file by pressing `Ctrl + X`, then press `Enter`. Apply the changes with the command `source ~/.zshrc`.

Fix 3: Repair Homebrew Installation

You should run each of these commands in a terminal to fix your installation.

Step 1: Open Terminal on your Mac.

Step 2: Type export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH" in the terminal and press Enter.

Step 3: In the terminal, enter the following command and press Enter: export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH" >> $HOME/.zshrc

After running these commands, you might not see any output – and that's okay. Type brew help and press Enter to make sure everything is set up correctly and Homebrew is working.

Fix #4: Installing the ARM version on an M1 Mac

If you're using a Mac with an Apple M1 chip, your system might prompt you to add brew to the .zprofile zsh configuration file.

You should be installing Homebrew in /opt/Homebrew, not /usr/local/homebrew. To install the ARM-compatible version of Homebrew on your M1 device, enter the following:

1. 666@XXX-MacBook-Pro ~ % /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
2. ...
3. ==> Next steps:
4. - Add Homebrew to your PATH in ~/.zprofile:
5. echo 'eval $(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)' >> /Users/668/.zprofile
6. eval $(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)
7. - Run `brew help` for brewing instructions.
8. - Read the documentation at https://docs.brew.sh
9. 666@XXX-MacBook-Pro ~ % brew install --cask google-chrome zsh: command not found: brew

It is advised to read each line carefully before copying and pasting.

Fix 5: Install Xcode on your Mac

Most Mac users complain that Homebrew won't work unless you have Xcode installed on your machine. Therefore, you should have Xcode on your system.

Please follow the instructions below:

Step 1. To check if Xcode is installed on your machine, run:

If Xcode is already installed on your Mac, you can find the version number by looking for something like this:

Step 3: Open Xcode, then go to “Preferences” and select the “Locations” tab. Under “Command Line Tools,” choose the one for your version of Xcode.

Step 4. Open a terminal and run the following command:

If any of the above solutions helped resolve the zsh: command not found: brew issue, share on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Why am I getting the "Command Not Found: Brew" error in Zsh?

Based on the error message, the most apparent issue is that Brew might not be installed, or the existing installation is corrupted or has some other issues.

The system has a list of folders to search for command binary files. Hence, when the brew binary file is not found in the system's path, you encounter the "zsh command not found brew" issue along with the zsh permission denied problem.

So when you type a command at the terminal, the system searches this list of directories for a binary file with that name. If it can't find a matching binary, you get the “command not found” error.

The PATH environment variable contains a list of directories that the system will search.

Other common causes include:

• ❗The PATH environment variable no longer contains the Brew executable.
• ?The downloaded file was corrupted or incorrect.
• ?Homebrew was not installed correctly.

Conclusions

macOS has two options for its default shell: Zsh and Bash. However, starting with macOS Catalina, Apple switched back to Bash as the default shell because Bash is now licensed under GPL v3, which is incompatible with Apple's terms, while Zsh is more feature-equivalent to plain Bash.

Ultimately, path issues and incorrect installations lead to the "Zsh: command not found: brew" problem. If you have recently fixed your download and put brew files in the right path, hopefully, the methods above will help. Besides, the Mac Data Recovery Wizard works wonders with your Mac devices to keep your data safe.

"Zsh command not found: Brew" FAQ

After learning how to fix the 'zsh: command not found: brew' issue on your Mac, you might have more related questions. Check here to see if you can find your answer:

**1. How to fix the "zsh command not found" error on Mac?** Encountering the "zsh command not found" error on a Mac usually means that the command is not in your system's PATH environment variable, or you might need to update your shell. Here are the steps to resolve this issue: 1. **Check if the command is installed:** First, ensure that the command is installed on your system. Open Terminal and enter the following: ``` command -v your_command ``` Replace `your_command` with the command giving you trouble. If it returns the path of the command, it's installed; if not, it's missing. 2. **Install the missing command:** If the command is not installed, you can use Homebrew (a package manager) to install it. First, install Homebrew by opening Terminal and running: ``` /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" ``` After installation, use Homebrew to install the required command, for example: ``` brew install your_package ``` 3. **Update your shell to zsh:** If your shell isn't zsh, change the default shell to zsh. In Terminal, run: ``` chsh -s /bin/zsh ``` Restart your terminal or run `exec zsh` to switch to zsh immediately. 4. **Configure the PATH environment variable:** Open the `~/.zshrc` file (create it if it doesn't exist): ``` nano ~/.zshrc ``` Add the path to your command at the end of the file, like this: ``` export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/your/command" ``` Press `Control+X` to save, then `Y` to confirm, and `Enter` to close the editor. Finally, run: ``` source ~/.zshrc ``` 5. **Restart the Terminal app:** If the above steps don't help, try restarting the Terminal application or logging out and back into your Mac account. After completing these steps, you should be able to use the command normally. If the problem persists, consult the command's documentation or seek further assistance.

To fix the zsh error, you can try the following 5 methods. For more information, click on the linked page to learn how to resolve the issue of Zsh: command not found.

• Set the $PATH environment variable
• Ensure the package is installed
• Check the syntax
• Set the path in the .zshrc file
• Reinstall macOS

2. What is the Zsh Shell on a Mac?

On a Mac, there is a Unix shell program called Zsh. It is a command-line scripting tool that combines features of Bash, Tcsh, and Ksh, making it an enhanced version of the Bourne shell. Additionally, we recommend using a different API to handle its intricate configuration.

What is the `brew` command on a Mac? On a Mac, `brew` is short for Homebrew, which is a package manager used to install and manage command-line tools, software packages, and dependencies. With Homebrew, users can easily install various open-source software, libraries, and other utilities from the terminal without having to visit each software's official website or going through complex configurations. The `brew` command allows you to search for, install, update, and uninstall software. For instance, to install a text editor called `vim`, you would enter `brew install vim` in the terminal.

Homebrew (the `brew` command) is an essential package manager for macOS developers, system administrators, and power users. It allows us to install the latest and greatest versions of popular programs, packages, and development tools.

**4. How do I open a Zsh terminal on a Mac?** To open a Zsh terminal on your Mac, follow these steps: 1. Open the "Applications" folder. 2. Locate "Utilities" and double-click on it. 3. Within the Utilities folder, double-click on "Terminal." 4. The Terminal app will launch, and by default, it should use the Zsh shell, as macOS has switched from Bash to Zsh as the default shell starting with macOS Catalina. If you're unsure whether you have Zsh set up, you can check which shell you're currently using in the terminal by entering this command: ```bash echo $SHELL ``` If the output is `/bin/zsh`, then you are using Zsh. If not, you may need to manually change your default shell to Zsh by running the following command: ```bash chsh -s /bin/zsh ``` After that, restart the Terminal app for the changes to take effect.

Step 1: Open the Dock on your Mac and click the Launchpad icon.

Step 2: Type “Terminal” in the search bar.

Step 3: Select “Terminal.”

Step 4. Type “Zsh” to launch it.