# Install Cerbos with Homebrew

Install the Cerbos PDP on macOS or Linux with a single Homebrew command for local development and testing.

[Installation documentation](https://docs.cerbos.dev/cerbos/latest/installation/binary.html#homebrew) | [Homebrew tap](https://github.com/cerbos/homebrew-tap)

### One-command install

Install Cerbos with a single `brew install` command, no manual downloads or path configuration.

### Local development

Run a full Cerbos PDP on your machine to develop and test authorization policies before deploying.

### Automatic updates

Keep Cerbos up to date with `brew upgrade`, managed alongside your other development tools.

## What is Cerbos?

Cerbos is an open-source authorization layer that decouples access control from your application code. It runs as a stateless Policy Decision Point (PDP) that evaluates fine-grained policies at request time.

Authorization policies are written in human-readable YAML supporting [RBAC](/content/features-benefits-and-use-cases/rbac/index.html), [ABAC](/content/features-benefits-and-use-cases/abac/index.html), and [conditional rules](/content/features-benefits-and-use-cases/pbac/index.html). They can be updated, tested, and deployed independently of your application.

Deploying Cerbos via Homebrew gives you a production-ready authorization service that scales horizontally and fits naturally into your existing infrastructure and observability stack.

### How to install Cerbos with Homebrew

1. **Install the Cerbos tap**, Run `brew install cerbos/tap/cerbos` to install the Cerbos binary from the official Homebrew tap.
2. **Create a policy directory**, Write your authorization policies as YAML files in a local directory.
3. **Start the PDP**, Run `cerbos server --config=/path/to/config.yaml` to start the local policy decision point.
4. **Connect your application**, Use a Cerbos SDK to send authorization checks from your application to the local PDP.

## FAQ

### How do I install Cerbos with Homebrew?

Run `brew install cerbos/tap/cerbos` to install the Cerbos binary. Once installed, run `cerbos server` with a policy directory to start the PDP locally.

### Does Cerbos require any external dependencies?

No. Cerbos is a single static binary with no external dependencies. It requires no database, message queue, or runtime. Just install and run.

### Is Homebrew suitable for production?

Homebrew is ideal for local development and testing. For production deployments, use Docker, Kubernetes with Helm, or a cloud VM with the binary installed directly or managed via systemd.

## Cerbos + Homebrew

- Cerbos runs alongside your workloads in Homebrew
- No external databases or message queues required
- Built-in metrics, distributed tracing, and structured logging
- Stateless PDP instances scale horizontally