Synology-Homebrew

🚀 Overview

Welcome to Synology-Homebrew – the easiest and safest way to get Homebrew running on your Synology NAS or macOS device.

This installer:

Ensures Homebrew is correctly mounted on DSM 7.2+
Avoids overwriting or deleting existing Synology packages
Comes with a full uninstall option
Mirrors your terminal setup on macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon)

📦 Whether you're setting up Neovim, configuring plugins with config.yaml, or building a powerful shell with zsh and oh-my-zsh, this repo helps you do it cleanly and consistently.

💡 Why Homebrew on Synology or macOS?

Homebrew, the package manager for macOS and Linux, unlocks a vast ecosystem of open-source tools. On Synology NAS, this means:

Installing modern CLI tools without waiting for package updates
Using advanced dev environments on low-power NAS devices
Sharing dotfiles/config across macOS & NAS seamlessly

🔧 Key Features

Installation Modes: Minimal or Advanced setups based on your needs.
Synology Integration: Coexists with Synology packages without removing or breaking system services.
Cross-Platform: Use the same config on Synology NAS, Intel Macs, and Apple Silicon.
Safe Uninstall: Revert your system to its original state using the provided script.
Zsh & Theme Setup: Comes with oh-my-zsh, powerlevel10k, and aliases for a powerful terminal experience.
Neovim Ready: Optional full Neovim configuration via kickstart.nvim or your custom dotfiles.

🛡️ Security & Trust

This script is designed with safety in mind:

No hidden network calls to unknown sources.
Does not capture credentials or sudo passwords.
Respects your Synology environment – does not remove or conflict with built-in packages.
Full uninstall script included for rollback.
All code is open-source and auditable. Submit issues or PRs to improve security.

⚙️ Installation Guide

🚀 Quick Start (Synology NAS)

SSH into your Synology NAS (DSM 7.2 or newer).
Run the following command to clone the repo and launch the installer:

git clone https://github.com/MrCee/Synology-Homebrew.git ~/Synology-Homebrew && \
~/Synology-Homebrew/install-synology-homebrew.sh

Choose your install type when prompted:

🧼 Option 1: Minimal Install (Clean & Lightweight)

Installs Homebrew and core dependencies only
Ignores all additional packages in config.yaml
Use this for a bare setup or as a base to build on later

You can rerun the installer at any time to switch to Advanced mode or uninstall.

⚡ Option 2: Advanced Install (Fully Loaded)

Installs everything defined in config.yaml
Includes Neovim, CLI tools, shell enhancements, aliases, plugins, and themes
Recommended for a full developer-ready setup

📦 Packages Always Installed

Regardless of install type, the following essential packages are always included to support Homebrew functionality on Synology:

git, ruby, glibc, gcc, python3, yq, zsh, oh-my-zsh

📋 Prerequisites & Preflight

🧾 Synology NAS Requirements

Make sure the following are configured:

✅ Synology NAS with DSM 7.2 or later
✅ SSH access enabled (Control Panel > Terminal & SNMP > Enable SSH service)
✅ User home directories enabled (Control Panel > User > Advanced > Enable user home service)
✅ Set up scheduled task (see below) to remount Homebrew after reboot

📥 Install Git via CLI (if needed)

If Git is not already installed, run this command to install a minimal version. This will later be replaced by Homebrew’s Git:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MrCee/Synology-Git/refs/heads/main/install-synology-git.sh | bash

💻 macOS Terminal Environment (Optional but Recommended)

For macOS users planning to sync terminal config with Synology:

Use iTerm2 instead of the default Terminal.app
Install a Nerd Font (e.g., nerdfonts.com)
Configure a color profile (e.g. coolnight.itermcolors)

Check the iTerm2 Configuration Guide for setup instructions.

🔁 Persist Homebrew After Reboot (Synology)

To automatically mount the Homebrew directory after a NAS reboot:

Go to Control Panel > Task Scheduler
Click Create > Triggered Task > User-defined Script
Configure as follows:

1st Tab (General)

Task Name: Homebrew Boot
User: root
Event: Boot-up
Enabled: ✅

2nd Tab (Script)

Paste this into the User-defined script box:

#!/bin/bash

# Ensure /home exists
[[ ! -d /home ]] && sudo mkdir /home

# Only mount if it's not already a mountpoint
if ! grep -qs ' /home ' /proc/mounts; then
  sudo mount -o bind "$(readlink -f /var/services/homes)" /home
fi

# Permission fixes
sudo chown root:root /home
sudo chmod 775 /home

if [[ -d /home/linuxbrew ]]; then
  sudo chown root:root /home/linuxbrew
  sudo chmod 775 /home/linuxbrew
fi

🛠️ Configure Packages with `config.yaml`

If you chose Advanced Install, your setup is driven by a YAML configuration file.

This file lets you define exactly what packages, plugins, themes, and aliases to install. It’s fully customizable — just edit the actions or add your own!

📂 File Location

After cloning this repo, you'll find the config file at:

~/Synology-Homebrew/config.yaml

Open it in your favorite editor:

nvim ~/Synology-Homebrew/config.yaml
# or
nano ~/Synology-Homebrew/config.yaml

⚙️ Available Actions

Each item (package, plugin, etc.) supports three actions:

install: install it
uninstall: remove it (if installed)
skip: ignore it (leave it as-is)

📦 Example: Packages Section

packages:
  neovim:
    action: install
    aliases:
      vim: "nvim"
    eval: []
  bat:
    action: install
    aliases:
      cat: "bat --paging=never"
    eval: []
  eza:
    action: install
    aliases:
      ls: "eza --color=always --group-directories-first --icons"
      ll: "eza -la --icons --octal-permissions --group-directories-first --icons"
      l: "eza -bGF --header --git --color=always --group-directories-first --icons"
      llm: "eza -lbGd --header --git --sort=modified --color=always --group-directories-first --icons"
      la: "eza --long --all --group --group-directories-first"
      lx: "eza -lbhHigUmuSa@ --time-style=long-iso --git --color-scale --color=always --group-directories-first --icons"
      lS: "eza -1 --color=always --group-directories-first --icons"
      lt: "eza --tree --level=2 --color=always --group-directories-first --icons"
      l.: "eza -a | grep -E '^\\.'"
    eval: []
  zoxide:
    action: install
    aliases:
      cd: "z"
    eval:
      - "zoxide init zsh"

🎨 Example: Plugins Section

plugins:
  powerlevel10k:
    action: install
    url: "https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k"
    directory: "~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/themes/powerlevel10k"
    aliases: []
    eval: []
  kickstart.nvim:
    action: install
    url: "https://github.com/nvim-lua/kickstart.nvim"
    directory: "~/.config/nvim-kickstart"
    aliases:
      nvim: 'NVIM_APPNAME="nvim-kickstart" nvim'
    eval: []

🧠 Pro Tips

Use aliases to override default commands (e.g. ls → eza)
Use eval to inject shell behavior after installing a package
Skip unused packages instead of deleting them — easier to toggle later
You can comment out any section using #

🔄 Applying Changes

You can re-run the installer any time:

~/Synology-Homebrew/install-synology-homebrew.sh

It will re-read your updated config.yaml and apply the new actions.

📦 Installed Packages (Advanced View)

These are the packages installed when using the Advanced Install option in config.yaml.

📦 Click to view full list of installed packages (Advanced Install)

Package	Description	Dependency
brew	Homebrew - The Missing Package Manager now for macOS & Linux.	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew
git	Latest version replaces Synology Package Centre version.	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew
ruby	Latest version replaces Synology Package Centre version.	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew
zsh	UNIX shell (command interpreter).	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew
python3 / pip3	Latest version installed.	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew
glibc	The GNU C Library - Core libraries for the GNU system.	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew
gcc	GNU compiler collection.	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew
oh-my-zsh	Community-driven framework for managing Zsh configuration.	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew, zsh
jq	Lightweight and flexible command-line JSON processor.	Essential for: Synology-Homebrew
make	Utility for directing compilation.	Essential for: neovim plugins
node	JavaScript runtime environment.	Essential for: neovim
neovim	Hyperextensible Vim-based text editor.	Recommended for: Synology
powerlevel10k	A theme for zsh.	Recommended for: oh-my-zsh
zsh-syntax-highlighting	A plugin for zsh.	Recommended for: oh-my-zsh
zsh-autosuggestions	A plugin for zsh.	Recommended for: oh-my-zsh
ripgrep	Recursive regex directory search tool.	Essential for: neovim, telescope, fzf
fd	User-friendly alternative to `find`.	Essential for: neovim, telescope
fzf	A command-line fuzzy finder.	Essential for: neovim, telescope
fzf-git.sh	Bash and zsh key bindings for Git objects.	Recommended for: neovim, telescope, fzf
bat	A `cat` clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration.	Recommended for: zsh, neovim
git-delta	Syntax highlighting for diffs using Levenshtein algorithm.	Recommended for: neovim
eza	A modern replacement for `ls`.	Recommended for: zsh, neovim
tldr	Simplified help pages for command-line tools.	Recommended for: neovim
thefuck	Corrects previous console command errors.	Recommended for: zsh
kickstart.nvim	A starting point for Neovim.	Optional for: neovim
perl	Feature-rich programming language.	Essential for: stow
stow	GNU Stow: Manage symlinks for dotfiles.	Optional
zoxide	Smarter `cd` command, inspired by `z` and `autojump`.	Recommended for: zsh
lazygit	Terminal UI for Git commands.	Recommended for: zsh, neovim

✨ Neovim Setup

Neovim (nvim) is fully supported and enhanced out of the box — ready for power users.

You can choose to run a custom config or use the kickstart.nvim template for a smart default.

📁 Neovim Config Script

This repo includes a helper script:

~/Synology-Homebrew/nvim_config.sh

Run it manually to:

Enable system clipboard over SSH via OSC52
Install Python support for linting and plugins
Setup Ruby gem support
Add helpful scripts like fzf-git.sh for Git integration

bash ~/Synology-Homebrew/nvim_config.sh

🚀 Using Kickstart.nvim (optional template)

Want a clean, fast Neovim config with everything pre-wired?

In config.yaml, find the plugins: section
Set kickstart.nvim to action: install

plugins:
  kickstart.nvim:
    action: install
    url: "https://github.com/nvim-lua/kickstart.nvim"
    directory: "~/.config/nvim-kickstart"
    aliases:
      nvim: 'NVIM_APPNAME="nvim-kickstart" nvim'

🔄 Switching Between Configs

In your ~/.zshrc, add an alias to switch Neovim configs easily:

# Kickstart config
alias nvim="NVIM_APPNAME='nvim-kickstart' nvim"

# Your own config
alias nvim="NVIM_APPNAME='nvim-mrcee' nvim"

If no alias is set, Neovim defaults to:

~/.config/nvim

✅ Final Step: Health Check

After installation, launch Neovim:

nvim

Then, inside Neovim, run:

:checkhealth

This will check your environment and highlight any missing dependencies, misconfigured plugins, or setup issues.

💡 If you've configured aliases via .zshrc, be sure you're launching the correct Neovim app profile:

NVIM_APPNAME="nvim-kickstart" nvim

🖌️ Customize Your Zsh

Your shell environment comes preloaded with:

zsh + oh-my-zsh
The powerlevel10k theme
Helpful plugins (e.g. autosuggestions, syntax highlighting)
Useful command aliases (like ll, vim → nvim, cat → bat, cd → zoxide, ls → eza)

Customize further with:

p10k configure

This interactive wizard lets you choose your preferred prompt style, icons, spacing, and color themes.

For a full walkthrough and recommended iTerm2 settings, check the iTerm2 Configuration Guide →

🧑‍💻 Usage & Contributions

Refer to official Homebrew documentation for basic usage

To re-run or update your setup:

~/Synology-Homebrew/install-synology-homebrew.sh

Need help or want to improve the project?
Submit issues, pull requests, or questions on GitHub

⚖️ Disclaimer & License

This script is provided as-is with no warranties.
Please review and understand changes before applying them to your system.

Licensed under the MIT License.

🙏 Acknowledgements

Big thanks to the open source projects and creators that made this possible, including:

Everyone contributing to brew
@ogerardin, @AppleBoiy, @josean-dev, @tjdevries
The GitHub & Synology dev communities
Everyone contributing ideas, scripts, and support 🎉

☕ Support the Project

If this saved you hours or you just love clean terminal setups:

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 166 Commits
.github		.github
profile-templates		profile-templates
screenshots		screenshots
.gitignore		.gitignore
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE.md		LICENSE.md
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
config.yaml		config.yaml
functions.sh		functions.sh
install-neovim.sh		install-neovim.sh
install-synology-homebrew.sh		install-synology-homebrew.sh
uninstall-synology-homebrew.sh		uninstall-synology-homebrew.sh
zsh_config.sh		zsh_config.sh

License

MrCee/Synology-Homebrew

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