How to Install x86_64 Homebrew Packages on Apple M1 MacBook

Using Rosetta, Homebrew, alias, and VSCode

Photo by Dynamic Wang on Unsplash. Image by the Author.

Introduction

The New MacBook Air/Pro uses an Apple M1 chip. There are still many applications that support only Intel processors. You can check it by opening app information through the “Get Info” button.

An app with “Application (Universal)” supports both Apple silicon and Intel processors. (It uses Apple silicon by default.) An app with “Application (Intel)” supports only Intel processors. An app with “Application (Apple Silicon)” supports only Apple silicon.

When you try to install a Homebrew package which depends on x86_64 architecture, you may have an error:

Apple Rosetta 2