BrewAMP
Meet BrewAMP v0.8.0

Your Mac.
Your stack.

Local PHP development, brewed your way.

Choose your PHP, MariaDB and web server versions. Run projects side by side, with their own local addresses. All in one native Mac app.

Download for MacInstall options

Free to use. Made for Apple Silicon.

⌘Feels right at home.
Real app. Less setup.SwiftUI · Apple Silicon
A familiar stack.
A better way to run it.
PHP / MariaDB / nginx / Apache / phpMyAdmin

ONE APP. DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS.

The new project.
The legacy one.
Both at once.

Your next build and yesterday’s client site don’t need the same setup. Give each environment its own name, versions and local address — then run them in parallel.

Make room for your next project
One Mac. Two independent setups.Example
S

Studio

Running
PHP
8.4
MariaDB
11.4
Server
nginx
https://studio.testDB :13307
L

Legacy

Running
PHP
8.3
MariaDB
10.11
Server
Apache
https://legacy.testDB :13308

Separate processes and databases. Shared Homebrew packages and web ports.

Pick your versions.

Choose from the versions available in Homebrew. A download icon shows what’s missing; BrewAMP installs it when you’re ready.

Bring your projects.

Use your existing web folder or copy a project into a new environment. The import assistant adds a database with your chosen name and an optional SQL export.

Your databases. Your rules.

Create databases and users, change passwords and choose access per database — right in the app. For advanced tools, enable phpMyAdmin with one checkbox.

NEW IN 0.8 · LOCAL HOSTNAMES

A name for
every project.

Open studio.test and legacy.test side by side. Virtual hosts route each address to its own environment, with nginx or Apache behind it.

Keep your familiar port-based URLs, or choose Without port number for local HTTP and HTTPS on ports 80 and 443.

https://studio.testLOCAL

  1. Give it a hostname.

    Enter a name such as studio.test in your environment.

  2. Lose the port number.

    Tick Without port number. Enable HTTPS if your project needs it.

  3. Approve local addresses.

    Set up the signed helper once in macOS. It manages BrewAMP’s hosts entries and forwards the local web ports.

Only on your Mac. HTTPS certificates are self-signed; trusting them in your browser is a separate, optional step.

LESS CONFIGURING. MORE CREATING.

Your next stack starts here.

A small Mac app.
Your familiar Homebrew tools.

BrewAMP app icon

BrewAMP 0.8.0

Native macOS app for Apple Silicon.

Download .dmg 6.2 MBDeveloper ID signed & Apple notarizedSHA-256 checksum

  1. Have Homebrew ready.

    BrewAMP uses your Homebrew installation to get the server packages. New to brew? Get Homebrew

  2. Make yourself at home.

    Open the downloaded DMG, drag BrewAMP into Applications and launch it.

  3. Pick. Install. Start.

    Create an environment, choose your versions, click Install packages, then Start. Your local site is ready.

Apple Silicon only · Homebrew required · macOS 15+ recommended · English, Deutsch, Français, Italiano

A FEW GOOD QUESTIONS

Before you
start brewing.

A little context for your first launch.

Is BrewAMP really free?

Yes. BrewAMP is free to use and licensed under the MIT license. All features are available without payment. If it makes your day easier, you can support development with an optional contribution.

Which Macs are supported?

BrewAMP is built for Apple Silicon (M-series Macs), with no Intel build. The app requires macOS 14 or later; macOS 15 or later is recommended for the currently supported Homebrew setup. Homebrew must be installed at /opt/homebrew.

Can I run different PHP and MariaDB versions at once?

Yes. Each environment runs its own web server, PHP-FPM and MariaDB processes on separate ports. Choose the version series Homebrew currently offers. When changing the MariaDB series, BrewAMP uses a separate data directory; it does not migrate databases between versions.

How do custom hostnames and virtual hosts work?

Enter a hostname such as project.test, then open Local addresses… to set up the signed helper. macOS asks you to approve it with administrator authentication. The helper maintains only BrewAMP-owned entries in your Mac’s hosts file. With Without port number, it forwards loopback ports 80 and 443 to BrewAMP’s local virtual-host router; each environment keeps its own backend and database ports. Those two web ports must be free. Normal port-based URLs remain available.

Can I remove the local-address helper?

Yes. Open Local addresses… → Remove setup. This removes BrewAMP’s hosts entries for your user and unregisters its helper. Do this before uninstalling BrewAMP if you enabled local addresses. Your projects and databases stay in place. Hostnames and portless URLs need the setup; ordinary localhost URLs with ports work without it.

Can I test my site over HTTPS?

Yes. Enable local HTTPS when creating an environment, or enable it later while the environment is stopped. BrewAMP creates a separate, self-signed certificate for localhost, 127.0.0.1 and your optional hostname. Use its own HTTPS port, or choose Without port number to share port 443 across local hostnames. HTTP stays available, and phpMyAdmin can use HTTPS too. The app shows the certificate details and renewal controls. Trusting the certificate on your Mac is an optional, separate step; BrewAMP never changes Keychain trust automatically.

Does BrewAMP run containers?

BrewAMP runs the native programs installed by Homebrew. Environments have separate processes, configuration and data, while Homebrew packages and their libraries are shared. Versions follow Homebrew’s available packages rather than frozen container images.

Can I bring an existing project and database?

Yes. Choose Import project…, select your project folder, then use it in place or copy it into BrewAMP. Choose a database name and optionally import one uncompressed, single-database SQL export up to 512 MB. An optional public subdirectory supports projects with a public webroot. Source files stay unchanged; update your application’s database credentials and URLs yourself. This is a SQL-export workflow, not an automatic MAMP/XAMPP conversion or MariaDB version upgrade.

Can I manage databases and users without phpMyAdmin?

Yes. Start the environment and open Databases. Create additional databases and local users, change custom-user passwords, and select read-only, read/write or schema-admin access per database. Removing a custom user keeps the database contents. System accounts and advanced privileges stay protected; phpMyAdmin remains available for advanced administration.

What happens when I close the app or delete an environment?

Quitting BrewAMP stops the services it started. Deleting an environment asks for confirmation and moves its managed project files, databases, configuration and logs to the macOS Trash. An existing external web folder is kept. BrewAMP also removes that environment’s own hosts entry. Other environments and shared Homebrew packages stay in place.

How do I keep BrewAMP up to date?

BrewAMP checks for a newer published release when it starts, at most once a day. You can disable automatic checks in Settings or choose Check for Updates… at any time. A small banner opens the download link and Homebrew upgrade instructions. Updates are installed only when you choose; quit BrewAMP before replacing the app or running an upgrade. If macOS needs to approve an updated helper, open Local addresses… and follow Update setup.

Is this for production hosting?

BrewAMP is designed for local development. Its services bind to 127.0.0.1, so your sites and databases are available on your own Mac. Local HTTPS uses self-signed development certificates. Custom local hostnames are supported; they do not publish your projects on the internet. Database version migrations remain a manual SQL-export/import workflow.

FREE SOFTWARE. FUELED BY YOU.

Enjoy your brew?
Keep it going.

BrewAMP stays free. If it saves you a few setup headaches, a small contribution helps support its development.

Support BrewAMP

PayPal · Your amount · One-time

Entirely optional. Every feature stays free.

A closer look at BrewAMP

BrewAMP 0.8.0 showing Studio and Legacy, compact version selectors, HTTPS, phpMyAdmin and local hostname settings.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND BREWAMP

funok consulting UG
(haftungsbeschränkt)

Registered address

Am Flöz 62
45472 Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany

Managing director

Fabian Wallentowitz

Contact

fabian@wallentowitz.de
+49 177 8636617

Commercial register

Amtsgericht Duisburg
HRB 36293

VAT identification number

DE348592619

BrewAMP is a project by funok consulting UG (haftungsbeschränkt).

Privacy

Privacy information · updated October 27, 2026

Who operates this website?

funok consulting UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Am Flöz 62, 45472 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. For privacy enquiries, contact datenschutz@funok.de.

A quiet page by default.

This page does not load Google Analytics until you choose “Allow analytics”. Rejecting optional analytics does not affect downloads or any other feature. There are no external fonts, advertising tags or embedded payment forms. Your browser still requests the website and its assets from our hosting server.

Hosting and server logs.

We operate this website on a server provided by STRATO GmbH, Otto-Ostrowski-Straße 7, 10249 Berlin, Germany. The server processes connection and request data, including your IP address, date and time, requested page or file, response status, data transferred and, when supplied by your browser, referrer and browser information. Access and error logs support delivery, troubleshooting and protection against misuse. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in reliable and secure operation under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Log files are rotated automatically; records needed to investigate a specific security incident may be retained until that investigation is complete. See STRATO’s privacy information.

Optional Google Analytics.

If you allow analytics, Google Analytics 4 receives information about page visits, browser/device characteristics, approximate location and clicks on the DMG download and support buttons. Analytics cookies may be stored for up to six months. Google receives connection information, including your IP address, when its service is used. Google Signals, advertising storage and advertising personalization are disabled in this website’s configuration.

Download events measure clicks, not confirmed completed transfers or installations. Support events measure a click through to PayPal, not a completed payment. We do not send names, email addresses, account IDs or payment details to Analytics. Page URLs are sent without query strings or fragments, and referral URLs are reduced to their origin.

Your preference is saved in your browser for up to six months. Use Analytics settings in the footer to change your choice at any time. Rejecting analytics after allowing it stops this page’s tracking and removes its Google Analytics cookies. Browser Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals are also respected. Local BrewAMP previews never send analytics data to Google.

Google Analytics is provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. For information about Google’s processing, see Google’s privacy policy. User-level and event-level data retention is set to two months without resetting on new activity; aggregated standard reports may remain available longer. Optional analytics and its cookies are based on your consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG. You can withdraw that consent at any time using the footer settings, without affecting processing carried out before withdrawal. Data may be processed outside the EEA, including in the United States. Google describes its reliance on the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses where required in its data-transfer information.

App update checks.

Versions of the BrewAMP app with update checking can request https://brewamp.app/updates.json automatically at most once a day, or when you manually check for updates. This retrieves public release metadata. The request does not include project files, database contents, account credentials or a unique installation identifier, and it does not load Google Analytics. Our hosting server still processes the connection and request data described above. Automatic checks can be disabled in the app’s Settings; manual checks remain available. Updates are downloaded or installed only when you choose to do so.

When you follow a link.

Links to Homebrew and PayPal take you to those providers only when you click them. The support button opens PayPal’s hosted payment page. Payment details are handled by PayPal; this website does not collect them. See PayPal’s privacy information.

When you contact us.

If you choose to send us an email, we receive the contact details and information you include so we can respond to your enquiry. We process enquiries to respond to you under Article 6(1)(b) GDPR when they concern a contract or pre-contractual request, or Article 6(1)(f) GDPR for other correspondence. We retain correspondence for the time needed to handle your enquiry and any applicable legal retention period. For questions about your data or requests concerning it, use the privacy contact above.

Your rights.

Subject to the applicable legal conditions, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction of processing and data portability, and object to processing based on legitimate interests. You may withdraw consent at any time and lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, including LDI NRW. Providing optional analytics data is voluntary; refusing it does not prevent you from using the website. We do not use automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects.