Install acorn with Homebrew Cask

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

No executable aliases were found in the local package database.

Project history

Flying Meat released Acorn 1 on September 10, 2007. Subsequent major versions arrived regularly: Acorn 2 in 2009, Acorn 3 in 2011, Acorn 4 in 2013, and Acorn 5 in 2015.

The editor evolved from a simple Mac image editor into a layered bitmap and vector-shape environment with filters, RAW support, scripting, automation, plugins, and a documented native file format. Later releases adopted technologies such as Metal while retaining compatibility information and downloads for older systems.

Adoption history

Acorn has been sold both directly by Flying Meat and through the Mac App Store. Flying Meat's FAQ describes a major-version paid-upgrade model and notes that, beginning in August 2014, the company standardized on the lower upgrade-style price for all customers.

The long sequence of supported legacy releases shows sustained use across many macOS generations. Current documentation continues to cover both ordinary image editing and advanced automation.

How it is used

Acorn is used for creating and editing layered images, retouching photographs, drawing with bitmap and vector tools, applying filters, processing RAW images, taking screenshots, and exporting for print or the web.

Power users automate work through Shortcuts, JavaScript, AppleScript, Actions, and plugins. Objective-C plugin bundles and CocoaScript files are loaded from ~/Library/Application Support/Acorn/Plug-Ins/, although that is a plugin directory rather than the application's general configuration-file location.

Why package nerds care

Acorn occupies the Mac-native middle ground between lightweight bitmap tools and large subscription-oriented creative suites. It is especially interesting to automation-minded users because it combines a focused graphical editor with JavaScript and AppleScript support, Shortcuts actions, plugins, batch workflows, and a documented native file format.

Its long-lived direct-download distribution, preserved legacy versions, and Homebrew cask availability make it a representative independent macOS application with a package-manager-friendly installation path.

Timeline

• 2007: Acorn 1 was released on September 10.
• 2009: Acorn 2 was released on September 13.
• 2011: Acorn 3 was released on April 12.
• 2013: Acorn 4 was released on May 2.
• 2014: Flying Meat adopted a unified lower purchase price in place of separate new and upgrade pricing.
• 2015: Acorn 5 was released on August 20.
• 2018: Acorn 6.1 added Metal 2 support for compatible Macs.
• 2025–2026: Acorn 8 documentation continued to expand alongside the current release series.

Related projects

• AcornSDK: Flying Meat's official sample and SDK repository for Acorn plugins.
• Retrobatch: Flying Meat's application for automated image processing workflows.
• macOS Shortcuts, AppleScript, and JavaScript: automation systems supported by Acorn.

Sources

• Official FAQ: https://flyingmeat.com/acorn/docs/faq.html
• Official documentation: https://flyingmeat.com/acorn/docs/
• Official legacy releases: https://secure.flyingmeat.com/legacy/
• Official release notes: https://secure.flyingmeat.com/acorn/releasenotes.html