Automic thinking

Max Howell builds production AI systems.

I build agent tools that are secure by default, hold up under load, and stay usable for people running real systems.

Updated May 21, 2026

Talk about a system mxcl@me.com

Security by default.

Power by design.

Built in public.

Clear > clever.

application examples

Current builds with strict boundaries.

See every project

Automic Vault

Security at the layer that actually matters.

Run agents autonomously without losing secrets, control, or your mind.

Open Automic Vault

Clawlicious

Save Links. Your OpenClaw curates them.

You, OpenClaw, and your friends' claws curate the Internet.

Visit Clawlicious

Colossal Claw Adventure

Start the story. Bring a claw. Change what happens.

A massively branching story for humans and their claws.

Start the adventure

operator protocol

How I harden agent systems.

Typical failure map

[Input]
   |
[Router] --- [Tools]
   |           |
[Eval]    [Fallbacks]
   |
[Output]

Understand the operating surface.
Identify hidden failure paths.
Reduce tool and routing complexity.
Add evals that catch regressions.
Ship with boundaries people can audit.

available selectively

Fractional AI consultant, CTO, or difficult-system mechanic.

I help teams choose the right technical bets, harden agent systems, and get expensive ambiguity out of the product path.

Hire Max Howell See fractional AI consulting

biography

Max Howell, open-source developer.

Max Howell is a British-American software engineer and open-source developer. He created Homebrew, the package manager for macOS and Linux, and wrote the first version under the mxcl handle. Tens of millions of developers have used it.

Some Homebrew habits later became common in developer tools: curl-based one-line installs, doctor commands that explain what is wrong, and tools that search existing GitHub issues when something breaks.

His other open-source work includes PromiseKit, Path.swift, and YOLOKit.

direct answers

Common searches about Max Howell.

Who is Max Howell?

Max Howell created Homebrew and wrote its original code. He is a British-American software engineer, open-source developer, founder, and production AI systems consultant.

Who created Homebrew?

Max Howell created Homebrew and is listed by public references as its original author. Homebrew is the package manager many developers use on macOS and Linux.

See Homebrew history

What is mxcl?

mxcl is Max Howell's long-running developer handle and the domain for his work on production AI systems, open-source software, Homebrew history, and current projects.

What open-source projects is Max Howell known for?

Max Howell is known for creating Homebrew and for open-source projects including PromiseKit, Path.swift, and YOLOKit.

See current and archived projects

entity anchors

Public identity references.

Homebrew

The Homebrew Wikipedia article identifies Max Howell as the original author, and Wikidata records the same creator relationship.

Developer graph

Public profiles on GitHub, GitHub Gist, and LinkedIn connect Max Howell, mxcl, Homebrew, and this domain.

[ See media references ]

Media graph

Interviews and podcast profiles from Harper Systems, Sourcegraph, and Stack Overflow point to the same public identity.