Brew error: Could not symlink, path is not writable

Question

When I try to install a library with homebrew (brew install aLibrary), I got the following error:

Could not symlink lib/pkgconfig/a         


        

Answer 1

Giant Elk had a great suggestion and this is how I fixed my issue, which in my opinion is the cleanest. Users should not change permissions unless they know the ramifications.

1. Output your installed packages (via brew) to a text file:

   brew list > brewlist.txt
   

2. Uninstall brew:

   ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/uninstall)"
   

3. Re-install brew:

   /usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
   

4. Re-install previous packages (edit list if you do not need all packages):

   brew install $(< brewlist.txt )