Link pre-installed apps to Homebrew Cask

Solution 1:

I have found the best way to fix this issue is brew cask reinstall <cask>. Homebrew then removes the old version as if it installed it and the new version is now managed. That for me has been the cleanest solution.

Solution 2:

In versions 2.0.5 and above, it seems you can make Homebrew reinstall the Mac app by applying the --force flag:

brew cask install --force slack

Solution 3:

No, there is not way to update the Homebrew Cask database with the pre-installed apps.

If you wish to have an app installed via Homebrew (so that it gets listed when running brew list --cask), you'll need to remove the downloaded and installed version from the /Applications directory, and install via Homebrew.