brew install jmeter --with-plugins fails with Error: invalid option: --with-plugins because Homebrew removed every option from its core formulae in Homebrew 2.0 (February 2019). Drop the flag and run brew install jmeter. The current formula installs JMeter 5.6.3 with the JMeter Plugins Manager already in place, so you add plugins from Options > Plugins Manager after the install.
Key takeaways
- The flag cannot be fixed or worked around: the
jmeterformula has no options at all, andbrew options jmeterprints nothing. - You do not need it. Homebrew’s JMeter already includes the Plugins Manager, which installs any plugin together with its dependencies.
- For servers and CI jobs, the Plugins Manager’s command-line tool works on a Homebrew install too, once you add the
cmdrunnerjar it expects.
What does the error look like?
Homebrew rejects the option before it downloads anything. It prints the full usage text of brew install and ends with one error line; nothing is installed and the command exits with status 1. We ran it with --dry-run on 24 October 2026, and the last line was:
Error: invalid option: --with-pluginsIf you copied the command from an old web page and see Warning: No available formula with the name "–with-plugins" instead, the page had replaced the two hyphens with a typographic dash. Homebrew then reads –with-plugins as the name of a second formula to install. Either way, the fix is the same.
Why does Homebrew reject --with-plugins?
Because Homebrew’s core formulae have had no options since Homebrew 2.0, released on 2 February 2019. The release notes say “Homebrew does not have any formulae with options in Homebrew/homebrew-core” and explain that formulae with options “had to be built from source, could not be tested on our CI system and provided a disproportionate support burden” on the volunteer maintainers.
Before that change, older guides used --with-plugins to get a set of extra JMeter plugins installed along with JMeter. The option went away with all the others, and Homebrew now accepts only its generic brew install flags for jmeter. Third-party taps may still define options, but none is needed for JMeter.
How do you install JMeter with plugins on Homebrew today?
Install JMeter with the plain formula, open it, and add plugins with the Plugins Manager that the formula already ships. The jmeter formula (version 5.6.3 on formulae.brew.sh, October 2026) depends on openjdk@21 and copies the Plugins Manager jar, version 1.9, into JMeter’s libexec/lib/ext folder during the install.
- Run
brew install jmeter. - Start JMeter with
jmeter. - Open Options > Plugins Manager and go to the Available Plugins tab.
- Tick the plugins you need. The bottom pane lists any dependencies that come along.
- Click Apply Changes and Restart JMeter.
If you have not installed JMeter yet, how to install JMeter on a Mac covers Homebrew and the archive download, including Apple Silicon paths. The JMeter Plugins Manager guide explains the tabs, updates and common plugin choices in more detail.
How do you install plugins from the command line with Homebrew’s JMeter?
Use the Plugins Manager’s command-line tool, PluginsManagerCMD.sh. Homebrew does not install it, but the Plugins Manager jar can generate it. Two details trip people up: Homebrew’s openjdk@21 is keg-only, so its java is not on your PATH, and the script that the 1.9 jar writes expects cmdrunner-2.3.jar, while the jmeter-plugins.org page still names 2.0.
JM="$(brew --prefix jmeter)/libexec"
export PATH="$(brew --prefix openjdk@21)/bin:$PATH"
# the runner jar the generated script calls
curl -L -o "$JM/lib/cmdrunner-2.3.jar" \
"https://search.maven.org/remotecontent?filepath=kg/apc/cmdrunner/2.3/cmdrunner-2.3.jar"
# writes PluginsManagerCMD.sh into $JM/bin
java -cp "$JM/lib/ext/jmeter-plugins-manager-1.9.jar" \
org.jmeterplugins.repository.PluginManagerCMDInstaller
"$JM/bin/PluginsManagerCMD.sh" status
"$JM/bin/PluginsManagerCMD.sh" install-for-jmx /path/to/plan.jmxinstall-for-jmx reads a test plan and installs the plugins it uses, which suits a CI job running someone else’s .jmx. We checked this sequence on 24 October 2026 with the same 1.9 jar and JMeter 5.6.3 from the Apache archive rather than from Homebrew: with only cmdrunner-2.0.jar present the script failed with Unable to access jarfile .../lib/cmdrunner-2.3.jar; with 2.3 added, status listed the installed plugins and install jpgc-casutg added Custom Thread Groups 3.1.1. If a later formula ships a newer jar, adjust the file name.
Do plugins survive brew upgrade jmeter?
Plan on reinstalling them. Homebrew installs each JMeter version into a new folder, and plugin jars you added to the old version’s libexec/lib/ext are not carried over, and Homebrew’s automatic cleanup usually deletes the old version with them. After an upgrade, open the Plugins Manager and reinstall, or run install-for-jmx against your test plans. The same applies to edited configuration files, as explained in where Homebrew keeps JMeter’s configuration files.
Running plugin-based test plans in the cloud
A plugin installed on your Mac exists only on your Mac. LoadFocus JMeter load testing runs an uploaded .jmx file with its CSV data on cloud load generators in 25 regions, and its product page says your plugins come along. Run a short test first to confirm the plugins you depend on behave as they do locally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still use --with-plugins with Homebrew?
No. The jmeter formula in Homebrew/homebrew-core defines no options, and Homebrew stopped allowing options in core formulae with version 2.0 in February 2019. Install with brew install jmeter and add plugins afterwards.
Does brew install jmeter include the Plugins Manager?
Yes. The formula copies the JMeter Plugins Manager jar (version 1.9 in the October 2026 formula) into JMeter’s lib/ext folder, so Options > Plugins Manager is there the first time you start JMeter.
Which Java does Homebrew’s JMeter use?
It uses openjdk@21, which Homebrew installs as a dependency. The jmeter command Homebrew creates sets JAVA_HOME to that JDK, so it does not matter which Java the rest of your Mac uses.
Where does Homebrew put JMeter’s lib/ext folder?
Under the formula’s libexec folder: $(brew --prefix jmeter)/libexec/lib/ext. On Apple Silicon that resolves under /opt/homebrew, on Intel Macs under /usr/local.
Sources
- Homebrew, Homebrew 2.0.0 release notes (no options in homebrew-core, and why), read 24 October 2026.
- Homebrew, jmeter formula and its source in homebrew-core (5.6.3,
openjdk@21, Plugins Manager 1.9 installed intolibexec/lib/ext, no options), read 24 October 2026. - Homebrew,
brew info openjdk@21(keg-only), run 24 October 2026. - JMeter Plugins, Plugins Manager and command-line installation, read 24 October 2026.
- Apache JMeter, download page (5.6.3, Java 8+), read 24 October 2026.
- Our own runs, 24 October 2026:
brew install --dry-run jmeter --with-pluginsand the dash variant (Homebrew 7.0.10), and the Plugins Manager command-line setup on JMeter 5.6.3.
