In order to simplify the installation process you should install homebrew-cask which provides a friendly homebrew-style CLI workflow for the administration of Mac applications distributed as binaries. Refer to this article in order to install homebrew-cask.
Octave can be installed with brew cask install octave or using the method below.
Import the scientific computing packages, including Octave:
brew tap homebrew/science
To install Octave, update to the latest package definitions, install , and then Octave:
brew update && brew upgrade
brew install gcc
brew install octave
Note: If brew complains about not having a formula for octave, the following command should fix it:
brew tap --repair
The command below upgrades Octave and its dependencies to the latest Homebrew-supported versions:
brew update && brew upgrade
Octave has many dependencies which will be downloaded and installed prior to Octave. The entire installation process can take a few hours. Note: On Snow Leopard, Octave requires a X server. If you install without, Homebrew will guide you to the XQuartz project where you can download this. You might find that you need to add:
setenv ("GNUTERM", "X11")
to your octaverc file, normally located at /usr/local/share/octave/site/m/startup.