## Why should I install Homebrew in the default location?
Homebrew's pre-built binary packages, called[bottles](Bottles.md), of many packages can only be used if you install in the default installation prefix, otherwise they have to be built from source. Building from source takes a long time, is prone to fail, and is not supported. Do yourself a favour and install to the default prefix so that you can use our pre-built binary packages. The default prefix is `/usr/local` for macOS on Intel, `/opt/homebrew` for macOS on ARM, and `/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew` for Linux. *Pick another prefix at your peril!*
Homebrew's pre-built binary packages (known as[bottles](Bottles.md)) of many packages can only be used if you install in the default installation prefix, otherwise they have to be built from source. Building from source takes a long time, is prone to fail, and is not supported. Do yourself a favour and install to the default prefix so that you can use our pre-built binary packages. The default prefix is `/usr/local` for macOS on Intel, `/opt/homebrew` for macOS on ARM, and `/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew` for Linux. *Pick another prefix at your peril!*
## Why does Homebrew prefer I install to `/usr/local`?
