diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 88680189f..3f5fd5b52 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -95,8 +95,7 @@ install: |
         if [[ "$USE_BREW" == "1" ]]; then
             brew update;
             brew install python3;
-            brew install freetype;
-            brew install harfbuzz --without-glib --without-gobject-introspection --without-graphite2 --without-icu4c;
+            brew install harfbuzz --without-glib --without-gobject-introspection --without-graphite2 --without-icu4c --without-freetype --without-cairo;
         else
             mkdir -p $SW;
             curl https://download.calibre-ebook.com/travis/kitty/osx.tar.xz | tar xJ -C $SW;
diff --git a/README.asciidoc b/README.asciidoc
index e3ef973aa..b75ee7cbc 100644
--- a/README.asciidoc
+++ b/README.asciidoc
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ the following dependencies are installed first.
 * libunistring 
 * zlib
 * libpng
-* freetype
+* freetype (not needed on macOS)
 * fontconfig (not needed on macOS)
 * ImageMagick (optional, needed to use the `kitty icat` tool to display images in the terminal)
 * gcc or clang (required only for building)