113 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
113 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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last_review_date: "2025-04-12"
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---
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# Support Tiers
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Homebrew has three support tiers. These tiers set expectations for how well Homebrew will run on a given configuration.
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## Tier 1
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A Tier 1 supported configuration is one in which:
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- you'll have the best experience using Homebrew
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- we will aim to fix reproducible bugs affecting this configuration
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- we will not output warnings about running on this configuration
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- we have CI coverage for automated testing and building bottles for this configuration
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- your support is best met through Homebrew's issue trackers
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- Homebrew may block merging a PR if it doesn't build properly on this configuration
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### macOS
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For Tier 1 support, Homebrew on macOS must be all of:
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- running on official Apple hardware (e.g. not a "Hackintosh" or VM)
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- running a version of macOS supported by Apple on that hardware
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- running a version of macOS with Homebrew CI coverage (i.e. the latest stable or prerelease version, two preceding versions)
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- installed in the default prefix (i.e. `/opt/homebrew` on Apple Silicon, `/usr/local` on Intel x86_64)
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- running on a supported architecture (i.e. Apple Silicon or Intel x86_64)
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- not building official packages from source
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- installed on your Mac's built-in hard drive (i.e. not external/removable storage)
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- you have `sudo` access on your system
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- the Xcode Command Line Tools are installed and fully up-to-date
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### Linux
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For Tier 1 support, Homebrew on Linux must be all of:
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- running on Ubuntu or a Homebrew-provided Docker image
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- have a system `glibc` >= 2.35
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- have a Linux kernel >= 3.2
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- if running Ubuntu, using an Ubuntu version in "standard support": <https://ubuntu.com/about/release-cycle>
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- installed in the default prefix (i.e. `/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew`)
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- running on a supported architecture (i.e. Intel x86_64)
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- not building official packages from source
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- you have `sudo` access on your system
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## Tier 2
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A Tier 2 supported configuration is one in which any of:
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- you get a subpar but potentially still usable experience using Homebrew
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- we review PRs that fix bugs affecting this configuration but will not aim to fix bugs
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- we will output `brew doctor` warnings running on this configuration
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- we have partial CI coverage for testing and building bottles for this configuration so some bottles will not be available
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- we will close issues only affecting this configuration
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- your support is best met through Homebrew's Discussions
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Tier 2 configurations include:
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- macOS prereleases before we state they are Tier 1 (e.g. in March 2025, macOS 16, whatever it ends up being called)
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- Linux versions with a system `glibc` version < 2.35 (but >= 2.13), requiring the Homebrew `glibc` formula to be installed automatically
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- using official packages that need to be built from source due to installing Homebrew outside the default prefix
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(i.e. `/opt/homebrew` on Apple Silicon, `/usr/local` on Apple Intel x86_64, `/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew` for Linux)
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- running on a not-yet-supported architecture (i.e. Linux ARM64/AARCH64)
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- devices using OpenCore Legacy Patcher with a Westmere or newer Intel CPU
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## Tier 3
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A Tier 3 supported configuration is one in which:
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- you get a poor but not completely broken experience using Homebrew
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- we strongly recommend migrating to a Tier 1 or 2 configuration or a non-Homebrew tool
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- we will only review PRs with a very high bar: any changes must be proven by the author to fix (not work around) an issue and not come with high maintainability costs (no patches)
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- we will generally not aim to fix bugs ourselves affecting this configuration
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- we may intentionally regress functionality on this configuration if it e.g. improves things for other configuration
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- we will output noisy warnings running on this configuration
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- we are lacking any CI coverage for testing or building bottles for this configuration so few bottles will be available
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- we will close without response issues only affecting this configuration
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- your support is best met through Homebrew's Discussions
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Tier 3 configurations include:
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- macOS versions for which we no longer provide CI coverage and Apple no longer provides most security updates for (e.g. as of March 2025, macOS Monterey/12 and older)
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- building official packages from source when binary packages are available
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- installing Homebrew outside the default prefix (i.e. `/opt/homebrew` on Apple Silicon, `/usr/local` on Apple Intel x86_64, `/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew` for Linux)
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- installing formulae using `--HEAD`
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- installing deprecated or disabled formulae
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- devices using OpenCore Legacy Patcher with an Intel CPU older than Westmere
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## Unsupported
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An unsupported configuration is one in which:
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- Homebrew will refuse to run at all without third-party patching
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- You must migrate to another tool (e.g. Tigerbrew, MacPorts, Linux system package managers etc.)
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Unsupported configurations include:
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- FreeBSD
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- macOS 10.6
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- Beowulf clusters
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- Nokia 3210s
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- CPUs built inside of Minecraft
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- toasters
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## Unsupported Software
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All packages installed from third-party taps outside of the Homebrew GitHub organisation are unsupported by default.
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We may assist the maintainers/contributors/developers of such packages to fix bugs with the Homebrew formula/cask/tap system, but we are not responsible for resolving issues when using that software.
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Bugs that only manifest when using third-party formulae/casks may be closed.
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