Homebrew 7.0.0
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Homebrew 7.0.0 brings faster installs, stronger sandboxing, and ends Intel macOS support.
The release focuses on performance (concurrent downloads, preparation, and cleanup), security (sandboxed formula and cask operations, advisory database, and fixes for six CVEs), and deprecations (macOS 10.15 dropped; Intel Macs moved to Tier 3 with no new bottles; the `.pkg` installer is Apple Silicon only, requiring Sequoia 15+). New features include `brew install --dry-run`, `brew doctor --json`, `brew services` with persistent per-formula env files, and a native macOS app. Homebrew 7.0.0 also adds experimental support for non-default prefixes on Linux and removes the dedicated Ubuntu 22.04 CI image.
What commenters are saying
Commenters broadly thanked the maintainers, with many praising the noticeable speed improvements. Several users expressed disappointment over Intel Mac deprecation, with some suggesting MacPorts as an alternative. Technical discussion covered the removal of bubblewrap for Linux sandboxing, the optional nature of the dedicated Linux user account, and clarification that the Rust rewrite experiment was abandoned because it was slower than the optimized Ruby frontend. One maintainer confirmed they use AI/LLM assistance for development, aided by a custom Agent IDE.