Homebrew Support Tiers
Source identity
- Original source: https://docs.brew.sh/Support-Tiers
- Author/publisher: Homebrew project
- Source version/date: Policy snapshot retrieved 2026-09-26
- Retrieved: 2026-09-26 (UTC date; web and HTTP capture)
- Capture type: technical account plus complete upstream Markdown source asset.
- Rights: BSD-2-Clause, Homebrew contributors; license and notice.
- Used by:
- DESIGN §1.1 The gap that is opening: Unsupported OS/architecture configurations lose CI and support independently of execution.
- DESIGN — Appendix B. References: Published tier conditions qualify the Intel schedule.
Captured material
Homebrew distinguishes support tiers by platform and environment. Tier 3 does not provide the routine support and bottle expectations of supported configurations. Intel macOS transitions to Tier 3 in September 2026; the published schedule anticipates removal of Intel support in or after September 2027. Older macOS releases may be unsupported independently of CPU architecture.
Decision-relevant context
Source locator: Tier 1; Tier 2; Tier 3; Future macOS support, in the complete policy snapshot.
A tier describes the whole configuration, not just its processor. Tier 1 combines supported systems, normal installation paths, current tools, tests, and bottle coverage. Tier 2 is a reduced-support condition in which CI or bottles may be incomplete and community support may be the available route. Tier 3 has no maintainer commitment to fix bugs, may regress to benefit supported systems, prints warnings, and has no CI coverage; bottles are rarely produced.
Tier 3 changes require a high standard and low continuing maintenance cost, including upstreamed fixes rather than accumulating local workarounds. The policy recommends moving to a supported configuration or another package manager. Its future macOS schedule distinguishes Intel bottle/CI withdrawal from the later removal of code needed to run on Intel.
The CI discussion records actual bottle shutdown slightly before the scheduled month. Policy and incident evidence therefore answer different questions: intended support terms versus reported operational timing.
Applicability and limits
A support-tier policy is not proof that every command immediately stops working. Distinguish support, binary production, and execution cutoff dates.
Project interpretation
The project targets configurations outside this support window. That choice creates its own maintenance obligation; Tier 3 does not establish automatic failure of every existing package or justify a claim that source builds are always impossible.
Omissions and evidence gaps
The entire policy file is retained, but linked environment requirements and historical policy revisions are not. A live branch snapshot is not evidence of policy on an earlier date.
Preservation
This UTF-8 Markdown record is readable without a browser, script, account, or network. Preserve it with the repository and SHA256SUMS; retain superseded records when replacing a source version. Original URLs identify provenance, not a runtime dependency.
Complete original: HOMEBREW_SUPPORT_TIERS.source.txt. Retrieval URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/brew/main/docs/Support-Tiers.md. Retrieved 2026-09-26 UTC; SHA-256: 5905e1b47de98283e20edf31697922fb82d6f9dced20dc6e929cf587a49ee23c. Branch snapshot; no immutable commit is claimed. The bytes are unmodified UTF-8 Markdown; include this asset and HOMEBREW_LICENSE.txt in offline copies. Relative upstream links in the asset retain upstream meaning and are not promises of local coverage.
Review: 2026-09-26 UTC. Original source re-read against the cited local sections; added locators, conditions, and explicit gaps. No runtime validation is inferred. This account expands the earlier summary without replacing its historical date.