Homebrew 5.0 brings download concurrency by default, Linux ARM64/AArch64 support, and more

Package manager Homebrew 5.0 introduces official platform support for Linux ARM64/AArch64 and the latest macOS 26 Tahoe, expanding compatibility for users on new and emerging hardware. Alongside these additions, the release enables concurrent downloads by default for all installations. This change is designed to speed up package installations, while users can also track progress in real time or revert to single-threaded downloads in the settings.

Following the platform and performance upgrades, Homebrew enforces stricter security standards for macOS users. Casks without code signing are now deprecated, and the team has announced that casks failing macOS Gatekeeper checks will be disabled starting September 2026. As part of the ongoing security roadmap, macOS Intel support is slated for deprecation, and Homebrew is removing behaviors that bypass Gatekeeper protections. The project has also deprecated the --no-quarantine and --quarantine flags to discourage circumvention of macOS security features.

These changes lay the groundwork for improved backend performance, as Homebrew now offers an opt-in, smaller internal JSON API. Users can try this new API before it becomes the default in a future release.