brew outdated lists auto_updates casks even though they should not require upgrading

[shemeshg]

!! Bug started today on last homebrew update (09-apr-2025)

brew doctor output

macos@std1013 ~ % brew doctor
Please note that these warnings are just used to help the Homebrew maintainers
with debugging if you file an issue. If everything you use Homebrew for is
working fine: please don't worry or file an issue; just ignore this. Thanks!

Warning: Some installed casks are deprecated or disabled.
You should find replacements for the following casks:
  lyx
  xournal++

Warning: Some installed formulae are deprecated or disabled.
You should find replacements for the following formulae:
  icu4c@77
macos@std1013 ~ %

Verification

• I ran brew update twice and am still able to reproduce my issue.
• My "brew doctor output" above says Your system is ready to brew or a definitely unrelated Tier message.
• This issue's title and/or description do not reference a single formula e.g. brew install wget. If they do, open an issue at https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/issues/new/choose instead.

brew config output

macos@std1013 ~ % brew config
HOMEBREW_VERSION: 5.1.5-51-g2746993
ORIGIN: https://github.com/Homebrew/brew
HEAD: 2746993db8da393aac948fa28ce1ec2e564d1242
Last commit: 65 minutes ago
Branch: main
Core tap JSON: 09 Apr 12:55 UTC
Core cask tap HEAD: 5836dd1984933468b7dbed0ddcc3c459116eb935
Core cask tap last commit: 2 hours ago
Core cask tap JSON: 09 Apr 12:55 UTC
HOMEBREW_PREFIX: /opt/homebrew
HOMEBREW_CASK_OPTS: []
HOMEBREW_DOWNLOAD_CONCURRENCY: 24
HOMEBREW_FORBID_PACKAGES_FROM_PATHS: set
HOMEBREW_MAKE_JOBS: 12
HOMEBREW_SORBET_RUNTIME: set
Homebrew Ruby: 4.0.2 => /opt/homebrew/Library/Homebrew/vendor/portable-ruby/4.0.2_1/bin/ruby
CPU: dodeca-core 64-bit arm_blizzard_avalanche
Clang: 21.0.0 build 2100
Git: 2.50.1 => /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/git
Curl: 8.7.1 => /usr/bin/curl
macOS: 26.4-arm64
CLT: 26.4.0.0.1774242506
Xcode: 26.4
Metal Toolchain: N/A
Rosetta 2: false
macos@std1013 ~ %

What were you trying to do (and why)?

I ran brew outdated to see which packages actually require upgrading.
However, several casks that declare auto_updates true were listed as outdated.
These casks should not appear in brew outdated, because Homebrew is not responsible for updating them.

What happened (include all command output)?

produced entries such as:
google-chrome (129.0.6668.101) != 147.0.7727.56
musescore (4.4.3.242971445) != 4.6.5.253511702,4.6.5
rectangle (0.83) != 0.95
thunderbird (131.0.1) != 149.0.2
visual-studio-code (1.94.2) != 1.115.0

All of these casks declare auto_updates true.

What did you expect to happen?

Casks with auto_updates true should not appear in brew outdated, and brew upgrade should not attempt to upgrade them.

Expected behavior:

• brew outdated lists only formulae and casks that Homebrew is responsible for updating.
• Auto‑update casks are excluded, because the application itself handles updates.

Step-by-step reproduction instructions (by running brew commands)

1. `brew update` to 9-April

2. `brew outdated`

3. `brew upgrade` will actually attempt to upgrade and it should not


macos@std1013 ~ % brew update
==> Updating Homebrew...
Already up-to-date.
macos@std1013 ~ % brew outdated
ollama (0.20.3) < 0.20.4
openssl@3 (3.6.1) < 3.6.2
pixi (0.66.0) < 0.67.0
python@3.13 (3.13.12_1) < 3.13.13
google-chrome (129.0.6668.101) != 147.0.7727.56
musescore (4.4.3.242971445) != 4.6.5.253511702,4.6.5
rectangle (0.83) != 0.95
thunderbird (131.0.1) != 149.0.2
visual-studio-code (1.94.2) != 1.115.0


macos@std1013 ~ % brew upgrade
==> Downloading https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask/5836dd1
######################################################################### 100.0%
==> Upgrading 9 outdated packages:
openssl@3 3.6.1 -> 3.6.2
python@3.13 3.13.12_1 -> 3.13.13
pixi 0.66.0 -> 0.67.0
ollama 0.20.3 -> 0.20.4
google-chrome 129.0.6668.101 -> 147.0.7727.56
musescore 4.4.3.242971445 -> 4.6.5.253511702,4.6.5
rectangle 0.83 -> 0.95
thunderbird 131.0.1 -> 149.0.2
visual-studio-code 1.94.2 -> 1.115.0
==> Fetching downloads for: openssl@3, python@3.13, pixi, ollama, google-chrome, musescore, rectangle, thunderbird and visual-studio-code
✔︎ Bottle python@3.13 (3.13.13)                       Downloaded   18.4MB/ 18.4MB
✔︎ Bottle ollama (0.20.4)                             Downloaded   13.2MB/ 13.2MB
✔︎ API Source musescore.rb                            Verified      1.4KB/  1.4KB
^CBottle openssl@3 (3.6.2)               ########### Downloading  10.6MB/ 10.9MB
⠋ Bottle pixi (0.67.0)                   ###         Downloading  10.7MB/ 37.9MB
⠋ Cask google-chrome (147.0.7727.56)                 Downloaded  248.3MB/248.3MB
⠋ Cask musescore (4.6.5.253511702,4.6.5)

[MikeMcQuaid]

This is not a bug, it's an intentional behaviour change. The documentation has been updated accordingly and you can opt-out of this behaviour if desired. It was requested by many people.

[SukkaW]

This is not a bug, it's an intentional behaviour change. The documentation has been updated accordingly and you can opt-out of this behaviour if desired. It was requested by many people.

Where was this even documented? This is not even mentioned in the changelog.

[shemeshg]

This is not a bug, it's an intentional behaviour change. The documentation has been updated accordingly and you can opt-out of this behaviour if desired. It was requested by many people.

I at the documentation

https://docs.brew.sh/Manpage

--greedy-auto-updates
Also include outdated auto_updates true casks that would otherwise be skipped.

1. I don’t see anything in the documentation indicating that the previous meaning of “greedy” is no longer relevant. Could you point me to where this change is documented?

2. Could you clarify what exactly has changed in the documentation?

3. How can I disable or suppress this new behavior?

4. Does this change really need to be mandatory rather than opt‑in? For example, why would I want to reinstall Google Chrome on every auto‑update?

[MikeMcQuaid]

Locked because the information is there, you're not looking hard enough for it or being polite enough to warrant getting maintainers helping you more.