Respect installed dependents during autoremove#21719
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MikeMcQuaid merged 2 commits intoHomebrew:mainfrom Mar 12, 2026
Merged
Respect installed dependents during autoremove#21719MikeMcQuaid merged 2 commits intoHomebrew:mainfrom
MikeMcQuaid merged 2 commits intoHomebrew:mainfrom
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cleanup: skip autoremove for formulae required by installed dependents Use InstalledDependents.find_some_installed_dependents to filter autoremove candidates before uninstalling. This prevents cleanup from attempting to remove formulae that uninstall would refuse due to installed dependents. Add a spec ensuring required formulae are not printed or uninstalled.
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Pull request overview
This PR updates Homebrew’s cleanup autoremove logic to avoid uninstalling formulae that are still required by installed dependents, and adds a regression test to cover that behavior.
Changes:
- Filter
Cleanup.autoremovecandidates by checking for installed dependents viaInstalledDependents.find_some_installed_dependents. - Add an RSpec example ensuring
autoremoveproduces no output and performs no uninstalls when the candidate is required by an installed dependent. - Add required test dependencies for stubbing
Utils::Autoremove/ uninstall behavior in the cleanup spec.
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Library/Homebrew/cleanup.rb | Adds an installed-dependents check to prevent autoremoving formulae still required by installed dependents. |
| Library/Homebrew/test/cleanup_spec.rb | Adds a regression test for Cleanup.autoremove when installed dependents exist. |
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MikeMcQuaid
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Mar 12, 2026
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Thanks! Tweaked style a little. In future please always fill out the PR template.
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This PR adds a safety check to brew cleanup --autoremove. It filters out any formulae that uninstall will later refuse (due to installed dependents). This avoids the error where cleanup lists “1 unneeded formula” that actually can’t be removed.
see closed PR: #13729
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