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Homebrew package version downgrade

· 3 min read
Anton Ilinykh

Nowadays rollback to any particular version of the Homebrew package might be tricky since the commands brew versions <package> and brew switch <package> <version> are deprecated and no more available.

First, you should check if any other versions are available for your package:

admin@macos ~ % brew search python
==> Formulae
app-engine-python          python-launcher            [email protected]
boost-python               python-markdown            [email protected] ✔
boost-python3              python-tabulate            reorder-python-imports
bpython                    [email protected]             wxpython
gst-python                 [email protected]              pythran
ipython                    python-yq                  jython
micropython                [email protected]                cython
ptpython                   [email protected]
==> Casks
awips-python                             mysql-connector-python

If you meant "python" specifically:
It was migrated from homebrew/cask to homebrew/core.

if so, the necessary version could be installed right from the repo:

admin@macos ~ % brew install [email protected]
admin@macos ~ % brew link [email protected]
admin@macos ~ % python3 --version                                                               
Python 3.10.0

admin@macos ~ %

if not, there are two more ways to achieve that.

Install using remote tap​

You should find the correct Formula file at github.com

Let's say you are trying to downgrade the git-lfs package. In this case, you should follow these steps:

  1. Go to https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/blob/HEAD/Formula/git-lfs.rb
  2. In the top right corner find the History button
  3. Find commit with the version you need
  4. Choose View file from the menu
  5. Click Raw button
  6. That is it! You've got the Url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/43842898fd3ff43273466052722f5ba2789196cb/Formula/git-lfs.rb

or just by using git log git-lfs command:

admin@macos ~ % brew log git-lfs
commit be2109eae9e1043ddb78e593a8a05d568917ca95
Author: BrewTestBot <1589480[email protected]>
Date:   Wed Sep 29 02:14:15 2021 +0000

    git-lfs: update 3.0.1 bottle.

commit 1c4607366f2c5d85c2efa803556f51a6709987f0
Author: Rui Chen <[email protected]>
Date:   Tue Sep 28 18:48:26 2021 -0400

    git-lfs 3.0.1
    
    Closes #86082.
    
    Signed-off-by: Thierry Moisan <[email protected]>
    Signed-off-by: BrewTestBot <1589480[email protected]>

commit 43842898fd3ff43273466052722f5ba2789196cb
Author: Michael Cho <20700669[email protected]>
Date:   Wed Jul 7 01:55:56 2021 +0000

    git-lfs: update 2.13.3 bottle.

here is the 2.13.3 version commit hash 43842898fd3ff43273466052722f5ba2789196cb and it can be put info raw GitHub url:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/<COMMIT ID>/Formula/git-lfs.rb
note

In different guides across the internet you may see the following command:

admin@macos ~ % brew install <url>

It's also deprecated and not working anymore

Now all you need is to put this file into your own "tap" (repository) on a GitHub and install it using homebrew:

admin@macos ~ % brew unlink git-lfs
admin@macos ~ % brew install <user>/<repo>/git-lfs

Install using local tap and brew extract​

Another way is to create a local tap and then extract the needed version into it:

admin@macos ~ % brew tap-new $USER/local-git-lfs
Initialized empty Git repository in /usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/admin/homebrew-local-git-lfs/.git/

this one creates a new local tap inside your local Homebrew repo.

note

Use brew --repository command to find Homebrew's root location

After that you can extract the correct version into this new tap

admin@macos ~ % brew extract --version 2.13.3 git-lfs $USER/local-git-lfs

and the last step is to install this version as usual:

admin@macos ~ % brew unlink git-lfs # in case of another version installed
admin@macos ~ % brew install [email protected]