Bold Brew 2.0: Complete Homebrew Management with Cask Support

2025-10-13 By Valkyrie00

Bold Brew 2.0: Complete Homebrew Management with Cask Support

We're thrilled to announce Bold Brew 2.0, the biggest update since launch! This release transforms Bold Brew from a formula-only manager into a complete Homebrew management solution that handles both command-line tools and GUI applications.

🎉 What's New

Full Homebrew Casks Support

The most requested feature is finally here! Bold Brew now provides complete support for Homebrew Casks, allowing you to manage GUI applications and binaries directly from the same intuitive interface you love.

What are Casks? Homebrew Casks extend Homebrew's package management to include macOS and Linux GUI applications. Instead of just installing command-line tools like git or node, you can now manage apps like Google Chrome, Visual Studio Code, Docker Desktop, and thousands more.

Visual Type Indicators

Never wonder what type of package you're looking at! Bold Brew 2.0 introduces clear visual indicators:

  • [F] - Formula (command-line tool)
  • [C] - Cask (GUI application or binary)

These tags appear throughout the interface, making it instantly clear whether you're working with a CLI tool or a desktop application.

Smart Leaves Filter

Tired of seeing all those dependency packages cluttering your installed list? The new Leaves Filter (press L) shows only packages you explicitly installed, hiding all the dependencies that came along for the ride.

Perfect for:

  • Cleaning up your system by identifying what you actually need
  • Creating reproducible development environments
  • Understanding your actual package footprint
  • Selective updates of only your core tools

XDG Base Directory Compliance

Bold Brew 2.0 now follows the XDG Base Directory Specification, providing a cleaner, more standards-compliant cache management:

  • Linux: ~/.cache/bbrew or $XDG_CACHE_HOME/bbrew
  • macOS: ~/Library/Caches/bbrew (native macOS location!)
  • Windows (WSL2): Windows Known Folders support

No more random dotfiles in your home directory—everything is where it should be.

🔧 Technical Improvements

Go 1.25 and Modern Tooling

  • Updated to Go 1.25 for better performance and latest language features
  • Migrated to Podman and OCI-compliant Containerfile for better security
  • Enhanced Makefile with 15+ new targets including make test, make security, and make install
  • Improved build system with local and containerized build options

Enhanced Security

Security is a priority. Bold Brew 2.0 includes:

  • govulncheck - Automated Go vulnerability scanning
  • gosec - Static security analysis
  • GitHub Security integration - SARIF reports uploaded to Security tab
  • Fixed memory aliasing issues - Cleaner, safer code
  • Better permission handling - Secure cache directory permissions (0750)

Better User Experience

  • Enhanced keyboard shortcuts - More intuitive navigation and filtering
  • Improved error messages - Better debugging and user feedback
  • Analytics integration - See popular packages based on 90-day download stats
  • Real-time feedback - Live updates during package operations
  • Fixed rendering issues - Proper display of all UI elements

🐛 Bug Fixes

  • Fixed cask analytics endpoint (now correctly fetches download statistics)
  • Corrected installed casks detection (properly identifies locally installed casks)
  • Fixed tview special character rendering for type tags
  • Improved directory permission handling for cache
  • Enhanced error handling throughout the application

🚀 Getting Started

For Existing Users

Update to the latest version:

brew update
brew upgrade bbrew

For New Users

Install Bold Brew via Homebrew:

brew install Valkyrie00/homebrew-bbrew/bbrew

Or download from the releases page.

📖 Using the New Features

Managing Casks

  1. Filter Casks Only: Press C to show only Cask packages
  2. Search Casks: Type / and search for your favorite GUI app (e.g., "chrome", "vscode", "docker")
  3. Install a Cask: Select it and press I
  4. Update Casks: Press U on any outdated Cask, or Ctrl+U to update all

Using the Leaves Filter

  1. Press L to activate the Leaves filter
  2. Browse only the packages you explicitly installed
  3. Identify packages you no longer need
  4. Press R to remove unwanted packages

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Filters

  • F - Filter installed packages
  • O - Filter outdated packages
  • L - Filter leaves (explicitly installed, no dependencies)
  • C - Filter casks only

Package Operations

  • I - Install selected package
  • U - Update selected package
  • R - Remove selected package
  • Ctrl+U - Update all outdated packages

🌐 Cross-Platform Support

Bold Brew 2.0 provides excellent support across platforms:

Platform Support Notes
🍎 macOS ✅ Full Native Homebrew support with macOS-specific cache location
🐧 Linux ✅ Full Linuxbrew/Homebrew support with XDG compliance
🪟 Windows ⚠️ Partial Via WSL2 with Homebrew

🎯 What's Next

We're not stopping here! Future plans include:

  • Tap management - Add and manage custom Homebrew taps
  • Formulae pinning - Pin specific package versions
  • Backup/restore - Export and import your package lists
  • Themes - Customizable color schemes
  • Plugin system - Extend Bold Brew with custom functionality

🙏 Acknowledgments

A huge thank you to:

  • The Homebrew team for the excellent package management system
  • Project Bluefin for adopting Bold Brew as their official Homebrew TUI
  • All contributors who submitted issues, PRs, and feature requests
  • The community for their continued support and feedback

📣 Spread the Word

If you love Bold Brew 2.0:

🔗 Resources

Happy brewing! 🍺

The Bold Brew Team