Tap Release

Update Homebrew taps when you publish new GitHub releases.
Screenshot of Tap Release app

Repository

toolmantim/tap-release

Authors

toolmantim

Updated

November 9, 2024

Used By

infection humbug phogolabs tophat AugurProject njzjz buildkite kentaro-m GetStream dmirubtsov

Usage

Firstly, you’ll need to install the Tap Release GitHub App. This listens out for any releases, or any changes to the configuration.

Then, add a .github/tap-release.yml configuration file to the GitHub repository where you publish new releases to.

For example, given the following .github/tap-release.yml file in a my-org/app repository:

asset: app.zip
tap: my-org/homebrew-app/app.rb
template: >
  class App < Formula
    desc     "$REPO_DESCRIPTION"
    homepage "$REPO_WEBITE"
    version  "$STABLE_VERSION"
    url      "$STABLE_ASSET_URL"
    sha256   "$STABLE_ASSET_SHA256"

    def install
      prefix.install "app"
    end
  end

When a new release is published to my-org/app (e.g. v4.2.0), containing a app.zip asset, Tap Release would push a commit to the tap formula in the my-org/homebrew-app repository updating it to:

class App < Formula
  desc     "The best app ever."
  homepage "https://github.com/my-org/app"
  version  "v2.4.0"
  url      "https://github.com/my-org/app/releases/download/v4.2.0/app.zip"
  sha256   "f3832d8966dd39f7ae1316195ebb379cf18aece281bc2f7c43dd799130ebf460"

  def install
    prefix.install "app"
  end
end

If you don't use release assets, you can also just use a URL pattern. For example, given the following template for a Node style tap:

url: "https://registry.npmjs.org/app/-/app-$VERSION_NUMBER.tgz"
tap: my-org/homebrew-app/app.rb
template: >
  class App < Formula
    desc     "$REPO_DESCRIPTION"
    homepage "$REPO_WEBITE"
    version  "$STABLE_VERSION"
    url      "$STABLE_ASSET_URL"
    sha256   "$STABLE_ASSET_SHA256"

    # ...
  end

When a new release is published (e.g. v4.2.0), Tap Release would push a commit to the tap formula in the my-org/homebrew-app repository updating it to:

class App < Formula
  desc     "The best app ever."
  homepage "https://github.com/my-org/app"
  version  "v4.2.0"
  url      "https://registry.npmjs.org/app/-/app-4.2.0.tgz"
  sha256   "f3832d8966dd39f7ae1316195ebb379cf18aece281bc2f7c43dd799130ebf460"

  # ...
end

Template variables

You can use any of the following variables in your formula template, and they'll be substituted when the tap is regenerated:

VariableDescription
$REPO_DESCRIPTIONGitHub repository description.
$REPO_WEBSITEGitHub repository website, or URL if there isn't one.
$STABLE_VERSIONTag name of the latest stable release.
$STABLE_ASSET_URLDownload URL of the asset from the latest stable release.
$STABLE_ASSET_SHA256SHA256 of the asset from the latest stable release.
$DEVEL_VERSIONTag name of the latest pre-release.
$DEVEL_ASSET_URLWownload URL of the asset from the latest pre-release.
$DEVEL_ASSET_SHA256SHA256 of the asset from the latest pre-release.

URL variables

You can use any of the following variables in your URL template, and they'll be substituted for each stable and development release when the tap is regenerated:

VariableDescription
$VERSIONThe version (e.g. v1.0.2.
$VERSION_NUMBERThe version without the preceding v (e.g. 1.0.2).

Configuration options

You can configure Tap Release using the following key in your .github/tap-release.yml file:

KeyRequiredDescription
tapRequiredThe path to the Homebrew tap repository that should be updated.
templateRequiredThe template string to use to generate the tap. Use template variables to insert the values from the releases.
assetOptionalFilename of the asset to use from the release.
urlOptionalURL pattern to generate the download URLs. Use URL variables to insert the values from the release.
branchesOptionalA list of branches that trigger the tap to be updated when the .github/tap-release.yml file is modified. Useful if you want to test the app on a pull request branch. Default is "master".

Tap Release also supports Octotask Config, if you want to store your configuration files in a central repository.

Get occasional updates on new apps & features.