Homebrew Formula Management#

The kpt repository ships a Homebrew formula at Formula/kpt.rb that lets macOS users install kpt via:

brew tap kptdev/kpt https://github.com/kptdev/kpt.git
brew install kpt

Only tagged releases are installable through Homebrew — master/snapshot builds are not shipped this way 1.

Current State & Version Gap#

As of 2026-08-02, the formula is pinned to v1.0.0-beta.61 2, while the latest git tag is v1.0.0-beta.67 — a gap of 6 beta releases spanning ~5 months 3. The last formula update was PR #4399, which bumped the formula from beta.59 to beta.61 4. This gap is tracked in issue #4676 3.

How to Update the Formula#

There is no automated workflow that updates the formula on release. It is a manual process:

1. Run the helper tool from the repo root 5:

   ⧉

   go run ./release/formula/main.go <VERSION>
   # e.g. go run ./release/formula/main.go v1.0.0-beta.67
   

2. Commit and push the updated Formula/kpt.rb.

The tool (release/formula/main.go) downloads the GitHub release tarball for the specified version, computes its SHA256 hash 6, and rewrites Formula/kpt.rb using a fixed formula template. The template wires the version string into the binary via -ldflags "-X github.com/kptdev/kpt/run.version=#{version}" so that kpt version reports the correct tag 7.

The formula itself only has one runtime dependency — go (for source-build installs) — and the test block validates that the installed binary reports the expected version 8.

Why the Formula Falls Behind#

The main release.yml workflow (triggered on v[1-9].*.* tags) runs GoReleaser for binary/Docker artifacts but has no step to update or commit the Homebrew formula 9. Because updating the formula requires a separate Git commit on the default branch, it falls outside the automated tag-triggered pipeline entirely.

Workaround for Users on a Stale Formula#

Users who need a version newer than what the formula provides can install from the GitHub releases page directly instead of Homebrew 3.

Key Files#