Introduction
Upgrade Homebrew packages on a macOS device as part of an automation. Run upgrades across all installed packages at once, or target specific ones — useful for keeping CLI tools and development utilities current on managed devices.
Upgrade Homebrew Package
From the automation pipeline in edit mode, click + Add action and select Upgrade Homebrew package from the App management category. The action panel opens with two sections: Action type (pre-set to Upgrade Homebrew package) and Step configuration.
Upgrade Type
Choose how the upgrade is scoped:
Upgrade all available packages (default) Upgrades every installed Homebrew package on the device that has an available update.
Upgrade specific package(s) Targets only the packages you name. When selected, the Package(s) field becomes active.
💡 TIP: Use Upgrade all available packages on a schedule (weekly, for example) to keep dev machines current without managing a list. Switch to Upgrade specific package(s) when you need tighter control — for example, after validating a new version of a critical tool before rolling it out.
Package(s)
Visible only when Upgrade specific package(s) is selected. Enter the Homebrew formula or cask name for each package. Press Tab or type a comma after each name to add the next.
For the full package list, visit https://formulae.brew.sh/.
ℹ️ NOTE: If a specified package has no available update, it's skipped. The action still completes successfully.
Conditions
The Conditions section lets you restrict when this action runs based on device attributes or the outcome of a previous action. Expand the section to add conditions.
See Action Conditions for the full reference on condition types, operators, and values.
Additional Options
Expand Additional options for additional execution settings including action name, failure behavior, output variables, and retries.
See Actions Overview for the full reference on additional options available on every action.
FAQ
What's the difference between the two upgrade types? "Upgrade all available packages" upgrades everything installed on the device that has an update. "Upgrade specific package(s)" only touches the packages you name.
What if a package I specify isn't installed? Homebrew will report it as not installed and skip it. Configure failure behavior in Additional options if you need specific handling for this case.
I see a banner when running brew commands in the terminal. Is that normal? Yes. Level's wrapper script at
/usr/local/bin/brewprints an informational note confirming Homebrew is Level-managed. It's not an error. See Install Homebrew Action for more detail.Does this work on Windows or Linux? No. Homebrew is macOS only. This action is not available for Windows or Linux devices.
Who can add or modify this action in an automation? Technicians with permission to edit automations in the relevant group. See Workspace → Permissions for access control configuration.
What happens if the device is offline when this action runs? The action queues and resumes once the device comes back online.