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Cade's Dotfiles

Brew bundle fails: `No available formula … This command requires the tap`

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Source: Troubleshooting reference

Symptom: brew bundle errors with No available formula with the name "owner/tap/formula". This command requires the tap owner/tap. If you trust this tap, tap it explicitly and then try again: brew tap owner/tap — even though the Brewfile has the tap "owner/tap" line and the tap is already trusted.

Root cause: two separate Homebrew gates protect third-party taps — trust (HOMEBREW_REQUIRE_TAP_TRUST) and the tap actually being cloned. Homebrew no longer auto-taps from a fully-qualified formula name, and brew bundle can hit formula resolution before executing the Brewfile’s own tap directive — in particular the upgrade check for a formula already installed under the same name from homebrew/core (seen with rtk: core keg installed, rtk-ai/tap/rtk in the Brewfile, tap trusted but never tapped → resolution error every run).

Confirm:

Terminal window
brew tap                      # tap missing from the list
jq . ~/.homebrew/trust.json   # …while already trusted here

Fix: update the checkout and rerun — ensure_brewfile_taps() (_lib.sh) now trusts and taps every tap referenced by the Brewfile before the bundle. Manual one-off: brew tap owner/tap, then rerun install/homebrew.sh.