Issue with brew package pkgconf

[smorimoto]

Description

It could be that the macOS runners now have the pkg-config brew package already installed, which conflicts with the pkgconf package.

But it's already deprecated: Homebrew/homebrew-core#194885

Platforms affected

• Azure DevOps
• GitHub Actions - Standard Runners
• GitHub Actions - Larger Runners

Runner images affected

• Ubuntu 20.04
• Ubuntu 22.04
• Ubuntu 24.04
• macOS 12
• macOS 13
• macOS 13 Arm64
• macOS 14
• macOS 14 Arm64
• macOS 15
• macOS 15 Arm64
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2022

Image version and build link

20241022.361

Is it regression?

No

Expected behavior

It should be installed successfully.

Actual behavior

It fails:

- ==> Downloading https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core/pkgconf/manifests/2.3.0
- ==> Fetching pkgconf
- ==> Downloading https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core/pkgconf/blobs/sha256:4d7c580[39](https://github.com/ocaml/setup-ocaml/actions/runs/11884964161/job/33113941200#step:4:40)43bf2dcc8cb9ff8c838ea4283eeab24f49982df044cbc3031856fd8
- ::error::Cannot install pkgconf because conflicting formulae are installed.%0A  pkg-config: because both install `pkg.m4` file%0A%0APlease `brew unlink pkg-config` before continuing.%0A%0AUnlinking removes a formula's symlinks from /opt/homebrew. You can%0Alink the formula again after the install finishes. You can `--force` this%0Ainstall, but the build may fail or cause obscure side effects in the%0Aresulting software.%0A
[ERROR] These packages are still missing: pkgconf

Ref: https://github.com/ocaml/setup-ocaml/actions/runs/11884964161/job/33113941200

Repro steps

Run brew install pkgconf on macos-latest

[smorimoto]

This should probably happen on all macOS runners and break existing workflows.

[prasanjitsahoo]

Hi @smorimoto We will look into the issue and keep you posted with updates.

[smorimoto]

@prasanjitsahoo Thanks a lot!

[erik-bershel]

For those who fall into this (cost ~2 minutes):

      - name: Runtime workaround for brew pkg-config -> pkgconf
        run: |
          brew update
          brew upgrade
          brew install pkgconf

As a temporary measure, we will switch to a hardcoded version of the original pkg-config that expected to be friendly with brew here. We would be glad to hear your opinion on the consequences of replacing it with an updated pkgconf from brew.

[akoeplinger]

@erik-bershel I think that pinning the old pkg-config 0.29 version means installing pkgconf will fail since it's trying to install into the same file paths. pkgconf is already an alias in Homebrew so you can probably just install that.

[akoeplinger]

I confirmed that installing pkg-config/pgkconf now conflicts with the hardcoded version on image 20241119.505.
Uninstalling pkg-config@0.29.2 fixes it.

[erik-bershel]

Hey @akoeplinger!
Thank you for your feedback. ❤️ We'll migrate to the new Homebrew package next week than. 🤔