Install odo-dev with Homebrew, Nix, scoop

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository

Commands and aliases

• odo

Project history

The redhat-developer/odo repository was created on January 23, 2018. Red Hat's own deprecation article says odo was first released in 2019 as a simple, fast, developer-focused CLI intended to streamline the lifecycle of applications on OpenShift and Kubernetes without requiring developers to become cluster experts.

odo evolved from an OpenShift developer convenience tool into an implementation of the open Devfile standard. The project README describes it as an iterative CLI for container-based application development that supports Podman, Kubernetes, and OpenShift, with automatic project detection, direct orchestrator API communication, and avoidance of hand-written Kubernetes YAML for common inner-loop work.

Red Hat announced official deprecation on October 23, 2025. The deprecation notice set March 31, 2026 as the end-of-life date after which Red Hat would stop maintenance, security updates, and technical support, and it recommended OpenShift Dev Spaces for inner-loop development plus Podman and `oc` for outer-loop and cluster operations.

Adoption history

odo's adoption was tied to Red Hat OpenShift documentation and the Devfile ecosystem. OpenShift docs presented it as a tool to create, develop, test, debug, and deploy microservice-based applications on OpenShift Container Platform and Kubernetes without deep platform knowledge.

The same Red Hat deprecation article cited low adoption rates and limited community engagement as reasons to redirect resources. On July 1, 2026, the GitHub repository API showed 841 stars, 243 forks, and an archived repository, which matches the story of a serious vendor-backed tool that did not become the dominant Kubernetes developer interface.

How it is used

Developers used `odo init`, `odo dev`, `odo deploy`, and related commands to create a Devfile-backed component, run or sync it into a development environment, and push resources into Kubernetes or OpenShift. Earlier OpenShift documentation described a create-and-push workflow in which local configuration produced resources stored through the Kubernetes API.

In version 3, odo emphasized Devfile metadata, project analysis, Podman support for local workflows, and deployment paths that could target Kubernetes or OpenShift. Release notes around v3.9 and v3.10 show work on Pod Security Admission, Devfile `autoBuild` and `deployByDefault`, custom port mappings, Podman behavior, and `odo analyze` output.

Why package nerds care

odo-dev matters in package metadata because its executable name collides with another Homebrew formula named `odo`. The formula name encodes the package-manager workaround: `odo-dev` installs Red Hat's OpenShift/Kubernetes developer CLI, while `odo` installs Atomic Object's atomic odometer.

The package is also a good example of lifecycle metadata that package indexes need to retain. A CLI can remain installable after upstream deprecation, but history should explain why it existed, which workflows it served, and which replacements the maintainer recommended.

Timeline

• January 23, 2018: The redhat-developer/odo GitHub repository was created.
• 2019: Red Hat says odo was first released as a developer-focused CLI for OpenShift and Kubernetes application lifecycle work.
• 2023-2024: The 3.x release line developed Devfile, Podman, Kubernetes, and OpenShift workflows, including Pod Security Admission and Devfile field support.
• October 23, 2025: Red Hat announced official deprecation.
• March 31, 2026: Red Hat's announced end-of-life date for maintenance, security updates, and technical support.

Related projects

• odo is related to OpenShift, Kubernetes, Podman, Devfile, OpenShift Dev Spaces, and the `oc` CLI. Red Hat's migration guidance explicitly mapped local container/image work toward Podman and cluster management toward `oc`.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/redhat-developer/odo
• https://developers.redhat.com/articles/2025/10/23/odo-cli-deprecated-what-developers-need-know
• https://devfile.io/docs/2.0.0/quickstart-odo
• https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.9/html/cli_tools/developer-cli-odo
• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/odo-dev
• https://github.com/redhat-developer/odo
• https://github.com/redhat-developer/odo/releases/tag/v3.16.1