# The end of BC downloads? **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [May 8, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734 "2025-05-08T15:01:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mflatt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/mflatt/32/6_2.png) [@mflatt](https://racket.discourse.group/u/mflatt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/1 "2025-05-08T15:01:51Z")
We're overhauling the Racket installer builds for the main download site (after the upcoming v8.17) and snapshot sites (sooner). One question is how much to keep building installers for the old BC variant of Racket. The newer CS variant has been the default since v8.0 (February 2021), and the intent has always been that BC would eventually become unsupported. Does anyone need the BC installers, either in release form or snapshot form? Or can we just stop building them? Currently, both CS and BC variants of Racket are available for most platforms. At the release download site, you have to click "More Installers and Checksums" to find BC installers, except that BC is the default installer for 32-bit x86/Intel on Windows and Mac OS. BC will still build for the foreseeable future, and we would probably set up a periodic build of BC installers as a test. But BC builds would not be available for, say, CI tests that use a release or snapshot installation. This change would not mean that fewer platforms are supported for Racket. For example, the 32-bit x86/Intel on Windows and Mac OS will switch to CS, but maybe only in Minimal Racket form. We'll likely expand the set of platforms with Minimal Racket builds, but provide full Racket builds only for the most popular platforms. If we do drop BC builds, then it would make sense to number the first CS-only Racket release as version v9.0. ---
**Author:** ![notjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e47774/32.png) [@notjack](https://racket.discourse.group/u/notjack)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 4:10am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/2 "2025-05-09T04:10:59Z")
Would such a change imply a bump in version to Racket 9.0? ---
**Author:** ![Laurent.O](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/laurent.o/32/18_2.png) [@Laurent.O](https://racket.discourse.group/u/Laurent.O)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 8:47am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/3 "2025-05-09T08:47:25Z")
(I don't use Racket BC) Can you track download stats? ---
**Author:** ![corbasai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@corbasai](https://racket.discourse.group/u/corbasai)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 9:20am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/4 "2025-05-09T09:20:00Z")
Hi! v8.14, v8.15, v8.16, only [BC] versions are pre-packaged in the Termux Android app repository. At least for aarch64. Looks like they compile from source themselves. But why BC - I don't know. So subway Racket is only BC now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![soegaard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/soegaard/32/19_2.png) [@soegaard](https://racket.discourse.group/u/soegaard)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 11:03am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/5 "2025-05-09T11:03:46Z")
FWIW - the link to Racket in Termux. > **[termux-packages/packages/racket at master · termux/termux-packages](https://github.com/termux/termux-packages/tree/master/packages/racket)** > > A package build system for Termux. Contribute to termux/termux-packages development by creating an account on GitHub. ---
**Author:** ![LiberalArtist](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/liberalartist/32/151_2.png) [@LiberalArtist](https://racket.discourse.group/u/LiberalArtist)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/6 "2025-05-09T22:10:57Z")
I don't have a strong view (yet, at least). One data point is that it looks like the soon-to-be-released Debian 13 “Trixie” [will be using Racket BC 8.16 on the `armel` architecture](https://packages.debian.org/trixie/armel/racket/filelist), which is what Debian calls 32-bit ARM without hardware floating point support. Per [the changelog](https://salsa.debian.org/bremner/racket/-/commit/50e04873424be3874e74bcd50d1c8c18c658c7bc), the issue was that the CS build (as of 8.12) used too much memory and IIRC failed. I remember reading more about this, but I don't remember where: @bremner doubtless does. On the other hand, apparently, while Trixie will keep `armel` in the Debian archive, [the Debian installer is no longer being built for `armel`](https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2024/12/msg00002.html). And it is surely evidence that this is, at least, a close call, that `armel` is the _only_ Debian architecture still using BC (thanks to @bremner). Then again, the fact that BC built successfully in at least this one context in which CS hasn't does make me wonder if there are other environments where CS, at least via pbarch backends, may not yet be a strict improvement over BC. ---
**Author:** ![mflatt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/mflatt/32/6_2.png) [@mflatt](https://racket.discourse.group/u/mflatt)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/7 "2025-05-09T23:04:14Z")
A clarification: The original question was about the end of BC _downloads_ (from [download.racket-lang.org](http://download.racket-lang.org)), not the end of BC. As noted, BC will still build for the foreseeable future, so anyone who packages that from source is unaffected by the potential change. My last line probably muddied the question by characterizing the change as a "CS-only release". I should have written something more precise to mean that the compiled forms available from [download.racket-lang.org](http://download.racket-lang.org) would be only CS. Removing BC from [download.racket-lang.org](http://download.racket-lang.org) is intended to be a step to further deemphasize BC, so it does connect to the general question of BC support. But the intent is not to stop supporting BC right now. > [@notjack](#): > > Would such a change imply a bump in version to Racket 9.0? Yes, that was the intent of the last line. > [@Laurent.O](#): > > Can you track download stats? BC downloads have been in the noise compared to robot traffic for a long time, so it's difficult for me to extract a relevant signal from logs. ---
**Author:** ![shhyou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@shhyou](https://racket.discourse.group/u/shhyou)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 12:01am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/8 "2025-10-22T00:01:36Z")
So it appears that v8.18 is the first that ends BC binary distribution, not v9.0 (release in progress now). ---
**Author:** ![jestarray](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/jestarray/32/433_2.png) [@jestarray](https://racket.discourse.group/u/jestarray)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 6:06pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/the-end-of-bc-downloads/3734/9 "2025-10-26T18:06:51Z")
racket on chez does work on android though, I compiled 8.17 on it fairly easily. Someone should make the termux package compile with chez by default though, there probably isnt a reason