diff --git a/.authors.yml b/.authors.yml
index 89d9a7ae00..db03794b80 100644
--- a/.authors.yml
+++ b/.authors.yml
@@ -612,7 +612,7 @@
   first_commit: 2015-08-30 06:44:37
 - name: Marcel Bargull
   email: marcel.bargull@udo.edu
-  num_commits: 85
+  num_commits: 88
   first_commit: 2016-09-26 11:45:54
   github: mbargull
   alternate_emails:
@@ -1202,7 +1202,7 @@
   alternate_emails:
   - clee@anaconda.com
 - name: Ken Odegard
-  num_commits: 178
+  num_commits: 204
   email: kodegard@anaconda.com
   first_commit: 2020-09-08 19:53:41
   github: kenodegard
@@ -1240,7 +1240,7 @@
   github: pre-commit-ci[bot]
   aliases:
   - pre-commit-ci[bot]
-  num_commits: 64
+  num_commits: 71
   first_commit: 2021-11-20 01:47:17
 - name: Jacob Walls
   email: jacobtylerwalls@gmail.com
@@ -1251,7 +1251,7 @@
   github: beeankha
   alternate_emails:
   - beeankha@gmail.com
-  num_commits: 23
+  num_commits: 27
   first_commit: 2022-01-19 16:40:06
 - name: Conda Bot
   email: 18747875+conda-bot@users.noreply.github.com
@@ -1262,7 +1262,7 @@
   alternate_emails:
   - ad-team+condabot@anaconda.com
   - 18747875+conda-bot@users.noreply.github.com
-  num_commits: 96
+  num_commits: 53
   first_commit: 2022-01-17 18:09:22
 - name: Uwe L. Korn
   email: xhochy@users.noreply.github.com
@@ -1310,7 +1310,7 @@
 - name: dependabot[bot]
   email: 49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com
   github: dependabot[bot]
-  num_commits: 4
+  num_commits: 19
   first_commit: 2022-05-31 04:34:40
 - name: Serhii Kupriienko
   email: 79282962+skupr-anaconda@users.noreply.github.com
@@ -1327,7 +1327,7 @@
 - name: Jaime Rodríguez-Guerra
   email: jaimergp@users.noreply.github.com
   github: jaimergp
-  num_commits: 10
+  num_commits: 13
   first_commit: 2022-11-02 19:34:51
 - name: Dave Clements
   email: tnabtaf@gmail.com
@@ -1439,3 +1439,18 @@
   num_commits: 1
   first_commit: 2024-02-06 11:43:45
   github: finnagin
+- name: Justin Wood (Callek)
+  email: callek@gmail.com
+  num_commits: 1
+  first_commit: 2024-04-29 16:21:41
+  github: Callek
+- name: Tobias Fischer
+  email: info@tobiasfischer.info
+  num_commits: 1
+  first_commit: 2024-03-25 13:13:16
+  github: Tobias-Fischer
+- name: Yannik Tausch
+  email: dev@ytausch.de
+  num_commits: 5
+  first_commit: 2024-03-19 18:09:38
+  github: ytausch
diff --git a/.github/workflows/builds-review.yaml b/.github/workflows/builds-review.yaml
index d789e536c6..4b39f2acba 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/builds-review.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/builds-review.yaml
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ jobs:
         include:
           - runner: ubuntu-latest
             subdir: linux-64
-          - runner: macos-latest
+          - runner: macos-14
+            subdir: osx-arm64
+          - runner: macos-13
             subdir: osx-64
           - runner: windows-latest
             subdir: win-64
@@ -46,14 +48,14 @@ jobs:
 
       # Clean checkout of specific git ref needed for package metadata version
       # which needs env vars GIT_DESCRIBE_TAG and GIT_BUILD_STR:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+      - uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         with:
           ref: ${{ github.ref }}
           clean: true
           fetch-depth: 0
 
       - name: Create and upload review build
-        uses: conda/actions/canary-release@f46142e89fa703cc69f0421ca1d313ab2d5bfff6
+        uses: conda/actions/canary-release@976289d0cfd85139701b26ddd133abdd025a7b5f # v24.5.0
         with:
           package-name: ${{ github.event.repository.name }}
           subdir: ${{ matrix.subdir }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cla.yml b/.github/workflows/cla.yml
index 07c7f75b12..66df3b0f38 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cla.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cla.yml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Check CLA
-        uses: conda/actions/check-cla@f46142e89fa703cc69f0421ca1d313ab2d5bfff6
+        uses: conda/actions/check-cla@976289d0cfd85139701b26ddd133abdd025a7b5f # v24.5.0
         with:
           # [required]
           # A token with ability to comment, label, and modify the commit status
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docs.yml b/.github/workflows/docs.yml
index 03b32fc111..11bd69c67b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docs.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docs.yml
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ jobs:
     if: '!github.event.repository.fork'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+      - uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Setup
diff --git a/.github/workflows/issues.yml b/.github/workflows/issues.yml
index 7a114d6d41..634bf13e4f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/issues.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/issues.yml
@@ -23,12 +23,12 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       # remove [pending::feedback]
-      - uses: actions-ecosystem/action-remove-labels@2ce5d41b4b6aa8503e285553f75ed56e0a40bae0
+      - uses: actions-ecosystem/action-remove-labels@2ce5d41b4b6aa8503e285553f75ed56e0a40bae0 # v1.3.0
         with:
           labels: ${{ env.FEEDBACK_LBL }}
           github_token: ${{ secrets.PROJECT_TOKEN }}
       # add [pending::support], if still open
-      - uses: actions-ecosystem/action-add-labels@18f1af5e3544586314bbe15c0273249c770b2daf
+      - uses: actions-ecosystem/action-add-labels@18f1af5e3544586314bbe15c0273249c770b2daf # v1.1.3
         if: github.event.issue.state == 'open'
         with:
           labels: ${{ env.SUPPORT_LBL }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/labels.yml b/.github/workflows/labels.yml
index f13985fb0a..4741235b7a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/labels.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/labels.yml
@@ -19,20 +19,20 @@ jobs:
       GLOBAL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/conda/infra/main/.github/global.yml
       LOCAL: .github/labels.yml
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+      - uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
       - id: has_local
-        uses: andstor/file-existence-action@076e0072799f4942c8bc574a82233e1e4d13e9d6
+        uses: andstor/file-existence-action@076e0072799f4942c8bc574a82233e1e4d13e9d6 # v3.0.0
         with:
           files: ${{ env.LOCAL }}
       - name: Global Only
-        uses: EndBug/label-sync@52074158190acb45f3077f9099fea818aa43f97a
+        uses: EndBug/label-sync@52074158190acb45f3077f9099fea818aa43f97a # v2.3.3
         if: steps.has_local.outputs.files_exists == 'false'
         with:
           config-file: ${{ env.GLOBAL }}
           delete-other-labels: true
           dry-run: ${{ github.event.inputs.dryrun }}
       - name: Global & Local
-        uses: EndBug/label-sync@52074158190acb45f3077f9099fea818aa43f97a
+        uses: EndBug/label-sync@52074158190acb45f3077f9099fea818aa43f97a # v2.3.3
         if: steps.has_local.outputs.files_exists == 'true'
         with:
           config-file: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/lock.yml b/.github/workflows/lock.yml
index 2204b62dda..0b63dec318 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/lock.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ jobs:
     if: '!github.event.repository.fork'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: dessant/lock-threads@1bf7ec25051fe7c00bdd17e6a7cf3d7bfb7dc771
+      - uses: dessant/lock-threads@1bf7ec25051fe7c00bdd17e6a7cf3d7bfb7dc771 # v5.0.1
         with:
           # Number of days of inactivity before a closed issue is locked
           issue-inactive-days: 365
diff --git a/.github/workflows/project.yml b/.github/workflows/project.yml
index 7d06584c86..297ac2263a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/project.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/project.yml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ jobs:
     if: '!github.event.repository.fork'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/add-to-project@9bfe908f2eaa7ba10340b31e314148fcfe6a2458
+      - uses: actions/add-to-project@9bfe908f2eaa7ba10340b31e314148fcfe6a2458 # v1.0.1
         with:
           # issues are added to the Planning project
           # PRs are added to the Review project
diff --git a/.github/workflows/stale.yml b/.github/workflows/stale.yml
index bcda1fea30..bde3340fbc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/stale.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/stale.yml
@@ -33,12 +33,12 @@ jobs:
             days-before-issue-stale: 90
             days-before-issue-close: 21
     steps:
-      - uses: conda/actions/read-yaml@f46142e89fa703cc69f0421ca1d313ab2d5bfff6
+      - uses: conda/actions/read-yaml@976289d0cfd85139701b26ddd133abdd025a7b5f # v24.5.0
         id: read_yaml
         with:
           path: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/conda/infra/main/.github/messages.yml
 
-      - uses: actions/stale@28ca1036281a5e5922ead5184a1bbf96e5fc984e
+      - uses: actions/stale@28ca1036281a5e5922ead5184a1bbf96e5fc984e # v9.0.0
         id: stale
         with:
           # Only issues with these labels are checked whether they are stale
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 29f98a129d..74ec94e40a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
       code: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.code }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Source
-        uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+        uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         # dorny/paths-filter needs git clone for non-PR events
         # https://github.com/dorny/paths-filter#supported-workflows
         if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Source
-        uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+        uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ jobs:
           key: cache-${{ env.HASH }}
 
       - name: Setup Miniconda
-        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@030178870c779d9e5e1b4e563269f3aa69b04081
+        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@a4260408e20b96e80095f42ff7f1a15b27dd94ca
         with:
           condarc-file: .github/condarc
           run-post: false  # skip post cleanup
@@ -150,13 +150,13 @@ jobs:
           -m "${{ env.PYTEST_MARKER }}"
 
       - name: Upload Coverage
-        uses: codecov/codecov-action@84508663e988701840491b86de86b666e8a86bed
+        uses: codecov/codecov-action@5ecb98a3c6b747ed38dc09f787459979aebb39be # v4.3.1
         with:
           flags: ${{ runner.os }},${{ runner.arch }},${{ matrix.python-version }},${{ matrix.test-type }}
 
       - name: Upload Test Results
         if: '!cancelled()'
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@5d5d22a31266ced268874388b861e4b58bb5c2f3
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@65462800fd760344b1a7b4382951275a0abb4808
         with:
           name: test-results-${{ env.HASH }}
           path: |
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Source
-        uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+        uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ jobs:
           key: cache-${{ env.HASH }}
 
       - name: Setup Miniconda
-        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@030178870c779d9e5e1b4e563269f3aa69b04081
+        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@a4260408e20b96e80095f42ff7f1a15b27dd94ca
         with:
           condarc-file: .github/condarc
           run-post: false  # skip post cleanup
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ jobs:
         run: conda list --show-channel-urls
 
       - name: Run Benchmarks
-        uses: CodSpeedHQ/action@1dbf41f0ae41cebfe61e084e535aebe533409b4d
+        uses: CodSpeedHQ/action@0b631f8998f2389eb5144632b6f9f8fabd33a86e
         with:
           token: ${{ secrets.CODSPEED_TOKEN }}
           run: $CONDA/envs/test/bin/pytest --codspeed
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Source
-        uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+        uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ jobs:
           key: cache-${{ env.HASH }}
 
       - name: Setup Miniconda
-        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@030178870c779d9e5e1b4e563269f3aa69b04081
+        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@a4260408e20b96e80095f42ff7f1a15b27dd94ca
         with:
           condarc-file: .github\condarc
           run-post: false  # skip post cleanup
@@ -317,13 +317,13 @@ jobs:
           -m "${{ env.PYTEST_MARKER }}"
 
       - name: Upload Coverage
-        uses: codecov/codecov-action@84508663e988701840491b86de86b666e8a86bed
+        uses: codecov/codecov-action@5ecb98a3c6b747ed38dc09f787459979aebb39be # v4.3.1
         with:
           flags: ${{ runner.os }},${{ runner.arch }},${{ matrix.python-version }},${{ matrix.test-type }}
 
       - name: Upload Test Results
         if: '!cancelled()'
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@5d5d22a31266ced268874388b861e4b58bb5c2f3
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@65462800fd760344b1a7b4382951275a0abb4808
         with:
           name: test-results-${{ env.HASH }}
           path: |
@@ -337,6 +337,10 @@ jobs:
     needs: changes
     if: github.event_name == 'schedule' || needs.changes.outputs.code == 'true'
 
+    # Old macOS needed for old SDK (see xcode step below)
+    # This is needed for some MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET tests
+    # We could also install SDKs from a external provider in the future
+    # if we want to update this runner to a non-deprecated version
     runs-on: macos-11
     defaults:
       run:
@@ -362,7 +366,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Source
-        uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+        uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
@@ -376,7 +380,7 @@ jobs:
           key: cache-${{ env.HASH }}
 
       - name: Setup Miniconda
-        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@030178870c779d9e5e1b4e563269f3aa69b04081
+        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@a4260408e20b96e80095f42ff7f1a15b27dd94ca
         with:
           condarc-file: .github/condarc
           run-post: false  # skip post cleanup
@@ -413,13 +417,13 @@ jobs:
           -m "${{ env.PYTEST_MARKER }}"
 
       - name: Upload Coverage
-        uses: codecov/codecov-action@84508663e988701840491b86de86b666e8a86bed
+        uses: codecov/codecov-action@5ecb98a3c6b747ed38dc09f787459979aebb39be # v4.3.1
         with:
           flags: ${{ runner.os }},${{ runner.arch }},${{ matrix.python-version }},${{ matrix.test-type }}
 
       - name: Upload Test Results
         if: '!cancelled()'
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@5d5d22a31266ced268874388b861e4b58bb5c2f3
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@65462800fd760344b1a7b4382951275a0abb4808
         with:
           name: test-results-${{ env.HASH }}
           path: |
@@ -441,11 +445,11 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Download Artifacts
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@c850b930e6ba138125429b7e5c93fc707a7f8427
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@65a9edc5881444af0b9093a5e628f2fe47ea3b2e
 
       - name: Upload Combined Test Results
         # provides one downloadable archive of all matrix run test results for further analysis
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@5d5d22a31266ced268874388b861e4b58bb5c2f3
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@65462800fd760344b1a7b4382951275a0abb4808
         with:
           name: test-results-${{ github.sha }}-all
           path: test-results-*
@@ -489,9 +493,9 @@ jobs:
         include:
           - runner: ubuntu-latest
             subdir: linux-64
-          - runner: macos-latest
+          - runner: macos-13
             subdir: osx-64
-          - runner: macos-14
+          - runner: macos-14  # FUTURE: Use -latest
             subdir: osx-arm64
           - runner: windows-latest
             subdir: win-64
@@ -500,7 +504,7 @@ jobs:
       # Clean checkout of specific git ref needed for package metadata version
       # which needs env vars GIT_DESCRIBE_TAG and GIT_BUILD_STR:
       - name: Checkout Source
-        uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633
+        uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         with:
           ref: ${{ github.ref }}
           clean: true
@@ -534,7 +538,7 @@ jobs:
           Path(environ["GITHUB_ENV"]).write_text(f"ANACONDA_ORG_LABEL={label}")
 
       - name: Create & Upload
-        uses: conda/actions/canary-release@f46142e89fa703cc69f0421ca1d313ab2d5bfff6
+        uses: conda/actions/canary-release@976289d0cfd85139701b26ddd133abdd025a7b5f # v24.5.0
         with:
           package-name: ${{ github.event.repository.name }}
           subdir: ${{ matrix.subdir }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upload.yml b/.github/workflows/upload.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..984ba0fdd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/upload.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+name: Upload release
+
+on:
+  # https://docs.github.com/en/webhooks/webhook-events-and-payloads#release
+  release:
+    types: [published]
+
+concurrency:
+  # Concurrency group that uses the workflow name and PR number if available
+  # or commit SHA as a fallback. If a new build is triggered under that
+  # concurrency group while a previous build is running it will be canceled.
+  # Repeated pushes to a PR will cancel all previous builds, while multiple
+  # merges to main will not cancel.
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref_name || github.sha }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+
+jobs:
+  # create source archive and upload it to the published release
+  # URL to the archive: https://github.com/conda/<repo>/releases/download/<tag>/<repo>-<tag>.tar.gz
+  upload:
+    if: '!github.event.repository.fork'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    env:
+      ARCHIVE_NAME: ${{ github.event.repository.name }}-${{ github.ref_name }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout Source
+        uses: actions/checkout@0ad4b8fadaa221de15dcec353f45205ec38ea70b # v4.1.4
+
+      - name: Create Release Directory
+        run: mkdir -p release
+
+      - name: Archive Source
+        run: >
+          git archive
+          --prefix="${{ env.ARCHIVE_NAME }}/"
+          --output="release/${{ env.ARCHIVE_NAME }}.tar.gz"
+          HEAD
+
+      - name: Compute Checksum
+        run: >
+          sha256sum "release/${{ env.ARCHIVE_NAME }}.tar.gz"
+          | awk '{print $1}'
+          > "release/${{ env.ARCHIVE_NAME }}.tar.gz.sha256sum"
+
+      - name: Upload Archive
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: >
+          gh release upload
+          --clobber "${{ github.ref_name }}"
+          --repo "${{ github.repository }}"
+          release/*
diff --git a/.mailmap b/.mailmap
index 02df1bf754..4644f183c2 100644
--- a/.mailmap
+++ b/.mailmap
@@ -141,6 +141,7 @@ Joseph Hunkeler <jhunkeler@gmail.com>
 Juan Lasheras <juan.lasheras@gmail.com> jlas <juan.lasheras@gmail.com>
 Julian Rüth <julian.rueth@fsfe.org>
 Julien Schueller <schueller@phimeca.com>
+Justin Wood (Callek) <callek@gmail.com>
 Jürgen Gmach <juergen.gmach@googlemail.com> Jürgen Gmach <juergen.gmach@canonical.com>
 Jędrzej Nowak <pigmej@gmail.com> Jedrzej Nowak <pigmej@gmail.com>
 Kai Tietz <ktietz@anaconda.com> Kai Tietz <47363620+katietz@users.noreply.github.com>
@@ -259,6 +260,7 @@ Thomas A Caswell <tcaswell@gmail.com> Thomas A Caswell <tcaswell@bnl.gov>
 Thomas Holder <thomas.holder@schrodinger.com>
 Thomas Kluyver <takowl@gmail.com>
 Tim Snyder <snyder.tim@gmail.com>
+Tobias Fischer <info@tobiasfischer.info>
 Todd Tomashek <todd.m.tomashek@intel.com> tomashek <todd.m.tomashek@intel.com>
 Todd Tomashek <todd.m.tomashek@intel.com> todd.m.tomashek <todd.m.tomashek@intel.com>
 Tom Davidson <tjd@alum.mit.edu>
@@ -278,6 +280,7 @@ Wim Glenn <wim.glenn@gmail.com> wim glenn <wim.glenn@gmail.com>
 Wolf Vollprecht <w.vollprecht@gmail.com>
 Wolfgang Ulmer <wolfgang.Ulmer@de.bosch.com>
 Yann <yannpaul@bu.edu>
+Yannik Tausch <dev@ytausch.de>
 Yoav Ram <yoavram+github@gmail.com>
 Yu Feng <rainwoodman@gmail.com>
 Zane Dufour <zane.dufour@gmail.com> zdog234 <zane.dufour@gmail.com>
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index b29ba4260c..7fbe8f31bc 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ repos:
       # auto format Python codes within docstrings
       - id: blacken-docs
   - repo: https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff-pre-commit
-    rev: v0.4.1
+    rev: v0.4.3
     hooks:
       # lint & attempt to correct failures (e.g. pyupgrade)
       - id: ruff
diff --git a/AUTHORS.md b/AUTHORS.md
index 969994f016..73bac74a05 100644
--- a/AUTHORS.md
+++ b/AUTHORS.md
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ Authors are sorted alphabetically.
 * Juan Lasheras
 * Julian Rüth
 * Julien Schueller
+* Justin Wood (Callek)
 * Jürgen Gmach
 * Jędrzej Nowak
 * Kai Tietz
@@ -217,6 +218,7 @@ Authors are sorted alphabetically.
 * Thomas Holder
 * Thomas Kluyver
 * Tim Snyder
+* Tobias Fischer
 * Todd Tomashek
 * Tom Davidson
 * Tom Pollard
@@ -235,6 +237,7 @@ Authors are sorted alphabetically.
 * Wolf Vollprecht
 * Wolfgang Ulmer
 * Yann
+* Yannik Tausch
 * Yoav Ram
 * Yu Feng
 * Zane Dufour
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 42d745f874..8c2a863ce4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,156 @@
 [//]: # (current developments)
 
+## 24.5.1 (2024-05-23)
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+* Fix issue with modifying a `frozendict` when specifying `outputs/files` in `meta.yaml`. (#5342 via #5345)
+* Fix excessive memory use in `inspect_linkages_lief`. (#5267 via #5348)
+
+### Deprecations
+
+* Mark `conda_build.metadata.toposort` as deprecated. Use `conda_build.metadata.toposort_outputs` instead. (#5342 via #5345)
+* Mark `conda_build.metadata.check_circular_dependencies` as deprecated. Use `conda_build.metadata._check_circular_dependencies` instead. (#5342 via #5345)
+
+### Contributors
+
+* @beeankha
+* @kenodegard
+* @mbargull
+
+
+
+## 24.5.0 (2024-05-06)
+
+### Enhancements
+
+* Only fetch `lfs` files for specific `git_ref`. (#5202)
+* Add `conda_build.metadata._split_line_selector` to cache line-selector parsed text. (#5237)
+* Add `conda_build.render.open_recipe` context manager to detect the recipe type (file/`meta.yaml`, directory/recipe, or tarball/package) and properly handling any exit/close behavior. (#5238)
+* For Windows users, the stub executables used for Python entrypoints in packages are now codesigned. (#5252)
+* Require `conda >=23.7.0`. (#5271)
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+* Fix all CLI arguments to properly initialize `conda.base.context.context` with parsed arguments. Fixes issue with arguments not being processed (e.g., `--override-channels` was previously ignored). (#3693 via #5271)
+
+### Deprecations
+
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.CONDA_VERSION` constant. Use `conda.__version__` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.binstar_upload` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.binstar_upload` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.default_python` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.default_python` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.envs_dirs` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.envs_dirs` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.pkgs_dirs` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.pkgs_dirs` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.cc_platform` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.platform` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.root_dir` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.root_prefix` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.root_writable` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.root_writable` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.subdir` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.subdir` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.create_default_packages` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.create_default_packages` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.get_rc_urls` function. Use `conda.base.context.context.channels` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.get_prefix` function. Use `conda.base.context.context.target_prefix` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.get_conda_channel` function. Use `conda.models.channel.Channel.from_value` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.reset_context` function. Use `conda.base.context.reset_context` instead. (#5222)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.context` singleton. Use `conda.base.context.context` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.configparser` module. Use `configparser` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.os` module. Use `os` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.partial` function. Use `functools.partial` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.import_module` function. Use `importlib.import_module` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.determine_target_prefix` function. Use `conda.base.context.determine_target_prefix` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.non_x86_linux_machines` constant. Use `conda.base.context.non_x86_machines` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.ProgressiveFetchExtract` class. Use `conda.core.package_cache.ProgressiveFetchExtract` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.CondaError` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaHTTPError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.CondaHTTPError` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.LinkError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.LinkError` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.LockError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.LockError` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.NoPackagesFoundError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.NoPackagesFoundError` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.PaddingError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.PaddingError` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.UnsatisfiableError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.UnsatisfiableError` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.get_conda_build_local_url` class. Use `conda.models.channel.get_conda_build_local_url` instead. (#5251)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.config.Config.override_channels`. Defer to `conda.base.context.context.channels` instead. (#5271, #5324)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface._toposort`. Use `conda.common.toposort._toposort` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.add_parser_channels`. Use `conda.cli.helpers.add_parser_channels` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.add_parser_prefix`. Use `conda.cli.helpers.add_parser_prefix` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.ArgumentParser`. Use `conda.cli.conda_argparse.ArgumentParser` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.cc_conda_build`. Use `conda.base.context.context.conda_build` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.Channel`. Use `conda.models.channel.Channel` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.Completer`. Unused. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaSession`. Use `conda.gateways.connection.session.CondaSession` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.download`. Use `conda.gateways.connection.download.download` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.EntityEncoder`. Use `conda.auxlib.entity.EntityEncoder` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.env_path_backup_var_exists`. Unused. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.FileMode`. Use `conda.models.enums.FileMode` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.human_bytes`. Use `conda.utils.human_bytes` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.input`. Use `input` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.InstalledPackages`. Unused. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.lchmod`. Use `conda.gateways.disk.link.lchmod` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.MatchSpec`. Use `conda.models.match_spec.MatchSpec` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.NoPackagesFound`. Use `conda.exceptions.ResolvePackageNotFound` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.normalized_version`. Use `conda.models.version.normalized_version` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.PackageRecord`. Use `conda.models.records.PackageRecord` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.PathType`. Use `conda.models.enums.PathType` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.prefix_placeholder`. Use `conda.base.constants.PREFIX_PLACEHOLDER` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.Resolve`. Use `conda.resolve.Resolve` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.rm_rf`. Use `conda_build.utils.rm_rf` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.spec_from_line`. Use `conda.cli.common.spec_from_line` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.specs_from_args`. Use `conda.cli.common.specs_from_args` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.specs_from_url`. Use `conda.cli.common.specs_from_url` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.StringIO`. Use `io.StringIO` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.symlink_conda`. Unused. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.TempDirectory`. Use `conda.gateways.disk.create.TemporaryDirectory` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.TmpDownload`. Use `conda.gateways.connection.download.TmpDownload` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.unix_path_to_win`. Use `conda.utils.unix_path_to_win` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.Unsatisfiable`. Use `conda.exceptions.UnsatisfiableError` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.untracked`. Use `conda.misc.untracked` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.url_path`. Use `conda.utils.url_path` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.VersionOrder`. Use `conda.models.version.VersionOrder` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.walk_prefix`. Use `conda.misc.walk_prefix` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.win_path_to_unix`. Use `conda.common.path.win_path_to_unix` instead. (#5276)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.variants.get_vars(loop_only)`. (#5280)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.utils.HashableDict`. Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead. (#5284)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.utils._convert_lists_to_sets`. Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead. (#5284)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.utils.represent_hashabledict`. Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead. (#5284)
+* Deprecate `conda_build.config.noarch_python_build_age_default`. (#5298)
+* Postpone `conda_build.index.channel_data` deprecation. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.api.get_output_file_path`. Use `conda_build.api.get_output_file_paths` instead. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.bdist_conda`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.build.have_prefix_files`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.get_index`. Use `conda.core.index.get_index` instead. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.get_version_from_git_tag`. Use `conda_build.environ.get_version_from_git_tag` instead. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.handle_proxy_407`. Handled by `conda.gateways.connection.session.CondaSession`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.hashsum_file`. Use `conda.gateways.disk.read.compute_sum` instead. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.md5_file`. Use `conda.gateways.disk.read.compute_sum(path, 'md5')` instead. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.environ._load_all_json`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.environ._load_json`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.environ.cached_actions`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.environ.Environment`. Use `conda.core.prefix_data.PrefixData` instead. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.environ.InvalidEnvironment`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.environ.LINK_ACTION`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.environ.PREFIX_ACTION`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.index._apply_instructions`. Use `conda_index._apply_instructions` instead. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.index.DummyExecutor`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.index.LOCK_TIMEOUT_SECS`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.index.LOCKFILE_NAME`. (#5299)
+* Remove `conda_build.index.MAX_THREADS_DEFAULT`. (#5299)
+
+### Other
+
+* Enable CodSpeed benchmarks for select tests. (#5233)
+
+### Contributors
+
+* @beeankha
+* @conda-bot
+* @jaimergp
+* @Callek made their first contribution in https://github.com/conda/conda-build/pull/5252
+* @kenodegard
+* @mbargull
+* @Tobias-Fischer made their first contribution in https://github.com/conda/conda-build/pull/5202
+* @ytausch made their first contribution in https://github.com/conda/conda-build/pull/5214
+* @dependabot[bot]
+* @pre-commit-ci[bot]
+
+
+
 ## 24.3.0 (2024-03-15)
 
 ### Enhancements
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index d45614facc..fed9bd3a81 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -14,18 +14,18 @@
 
 # Release Process
 
-> **Note:**
+> [!NOTE]
 > Throughout this document are references to the version number as `YY.M.[$patch_number]`, this should be replaced with the correct version number. Do **not** prefix the version with a lowercase `v`.
 
 ## 1. Open the release issue and cut a release branch. (do this ~1 week prior to release)
 
-> **Note:**
+> [!NOTE]
 > The new release branch should adhere to the naming convention of `YY.M.x` (make sure to put the `.x` at the end!). In the case of patch/hotfix releases, however, do NOT cut a new release branch; instead, use the previously-cut release branch with the appropriate `YY.M.x` version numbers.
 
 Use the issue template below to create the release issue. After creating the release issue, pin it for easy access.
 
 <details>
-<summary><code>GitHub Issue Template</code></summary>
+<summary><h3>Release Template</h3></summary>
 
 ```markdown
 ### Summary
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ Placeholder for `{{ repo.name }} YY.M.x` release.
 [conda-forge]: https://github.com/conda-forge/{{ repo.name }}-feedstock
 [ReadTheDocs]: https://readthedocs.com/projects/continuumio-{{ repo.name }}/
 
-#### The week before release week
+<details open>  <!-- feel free to remove the open attribute once this section is completed -->
+<summary><h4>The week before release week</h4></summary>
 
 - [ ] Create release branch (named `YY.M.x`)
 - [ ] Ensure release candidates are being successfully built (see `conda-canary/label/rc-{{ repo.name }}-YY.M.x`)
@@ -53,10 +54,14 @@ Placeholder for `{{ repo.name }} YY.M.x` release.
 - [ ] Test release candidates
     <!-- indicate here who has signed off on testing -->
 
-#### Release week
+</details>
+
+<details open>  <!-- feel free to remove the open attribute once this section is completed -->
+<summary><h4>Release week</h4></summary>
 
 - [ ] Create release PR (see [release process][process])
 - [ ] [Publish release][releases]
+- [ ] Merge `YY.M.x` back into `main`
 - [ ] Activate the `YY.M.x` branch on [ReadTheDocs][ReadTheDocs]
 - [ ] Feedstocks
     - [ ] Bump version & update dependencies/tests in [Anaconda, Inc.'s feedstock][main]
@@ -72,22 +77,56 @@ Placeholder for `{{ repo.name }} YY.M.x` release.
         - [ ] [Matrix (conda/conda)](https://matrix.to/#/#conda_conda:gitter.im) (this auto posts from Discourse)
     - Summary
         - [ ] [Twitter](https://twitter.com/condaproject)
+
+</details>
 ```
 </details>
 
-> **Note:**
+If a patch release is necessary, reopen the original release issue and append the following template to the release issue summary.
+
+<details>
+<summary><h3>Patch Release Template</h3></summary>
+
+```markdown
+<details open>  <!-- feel free to remove the open attribute once this section is completed -->
+<summary><h4>Patch YY.M.N</h4></summary>
+
+- [ ] <!-- list issues & PRs that need to be resolved here -->
+- [ ] Create release PR (see [release process][process])
+- [ ] [Publish release][releases]
+- [ ] Merge `YY.M.x` back into `main`
+- [ ] Feedstocks
+    - [ ] Bump version & update dependencies/tests in [Anaconda, Inc.'s feedstock][main]
+    - [ ] Bump version & update dependencies/tests in [conda-forge feedstock][conda-forge]
+- [ ] Hand off to the Anaconda packaging team
+
+</details>
+```
+
+</details>
+
+> [!NOTE]
 > The [epic template][epic template] is perfect for this; remember to remove the **`epic`** label.
 
 ## 2. Alert various parties of the upcoming release. (do this ~1 week prior to release)
 
 Let various interested parties know about the upcoming release; at minimum, conda-forge maintainers should be informed. For major features, a blog post describing the new features should be prepared and posted once the release is completed (see the announcements section of the release issue).
 
-## 3. Ensure `rever.xsh` and `news/TEMPLATE` are up to date.
+## 3. Manually test canary build(s).
+
+### Canary Builds for Manual Testing
+
+Once the release PRs are filed, successful canary builds will be available on `https://anaconda.org/conda-canary/conda/files?channel=rc-{{ repo.name }}-YY.M.x` for manual testing.
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> You do not need to apply the `build::review` label for release PRs; every commit to the release branch builds and uploads canary builds to the respective `rc-` label.
+
+## 4. Ensure `rever.xsh` and `news/TEMPLATE` are up to date.
 
 These are synced from [`conda/infrastructure`][infrastructure].
 
 <details>
-<summary><h2>4. Run rever. (ideally done on the Monday of release week)</h2></summary>
+<summary><h2>5. Run rever. (ideally done on the Monday of release week)</h2></summary>
 
 Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the authors and (2) updating the changelog. Aggregating the authors can be an error-prone process and also suffers from builtin race conditions (_i.e._, to generate an updated `.authors.yml` we need an updated `.mailmap` but to have an updated `.mailmap` we need an updated `.authors.yml`). This is why the following steps are very heavy-handed (and potentially repetitive) in running rever commands, undoing commits, squashing/reordering commits, etc.
 
@@ -119,9 +158,9 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
     (rever) $ git checkout -b changelog-YY.M.[$patch_number]
     ```
 
-2. Run `rever --activities authors`:
+2. Run `rever --activities authors <VERSION>`:
 
-    > **Note:**
+    > **Note:** <!-- GH doesn't support nested admonitions, see https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/16925 -->
     > Include `--force` when re-running any rever commands for the same `<VERSION>`, otherwise, rever will skip the activity and no changes will be made (i.e., rever remembers if an activity has been run for a given version).
 
     ```bash
@@ -166,7 +205,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
         (rever) $ git commit -m "Update .authors.yml"
         ```
 
-    - Rerun `rever --activities authors` and finally check that your `.mailmap` is correct by running:
+    - Rerun `rever --activities authors --force <VERSION>` and finally check that your `.mailmap` is correct by running:
 
         ```bash
         git shortlog -se
@@ -194,7 +233,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
     - Continue repeating the above processes until the `.authors.yml` and `.mailmap` are corrected to your liking. After completing this, you will have at most two commits on your release branch:
 
         ```bash
-        (rever) $ git cherry -v main
+        (rever) $ git cherry -v <release branch>
         + 86957814cf235879498ed7806029b8ff5f400034 Update .authors.yml
         + 3ec7491f2f58494a62f1491987d66f499f8113ad Update .mailmap
         ```
@@ -202,7 +241,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
 
 4. Review news snippets (ensure they are all using the correct Markdown format, **not** reStructuredText) and add additional snippets for undocumented PRs/changes as necessary.
 
-    > **Note:**
+    > **Note:** <!-- GH doesn't support nested admonitions, see https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/16925 -->
     > We've found it useful to name news snippets with the following format: `<PR #>-<DESCRIPTIVE SLUG>`.
     >
     > We've also found that we like to include the PR #s inline with the text itself, e.g.:
@@ -213,7 +252,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
     > * Add `win-arm64` as a known platform (subdir). (#11778)
     > ```
 
-    - You can utilize [GitHub's compare view][compare] to review what changes are to be included in this release.
+    - You can utilize [GitHub's compare view][compare] to review what changes are to be included in this release. Make sure you compare the current release branch against the previous one (e.g., `24.5.x` would be compared against `24.3.x`)
 
     - Add a new news snippet for any PRs of importance that are missing.
 
@@ -227,7 +266,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
     - After completing this, you will have at most three commits on your release branch:
 
         ```bash
-        (rever) $ git cherry -v main
+        (rever) $ git cherry -v <release branch>
         + 86957814cf235879498ed7806029b8ff5f400034 Update .authors.yml
         + 3ec7491f2f58494a62f1491987d66f499f8113ad Update .mailmap
         + 432a9e1b41a3dec8f95a7556632f9a93fdf029fd Update news
@@ -235,7 +274,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
 
 5. Run `rever --activities changelog`:
 
-    > **Note:**
+    > **Note:** <!-- GH doesn't support nested admonitions, see https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/16925 -->
     > This has previously been a notoriously fickle step (likely due to incorrect regex patterns in the `rever.xsh` config file and missing `github` keys in `.authors.yml`) so beware of potential hiccups. If this fails, it's highly likely to be an innocent issue.
 
     ```bash
@@ -254,7 +293,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
     - After completing this, you will have at most three commits on your release branch:
 
         ```bash
-        (rever) $ git cherry -v main
+        (rever) $ git cherry -v <release branch>
         + 86957814cf235879498ed7806029b8ff5f400034 Update .authors.yml
         + 3ec7491f2f58494a62f1491987d66f499f8113ad Update .mailmap
         + 432a9e1b41a3dec8f95a7556632f9a93fdf029fd Update news
@@ -269,7 +308,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
     - After completing this, you will have at most five commits on your release branch:
 
         ```bash
-        (rever) $ git cherry -v main
+        (rever) $ git cherry -v <release branch>
         + 86957814cf235879498ed7806029b8ff5f400034 Update .authors.yml
         + 3ec7491f2f58494a62f1491987d66f499f8113ad Update .mailmap
         + 432a9e1b41a3dec8f95a7556632f9a93fdf029fd Update news
@@ -291,7 +330,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
     - After completing this, you will have at most six commits on your release branch:
 
         ```bash
-        (rever) $ git cherry -v main
+        (rever) $ git cherry -v <release branch>
         + 86957814cf235879498ed7806029b8ff5f400034 Update .authors.yml
         + 3ec7491f2f58494a62f1491987d66f499f8113ad Update .mailmap
         + 432a9e1b41a3dec8f95a7556632f9a93fdf029fd Update news
@@ -325,7 +364,7 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
 
 11. [Create][new release] the release and **SAVE AS A DRAFT** with the following values:
 
-    > **Note:**
+    > **Note:** <!-- GH doesn't support nested admonitions, see https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/16925 -->
     > Only publish the release after the release PR is merged, until then always **save as draft**.
 
     | Field | Value |
@@ -336,22 +375,13 @@ Currently, there are only 2 activities we use rever for, (1) aggregating the aut
 
 </details>
 
-## 5. Wait for review and approval of release PR.
-
-## 6. Manually test canary build(s).
-
-### Canary Builds for Manual Testing
-
-Once the release PRs are filed, successful canary builds will be available on `https://anaconda.org/conda-canary/conda/files?channel=rc-{{ repo.name }}-YY.M.x` for manual testing.
-
-> **Note:**
-> You do not need to apply the `build::review` label for release PRs; every commit to the release branch builds and uploads canary builds to the respective `rc-` label.
+## 6. Wait for review and approval of release PR.
 
 ## 7. Merge release PR and publish release.
 
 To publish the release, go to the project's release page (e.g., https://github.com/conda/conda/releases) and add the release notes from `CHANGELOG.md` to the draft release you created earlier. Then publish the release.
 
-> **Note:**
+> [!NOTE]
 > Release notes can be drafted and saved ahead of time.
 
 ## 8. Merge/cherry pick the release branch over to the `main` branch.
@@ -367,19 +397,19 @@ To publish the release, go to the project's release page (e.g., https://github.c
 
 4. Ensure that all of the commits being pulled in look accurate, then select "Create pull request".
 
-> **Note:**
+> [!NOTE]
 > Make sure NOT to push the "Update Branch" button. If there are [merge conflicts][merge conflicts], create a temporary "connector branch" dedicated to fixing merge conflicts separately from the `YY.M.x` and `main` branches.
 
 5. Review and merge the pull request the same as any code change pull request.
 
-> **Note:**
+> [!NOTE]
 > The commits from the release branch need to be retained in order to be able to compare individual commits; in other words, a "merge commit" is required when merging the resulting pull request vs. a "squash merge". Protected branches will require permissions to be temporarily relaxed in order to enable this action.
 
 </details>
 
 ## 9. Open PRs to bump [Anaconda Recipes][Anaconda Recipes] and [conda-forge][conda-forge] feedstocks to use `YY.M.[$patch_number]`.
 
-> **Note:**
+> [!NOTE]
 > Conda-forge's PRs will be auto-created via the `regro-cf-autotick-bot`. Follow the instructions below if any changes need to be made to the recipe that were not automatically added (these instructions are only necessary for anyone who is _not_ a conda-forge feedstock maintainer, since maintainers can push changes directly to the autotick branch):
 > - Create a new branch based off of autotick's branch (autotick's branches usually use the `regro-cf-autotick-bot:XX.YY.[$patch_number]_[short hash]` syntax)
 > - Add any changes via commits to that new branch
@@ -392,7 +422,7 @@ To publish the release, go to the project's release page (e.g., https://github.c
 
 ## 10. Hand off to Anaconda's packaging team.
 
-> **Note:**
+> [!NOTE]
 > This step should NOT be done past Thursday morning EST; please start the process on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday instead in order to avoid any potential debugging sessions over evenings or weekends.
 
 <details>
diff --git a/conda_build/_link.py b/conda_build/_link.py
index af841c0275..e8984fcd37 100644
--- a/conda_build/_link.py
+++ b/conda_build/_link.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
     SITE_PACKAGES = "Lib/site-packages"
 else:
     BIN_DIR = join(PREFIX, "bin")
-    SITE_PACKAGES = "lib/python%s/site-packages" % sys.version[:3]
+    SITE_PACKAGES = f"lib/python{sys.version[:3]}/site-packages"
 
 # the list of these files is going to be store in info/_files
 FILES = []
@@ -110,20 +110,20 @@ def create_script(fn):
     dst = join(BIN_DIR, fn)
     if sys.platform == "win32":
         shutil.copy2(src, dst + "-script.py")
-        FILES.append("Scripts/%s-script.py" % fn)
+        FILES.append(f"Scripts/{fn}-script.py")
         shutil.copy2(
             join(THIS_DIR, "cli-%d.exe" % (8 * tuple.__itemsize__)), dst + ".exe"
         )
-        FILES.append("Scripts/%s.exe" % fn)
+        FILES.append(f"Scripts/{fn}.exe")
     else:
         with open(src) as fi:
             data = fi.read()
         with open(dst, "w") as fo:
-            shebang = replace_long_shebang("#!%s\n" % normpath(sys.executable))
+            shebang = replace_long_shebang(f"#!{normpath(sys.executable)}\n")
             fo.write(shebang)
             fo.write(data)
         os.chmod(dst, 0o775)
-        FILES.append("bin/%s" % fn)
+        FILES.append(f"bin/{fn}")
 
 
 def create_scripts(files):
@@ -140,9 +140,9 @@ def main():
     link_files("site-packages", SITE_PACKAGES, DATA["site-packages"])
     link_files("Examples", "Examples", DATA["Examples"])
 
-    with open(join(PREFIX, "conda-meta", "%s.files" % DATA["dist"]), "w") as fo:
+    with open(join(PREFIX, "conda-meta", "{}.files".format(DATA["dist"])), "w") as fo:
         for f in FILES:
-            fo.write("%s\n" % f)
+            fo.write(f"{f}\n")
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/conda_build/api.py b/conda_build/api.py
index 571f08f534..cc866a865d 100644
--- a/conda_build/api.py
+++ b/conda_build/api.py
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ def convert(
             "Conversion from wheel packages is not implemented yet, stay tuned."
         )
     else:
-        raise RuntimeError("cannot convert: %s" % package_file)
+        raise RuntimeError(f"cannot convert: {package_file}")
 
 
 def test_installable(channel: str = "defaults") -> bool:
diff --git a/conda_build/build.py b/conda_build/build.py
index b377d73bc1..7d6bb8c836 100644
--- a/conda_build/build.py
+++ b/conda_build/build.py
@@ -42,7 +42,12 @@
 from . import environ, noarch_python, source, tarcheck, utils
 from .config import Config
 from .create_test import create_all_test_files
-from .exceptions import CondaBuildException, DependencyNeedsBuildingError
+from .deprecations import deprecated
+from .exceptions import (
+    BuildScriptException,
+    CondaBuildException,
+    DependencyNeedsBuildingError,
+)
 from .index import _delegated_update_index, get_build_index
 from .metadata import FIELDS, MetaData
 from .os_utils import external
@@ -774,7 +779,7 @@ def copy_readme(m):
     if readme:
         src = join(m.config.work_dir, readme)
         if not isfile(src):
-            sys.exit("Error: no readme file: %s" % readme)
+            sys.exit(f"Error: no readme file: {readme}")
         dst = join(m.config.info_dir, readme)
         utils.copy_into(src, dst, m.config.timeout, locking=m.config.locking)
         if os.path.split(readme)[1] not in {"README.md", "README.rst", "README"}:
@@ -1187,7 +1192,7 @@ def record_prefix_files(m, files_with_prefix):
                     if fn in text_has_prefix_files:
                         text_has_prefix_files.remove(fn)
                 else:
-                    ignored_because = " (not in build/%s_has_prefix_files)" % (mode)
+                    ignored_because = f" (not in build/{mode}_has_prefix_files)"
 
                 print(
                     "{fn} ({mode}): {action}{reason}".format(
@@ -1204,10 +1209,10 @@ def record_prefix_files(m, files_with_prefix):
     # make sure we found all of the files expected
     errstr = ""
     for f in text_has_prefix_files:
-        errstr += "Did not detect hard-coded path in %s from has_prefix_files\n" % f
+        errstr += f"Did not detect hard-coded path in {f} from has_prefix_files\n"
     for f in binary_has_prefix_files:
         errstr += (
-            "Did not detect hard-coded path in %s from binary_has_prefix_files\n" % f
+            f"Did not detect hard-coded path in {f} from binary_has_prefix_files\n"
         )
     if errstr:
         raise RuntimeError(errstr)
@@ -1276,7 +1281,7 @@ def write_about_json(m):
     with open(join(m.config.info_dir, "about.json"), "w") as fo:
         d = {}
         for key, default in FIELDS["about"].items():
-            value = m.get_value("about/%s" % key)
+            value = m.get_value(f"about/{key}")
             if value:
                 d[key] = value
             if default is list:
@@ -1332,7 +1337,7 @@ def write_info_json(m: MetaData):
                 "# $ conda create --name <env> --file <this file>"
             )
             for dist in sorted(runtime_deps + [" ".join(m.dist().rsplit("-", 2))]):
-                fo.write("%s\n" % "=".join(dist.split()))
+                fo.write("{}\n".format("=".join(dist.split())))
 
     mode_dict = {"mode": "w", "encoding": "utf-8"}
     with open(join(m.config.info_dir, "index.json"), **mode_dict) as fo:
@@ -1355,10 +1360,10 @@ def get_entry_point_script_names(entry_point_scripts):
     for entry_point in entry_point_scripts:
         cmd = entry_point[: entry_point.find("=")].strip()
         if utils.on_win:
-            scripts.append("Scripts\\%s-script.py" % cmd)
-            scripts.append("Scripts\\%s.exe" % cmd)
+            scripts.append(f"Scripts\\{cmd}-script.py")
+            scripts.append(f"Scripts\\{cmd}.exe")
         else:
-            scripts.append("bin/%s" % cmd)
+            scripts.append(f"bin/{cmd}")
     return scripts
 
 
@@ -1520,7 +1525,7 @@ def _recurse_symlink_to_size(path, seen=None):
             return _recurse_symlink_to_size(dest, seen=seen)
         elif not isfile(dest):
             # this is a symlink that points to nowhere, so is zero bytes
-            warnings.warn("file %s is a symlink with no target" % path, UserWarning)
+            warnings.warn(f"file {path} is a symlink with no target", UserWarning)
             return 0
 
     return 0
@@ -1771,8 +1776,7 @@ def bundle_conda(
                 var = var.split("=", 1)[0]
             elif var not in os.environ:
                 warnings.warn(
-                    "The environment variable '%s' specified in script_env is undefined."
-                    % var,
+                    f"The environment variable '{var}' specified in script_env is undefined.",
                     UserWarning,
                 )
                 val = ""
@@ -1789,12 +1793,15 @@ def bundle_conda(
             _write_activation_text(dest_file, metadata)
 
         bundle_stats = {}
-        utils.check_call_env(
-            [*args, dest_file],
-            cwd=metadata.config.work_dir,
-            env=env_output,
-            stats=bundle_stats,
-        )
+        try:
+            utils.check_call_env(
+                [*args, dest_file],
+                cwd=metadata.config.work_dir,
+                env=env_output,
+                stats=bundle_stats,
+            )
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as exc:
+            raise BuildScriptException(str(exc), caused_by=exc) from exc
         log_stats(bundle_stats, f"bundling {metadata.name()}")
         if stats is not None:
             stats[stats_key(metadata, f"bundle_{metadata.name()}")] = bundle_stats
@@ -2489,9 +2496,12 @@ def build(
 
                     with codecs.getwriter("utf-8")(open(build_file, "wb")) as bf:
                         bf.write(script)
-                windows.build(
-                    m, build_file, stats=build_stats, provision_only=provision_only
-                )
+                try:
+                    windows.build(
+                        m, build_file, stats=build_stats, provision_only=provision_only
+                    )
+                except subprocess.CalledProcessError as exc:
+                    raise BuildScriptException(str(exc), caused_by=exc) from exc
             else:
                 build_file = join(m.path, "build.sh")
                 if isfile(build_file) and script:
@@ -2533,13 +2543,16 @@ def build(
                         del env["CONDA_BUILD"]
 
                         # this should raise if any problems occur while building
-                        utils.check_call_env(
-                            cmd,
-                            env=env,
-                            rewrite_stdout_env=rewrite_env,
-                            cwd=src_dir,
-                            stats=build_stats,
-                        )
+                        try:
+                            utils.check_call_env(
+                                cmd,
+                                env=env,
+                                rewrite_stdout_env=rewrite_env,
+                                cwd=src_dir,
+                                stats=build_stats,
+                            )
+                        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as exc:
+                            raise BuildScriptException(str(exc), caused_by=exc) from exc
                         utils.remove_pycache_from_scripts(m.config.host_prefix)
             if build_stats and not provision_only:
                 log_stats(build_stats, f"building {m.name()}")
@@ -3330,9 +3343,9 @@ def test(
                     os.path.dirname(prefix),
                     "_".join(
                         (
-                            "%s_prefix_moved" % name,
+                            f"{name}_prefix_moved",
                             metadata.dist(),
-                            getattr(metadata.config, "%s_subdir" % name),
+                            getattr(metadata.config, f"{name}_subdir"),
                         )
                     ),
                 )
@@ -3550,6 +3563,11 @@ def tests_failed(package_or_metadata, move_broken, broken_dir, config):
     sys.exit("TESTS FAILED: " + os.path.basename(pkg))
 
 
+@deprecated(
+    "24.7",
+    "24.9",
+    addendum="`patchelf` is an explicit conda-build dependency on Linux so it will always be installed.",
+)
 def check_external():
     if on_linux:
         patchelf = external.find_executable("patchelf")
diff --git a/conda_build/cli-32.exe b/conda_build/cli-32.exe
index b17d9c7b23..eaf5188c31 100755
Binary files a/conda_build/cli-32.exe and b/conda_build/cli-32.exe differ
diff --git a/conda_build/cli-64.exe b/conda_build/cli-64.exe
index 7b7f9c67d2..0251e7a4bc 100755
Binary files a/conda_build/cli-64.exe and b/conda_build/cli-64.exe differ
diff --git a/conda_build/cli/main_build.py b/conda_build/cli/main_build.py
index a966677471..13e129910d 100644
--- a/conda_build/cli/main_build.py
+++ b/conda_build/cli/main_build.py
@@ -535,7 +535,6 @@ def execute(args: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> int:
     context.__init__(argparse_args=parsed)
 
     config = get_or_merge_config(None, **parsed.__dict__)
-    build.check_external()
 
     # change globals in build module, see comment there as well
     config.channel_urls = get_channel_urls(parsed.__dict__)
diff --git a/conda_build/cli/main_render.py b/conda_build/cli/main_render.py
index a5cbb8b443..6e6f2bfa41 100644
--- a/conda_build/cli/main_render.py
+++ b/conda_build/cli/main_render.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ def get_render_parser() -> ArgumentParser:
         "--version",
         action="version",
         help="Show the conda-build version number and exit.",
-        version="conda-build %s" % __version__,
+        version=f"conda-build {__version__}",
     )
     p.add_argument(
         "-n",
diff --git a/conda_build/conda_interface.py b/conda_build/conda_interface.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 18056cc368..0000000000
--- a/conda_build/conda_interface.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,550 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright (C) 2014 Anaconda, Inc
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
-from __future__ import annotations
-
-import configparser as _configparser
-import os as _os
-from builtins import input as _input
-from functools import partial as _partial
-from importlib import import_module as _import_module
-from io import StringIO as _StringIO
-
-from conda import __version__
-from conda.auxlib.entity import EntityEncoder as _EntityEncoder
-from conda.base.constants import PREFIX_PLACEHOLDER as _PREFIX_PLACEHOLDER
-from conda.base.context import context as _context
-from conda.base.context import determine_target_prefix as _determine_target_prefix
-from conda.base.context import non_x86_machines as _non_x86_linux_machines
-from conda.base.context import reset_context as _reset_context
-from conda.cli.common import spec_from_line as _spec_from_line
-from conda.cli.common import specs_from_args as _specs_from_args
-from conda.cli.common import specs_from_url as _specs_from_url
-from conda.cli.conda_argparse import ArgumentParser as _ArgumentParser
-from conda.common.path import win_path_to_unix as _win_path_to_unix
-from conda.common.toposort import _toposort as __toposort
-from conda.core.package_cache_data import (
-    ProgressiveFetchExtract as _ProgressiveFetchExtract,
-)
-from conda.exceptions import CondaError as _CondaError
-from conda.exceptions import CondaHTTPError as _CondaHTTPError
-from conda.exceptions import LinkError as _LinkError
-from conda.exceptions import LockError as _LockError
-from conda.exceptions import NoPackagesFoundError as _NoPackagesFoundError
-from conda.exceptions import PaddingError as _PaddingError
-from conda.exceptions import ResolvePackageNotFound as _ResolvePackageNotFound
-from conda.exceptions import UnsatisfiableError as _UnsatisfiableError
-from conda.exports import Completer as _Completer
-from conda.exports import InstalledPackages as _InstalledPackages
-from conda.exports import symlink_conda as _symlink_conda
-from conda.gateways.connection.download import TmpDownload as _TmpDownload
-from conda.gateways.connection.download import download as _download
-from conda.gateways.connection.session import CondaSession as _CondaSession
-from conda.gateways.disk.create import TemporaryDirectory as _TemporaryDirectory
-from conda.gateways.disk.link import lchmod as _lchmod
-from conda.misc import untracked as _untracked
-from conda.misc import walk_prefix as _walk_prefix
-from conda.models.channel import Channel as _Channel
-from conda.models.channel import get_conda_build_local_url as _get_conda_build_local_url
-from conda.models.enums import FileMode as _FileMode
-from conda.models.enums import PathType as _PathType
-from conda.models.match_spec import MatchSpec as _MatchSpec
-from conda.models.records import PackageRecord as _PackageRecord
-from conda.models.version import VersionOrder as _VersionOrder
-from conda.models.version import normalized_version as _normalized_version
-from conda.resolve import Resolve as _Resolve
-from conda.utils import human_bytes as _human_bytes
-from conda.utils import unix_path_to_win as _unix_path_to_win
-from conda.utils import url_path as _url_path
-
-from .deprecations import deprecated
-from .utils import rm_rf as _rm_rf
-
-try:
-    from conda.cli.helpers import add_parser_channels as _add_parser_channels
-    from conda.cli.helpers import add_parser_prefix as _add_parser_prefix
-except ImportError:
-    # conda<23.11
-    from conda.cli.conda_argparse import add_parser_channels as _add_parser_channels
-    from conda.cli.conda_argparse import add_parser_prefix as _add_parser_prefix
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "Completer",
-    _Completer,
-    addendum="Unused.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "CondaSession",
-    _CondaSession,
-    addendum="Use `conda.gateways.connection.session.CondaSession` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "InstalledPackages",
-    _InstalledPackages,
-    addendum="Unused.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "NoPackagesFound",
-    _ResolvePackageNotFound,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.ResolvePackageNotFound` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "Unsatisfiable",
-    _UnsatisfiableError,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.UnsatisfiableError` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "symlink_conda",
-    _symlink_conda,
-    addendum="Unused.",
-)
-
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "ArgumentParser",
-    _ArgumentParser,
-    addendum="Use `conda.cli.conda_argparse.ArgumentParser` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "add_parser_channels",
-    _add_parser_channels,
-    addendum="Use `conda.cli.helpers.add_parser_channels` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "add_parser_prefix",
-    _add_parser_prefix,
-    addendum="Use `conda.cli.helpers.add_parser_prefix` instead.",
-)
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "Channel",
-    _Channel,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.channel.Channel` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "FileMode",
-    _FileMode,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.enums.FileMode` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "PathType",
-    _PathType,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.enums.PathType` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "MatchSpec",
-    _MatchSpec,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.match_spec.MatchSpec` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "PackageRecord",
-    _PackageRecord,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.records.PackageRecord` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "VersionOrder",
-    _VersionOrder,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.version.VersionOrder` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "normalized_version",
-    _normalized_version,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.version.normalized_version` instead.",
-)
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "EntityEncoder",
-    _EntityEncoder,
-    addendum="Use `conda.auxlib.entity.EntityEncoder` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "Resolve",
-    _Resolve,
-    addendum="Use `conda.resolve.Resolve` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "TemporaryDirectory",
-    _TemporaryDirectory,
-    addendum="Use `conda.gateways.disk.create.TemporaryDirectory` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "TmpDownload",
-    _TmpDownload,
-    addendum="Use `conda.gateways.connection.download.TmpDownload` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "download",
-    _download,
-    addendum="Use `conda.gateways.connection.download.download` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "_toposort",
-    __toposort,
-    addendum="Use `conda.common.toposort._toposort` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "human_bytes",
-    _human_bytes,
-    addendum="Use `conda.utils.human_bytes` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "lchmod",
-    _lchmod,
-    addendum="Use `conda.gateways.disk.link.lchmod` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "prefix_placeholder",
-    _PREFIX_PLACEHOLDER,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.constants.PREFIX_PLACEHOLDER` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "rm_rf",
-    _rm_rf,
-    addendum="Use `conda_build.utils.rm_rf` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "spec_from_line",
-    _spec_from_line,
-    addendum="Use `conda.cli.common.spec_from_line` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "specs_from_args",
-    _specs_from_args,
-    addendum="Use `conda.cli.common.specs_from_args` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "specs_from_url",
-    _specs_from_url,
-    addendum="Use `conda.cli.common.specs_from_url` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "unix_path_to_win",
-    _unix_path_to_win,
-    addendum="Use `conda.utils.unix_path_to_win` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "untracked",
-    _untracked,
-    addendum="Use `conda.misc.untracked` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "url_path",
-    _url_path,
-    addendum="Use `conda.utils.url_path` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "walk_prefix",
-    _walk_prefix,
-    addendum="Use `conda.misc.walk_prefix` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "win_path_to_unix",
-    _win_path_to_unix,
-    addendum="Use `conda.common.path.win_path_to_unix` instead.",
-)
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "configparser",
-    _configparser,
-    addendum="Use `configparser` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant("24.5", "24.7", "os", _os, addendum="Use `os` instead.")
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "partial",
-    _partial,
-    addendum="Use `functools.partial` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "import_module",
-    _import_module,
-    addendum="Use `importlib.import_module` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "StringIO",
-    _StringIO,
-    addendum="Use `io.StringIO` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "input",
-    _input,
-    addendum="Use `input` instead.",
-)
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "context",
-    _context,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "determine_target_prefix",
-    _determine_target_prefix,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.determine_target_prefix` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "non_x86_linux_machines",
-    _non_x86_linux_machines,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.non_x86_machines` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "ProgressiveFetchExtract",
-    _ProgressiveFetchExtract,
-    addendum="Use `conda.core.package_cache_data.ProgressiveFetchExtract` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "CondaError",
-    _CondaError,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.CondaError` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "CondaHTTPError",
-    _CondaHTTPError,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.CondaHTTPError` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "LinkError",
-    _LinkError,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.LinkError` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "LockError",
-    _LockError,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.LockError` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "NoPackagesFoundError",
-    _NoPackagesFoundError,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.NoPackagesFoundError` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "PaddingError",
-    _PaddingError,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.PaddingError` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "UnsatisfiableError",
-    _UnsatisfiableError,
-    addendum="Use `conda.exceptions.UnsatisfiableError` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "get_conda_build_local_url",
-    _get_conda_build_local_url,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.channel.get_conda_build_local_url` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "reset_context",
-    _reset_context,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.reset_context` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "binstar_upload",
-    _context.binstar_upload,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.binstar_upload` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "default_python",
-    _context.default_python,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.default_python` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "envs_dirs",
-    _context.envs_dirs,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.envs_dirs` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "pkgs_dirs",
-    list(_context.pkgs_dirs),
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.pkgs_dirs` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "cc_platform",
-    _context.platform,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.platform` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "root_dir",
-    _context.root_prefix,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.root_prefix` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "root_writable",
-    _context.root_writable,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.root_writable` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "subdir",
-    _context.subdir,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.subdir` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "create_default_packages",
-    _context.create_default_packages,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.create_default_packages` instead.",
-)
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "get_rc_urls",
-    lambda: list(_context.channels),
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.channels` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "get_prefix",
-    _partial(_determine_target_prefix, _context),
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.target_prefix` instead.",
-)
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "cc_conda_build",
-    _context.conda_build,
-    addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.conda_build` instead.",
-)
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "get_conda_channel",
-    _Channel.from_value,
-    addendum="Use `conda.models.channel.Channel.from_value` instead.",
-)
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "env_path_backup_var_exists",
-    _os.getenv("CONDA_PATH_BACKUP"),
-    addendum="Unused.",
-)
-
-
-deprecated.constant(
-    "24.5",
-    "24.7",
-    "CONDA_VERSION",
-    __version__,
-    addendum="Use `conda.__version__` instead.",
-)
diff --git a/conda_build/config.py b/conda_build/config.py
index 09ce6b0718..8e444c1a42 100644
--- a/conda_build/config.py
+++ b/conda_build/config.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 from conda.base.context import context
 from conda.utils import url_path
 
-from .deprecations import deprecated
 from .utils import (
     get_build_folders,
     get_conda_operation_locks,
@@ -54,7 +53,6 @@ def set_invocation_time():
 _src_cache_root_default = None
 error_overlinking_default = "false"
 error_overdepending_default = "false"
-deprecated.constant("24.5", "24.7", "noarch_python_build_age_default", 0)
 enable_static_default = "false"
 no_rewrite_stdout_env_default = "false"
 ignore_verify_codes_default = []
@@ -777,15 +775,6 @@ def test_dir(self):
     def subdirs_same(self):
         return self.host_subdir == self.build_subdir
 
-    @property
-    @deprecated(
-        "24.5",
-        "24.7",
-        addendum="Use `conda.base.context.context.override_channels` instead.",
-    )
-    def override_channels(self):
-        return context.override_channels
-
     def clean(self, remove_folders=True):
         # build folder is the whole burrito containing envs and source folders
         #   It will only exist if we download source, or create a build or test environment
diff --git a/conda_build/create_test.py b/conda_build/create_test.py
index 1a8a0f1c34..441fe4a17c 100644
--- a/conda_build/create_test.py
+++ b/conda_build/create_test.py
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ def _create_test_files(
                 fo.write(
                     f"{comment_char} tests for {m.dist()} (this is a generated file);\n"
                 )
-                fo.write("print('===== testing package: %s =====');\n" % m.dist())
+                fo.write(f"print('===== testing package: {m.dist()} =====');\n")
 
                 try:
                     with open(test_file) as fi:
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ def _create_test_files(
                     fo.write(
                         "# tests were not packaged with this module, and cannot be run\n"
                     )
-                fo.write("\nprint('===== %s OK =====');\n" % m.dist())
+                fo.write(f"\nprint('===== {m.dist()} OK =====');\n")
     return (
         out_file,
         bool(name) and isfile(out_file) and basename(test_file) != "no-file",
@@ -175,8 +175,8 @@ def create_py_files(m: MetaData, test_dir: os.PathLike) -> bool:
     if imports:
         with open(tf, "a") as fo:
             for name in imports:
-                fo.write('print("import: %r")\n' % name)
-                fo.write("import %s\n" % name)
+                fo.write(f'print("import: {name!r}")\n')
+                fo.write(f"import {name}\n")
                 fo.write("\n")
     return tf if (tf_exists or imports) else False
 
@@ -202,8 +202,8 @@ def create_r_files(m: MetaData, test_dir: os.PathLike) -> bool:
     if imports:
         with open(tf, "a") as fo:
             for name in imports:
-                fo.write('print("library(%r)")\n' % name)
-                fo.write("library(%s)\n" % name)
+                fo.write(f'print("library({name!r})")\n')
+                fo.write(f"library({name})\n")
                 fo.write("\n")
     return tf if (tf_exists or imports) else False
 
@@ -225,11 +225,13 @@ def create_pl_files(m: MetaData, test_dir: os.PathLike) -> bool:
                 break
     if tf_exists or imports:
         with open(tf, "a") as fo:
-            print(r'my $expected_version = "%s";' % m.version().rstrip("0"), file=fo)
+            print(
+                r'my $expected_version = "{}";'.format(m.version().rstrip("0")), file=fo
+            )
             if imports:
                 for name in imports:
-                    print(r'print("import: %s\n");' % name, file=fo)
-                    print("use %s;\n" % name, file=fo)
+                    print(rf'print("import: {name}\n");', file=fo)
+                    print(f"use {name};\n", file=fo)
                     # Don't try to print version for complex imports
                     if " " not in name:
                         print(
@@ -264,8 +266,8 @@ def create_lua_files(m: MetaData, test_dir: os.PathLike) -> bool:
     if imports:
         with open(tf, "a+") as fo:
             for name in imports:
-                print(r'print("require \"%s\"\n");' % name, file=fo)
-                print('require "%s"\n' % name, file=fo)
+                print(rf'print("require \"{name}\"\n");', file=fo)
+                print(f'require "{name}"\n', file=fo)
     return tf if (tf_exists or imports) else False
 
 
diff --git a/conda_build/develop.py b/conda_build/develop.py
index 59b31a3231..d0e3d59fd6 100644
--- a/conda_build/develop.py
+++ b/conda_build/develop.py
@@ -137,12 +137,11 @@ def execute(
 ) -> None:
     if not isdir(prefix):
         sys.exit(
-            """\
-Error: environment does not exist: %s
+            f"""\
+Error: environment does not exist: {prefix}
 #
 # Use 'conda create' to create the environment first.
 #"""
-            % prefix
         )
 
     assert find_executable("python", prefix=prefix)
diff --git a/conda_build/environ.py b/conda_build/environ.py
index 5aae94e682..7a3a7ca8cb 100644
--- a/conda_build/environ.py
+++ b/conda_build/environ.py
@@ -536,8 +536,7 @@ def meta_vars(meta: MetaData, skip_build_id=False):
             value = os.getenv(var_name)
         if value is None:
             warnings.warn(
-                "The environment variable '%s' specified in script_env is undefined."
-                % var_name,
+                f"The environment variable '{var_name}' specified in script_env is undefined.",
                 UserWarning,
             )
         else:
@@ -855,7 +854,7 @@ def get_install_actions(
         capture = utils.capture
     for feature, value in feature_list:
         if value:
-            specs.append("%s@" % feature)
+            specs.append(f"{feature}@")
 
     bldpkgs_dirs = ensure_list(bldpkgs_dirs)
 
@@ -961,7 +960,7 @@ def get_install_actions(
                 # specs are the raw specifications, not the conda-derived actual specs
                 #   We're testing that pip etc. are manually specified
                 if not any(
-                    re.match(r"^%s(?:$|[\s=].*)" % pkg, str(dep)) for dep in specs
+                    re.match(rf"^{pkg}(?:$|[\s=].*)", str(dep)) for dep in specs
                 ):
                     precs = [prec for prec in precs if prec.name != pkg]
         cached_precs[(specs, env, subdir, channel_urls, disable_pip)] = precs.copy()
@@ -1341,7 +1340,7 @@ def _display_actions(prefix, precs):
 
     builder = ["", "## Package Plan ##\n"]
     if prefix:
-        builder.append("  environment location: %s" % prefix)
+        builder.append(f"  environment location: {prefix}")
         builder.append("")
     print("\n".join(builder))
 
@@ -1385,9 +1384,9 @@ def channel_filt(s):
             # string with new-style string formatting.
             fmt[pkg] = f"{{pkg:<{maxpkg}}} {{vers:<{maxver}}}"
             if maxchannels:
-                fmt[pkg] += " {channel:<%s}" % maxchannels
+                fmt[pkg] += f" {{channel:<{maxchannels}}}"
             if features[pkg]:
-                fmt[pkg] += " [{features:<%s}]" % maxfeatures
+                fmt[pkg] += f" [{{features:<{maxfeatures}}}]"
 
     lead = " " * 4
 
diff --git a/conda_build/exceptions.py b/conda_build/exceptions.py
index f38706786a..8aa10149d9 100644
--- a/conda_build/exceptions.py
+++ b/conda_build/exceptions.py
@@ -2,12 +2,14 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 import textwrap
 
+from conda import CondaError
+
 SEPARATOR = "-" * 70
 
 indent = lambda s: textwrap.fill(textwrap.dedent(s))
 
 
-class CondaBuildException(Exception):
+class CondaBuildException(CondaError):
     pass
 
 
@@ -107,22 +109,26 @@ class BuildLockError(CondaBuildException):
     """Raised when we failed to acquire a lock."""
 
 
-class OverLinkingError(RuntimeError):
+class OverLinkingError(RuntimeError, CondaBuildException):
     def __init__(self, error, *args):
         self.error = error
-        self.msg = "overlinking check failed \n%s" % (error)
+        self.msg = f"overlinking check failed \n{error}"
         super().__init__(self.msg)
 
 
-class OverDependingError(RuntimeError):
+class OverDependingError(RuntimeError, CondaBuildException):
     def __init__(self, error, *args):
         self.error = error
-        self.msg = "overdepending check failed \n%s" % (error)
+        self.msg = f"overdepending check failed \n{error}"
         super().__init__(self.msg)
 
 
-class RunPathError(RuntimeError):
+class RunPathError(RuntimeError, CondaBuildException):
     def __init__(self, error, *args):
         self.error = error
-        self.msg = "runpaths check failed \n%s" % (error)
+        self.msg = f"runpaths check failed \n{error}"
         super().__init__(self.msg)
+
+
+class BuildScriptException(CondaBuildException):
+    pass
diff --git a/conda_build/gui-32.exe b/conda_build/gui-32.exe
index bee7e543c4..289c77ca9c 100755
Binary files a/conda_build/gui-32.exe and b/conda_build/gui-32.exe differ
diff --git a/conda_build/gui-64.exe b/conda_build/gui-64.exe
index 366a721736..c6cdccd2c5 100755
Binary files a/conda_build/gui-64.exe and b/conda_build/gui-64.exe differ
diff --git a/conda_build/index.py b/conda_build/index.py
index 3a2f9ab10b..fc72a3fd0d 100644
--- a/conda_build/index.py
+++ b/conda_build/index.py
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 # Copyright (C) 2014 Anaconda, Inc
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
-import json
 import logging
 import os
-import time
 from functools import partial
 from os.path import dirname
 
@@ -14,9 +12,7 @@
 from conda_index.index import update_index as _update_index
 
 from . import utils
-from .deprecations import deprecated
 from .utils import (
-    JSONDecodeError,
     get_logger,
 )
 
@@ -28,8 +24,6 @@
 local_subdir = ""
 local_output_folder = ""
 cached_channels = []
-_channel_data = {}
-deprecated.constant("24.1", "24.7", "channel_data", _channel_data)
 
 # TODO: this is to make sure that the index doesn't leak tokens.  It breaks use of private channels, though.
 # os.environ['CONDA_ADD_ANACONDA_TOKEN'] = "false"
@@ -56,7 +50,6 @@ def get_build_index(
     global local_output_folder
     global cached_index
     global cached_channels
-    global _channel_data
     mtime = 0
 
     channel_urls = list(utils.ensure_list(channel_urls))
@@ -131,55 +124,11 @@ def get_build_index(
                     platform=subdir,
                 )
 
-            expanded_channels = {rec.channel for rec in cached_index}
-
-            superchannel = {}
-            # we need channeldata.json too, as it is a more reliable source of run_exports data
-            for channel in expanded_channels:
-                if channel.scheme == "file":
-                    location = channel.location
-                    if utils.on_win:
-                        location = location.lstrip("/")
-                    elif not os.path.isabs(channel.location) and os.path.exists(
-                        os.path.join(os.path.sep, channel.location)
-                    ):
-                        location = os.path.join(os.path.sep, channel.location)
-                    channeldata_file = os.path.join(
-                        location, channel.name, "channeldata.json"
-                    )
-                    retry = 0
-                    max_retries = 1
-                    if os.path.isfile(channeldata_file):
-                        while retry < max_retries:
-                            try:
-                                with open(channeldata_file, "r+") as f:
-                                    _channel_data[channel.name] = json.load(f)
-                                break
-                            except (OSError, JSONDecodeError):
-                                time.sleep(0.2)
-                                retry += 1
-                else:
-                    # download channeldata.json for url
-                    if not context.offline:
-                        try:
-                            _channel_data[channel.name] = utils.download_channeldata(
-                                channel.base_url + "/channeldata.json"
-                            )
-                        except CondaHTTPError:
-                            continue
-                # collapse defaults metachannel back into one superchannel, merging channeldata
-                if channel.base_url in context.default_channels and _channel_data.get(
-                    channel.name
-                ):
-                    packages = superchannel.get("packages", {})
-                    packages.update(_channel_data[channel.name])
-                    superchannel["packages"] = packages
-            _channel_data["defaults"] = superchannel
         local_index_timestamp = os.path.getmtime(index_file)
         local_subdir = subdir
         local_output_folder = output_folder
         cached_channels = channel_urls
-    return cached_index, local_index_timestamp, _channel_data
+    return cached_index, local_index_timestamp, None
 
 
 def _ensure_valid_channel(local_folder, subdir):
diff --git a/conda_build/inspect_pkg.py b/conda_build/inspect_pkg.py
index 19c0db7ca3..43fc401551 100644
--- a/conda_build/inspect_pkg.py
+++ b/conda_build/inspect_pkg.py
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ def print_linkages(
             else sort_order.get(key[0], (4, key[0]))
         ),
     ):
-        output_string += "%s:\n" % prec
+        output_string += f"{prec}:\n"
         if show_files:
             for lib, path, binary in sorted(links):
                 output_string += f"    {lib} ({path}) from {binary}\n"
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ def inspect_linkages(
             output_string += print_linkages(inverted_map[dep], show_files=show_files)
 
     else:
-        raise ValueError("Unrecognized groupby: %s" % groupby)
+        raise ValueError(f"Unrecognized groupby: {groupby}")
     if hasattr(output_string, "decode"):
         output_string = output_string.decode("utf-8")
     return output_string
diff --git a/conda_build/license_family.py b/conda_build/license_family.py
index 976cc1b33a..ab101274ae 100644
--- a/conda_build/license_family.py
+++ b/conda_build/license_family.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 gpl3_regex = re.compile("GPL[^2]*3")  # match GPL3
 gpl23_regex = re.compile("GPL[^2]*>= *2")  # match GPL >= 2
 cc_regex = re.compile(r"CC\w+")  # match CC
-punk_regex = re.compile("[%s]" % re.escape(string.punctuation))  # removes punks
+punk_regex = re.compile(f"[{re.escape(string.punctuation)}]")  # removes punks
 
 
 def match_gpl3(family):
diff --git a/conda_build/metadata.py b/conda_build/metadata.py
index 6fd065e0b2..1c51246264 100644
--- a/conda_build/metadata.py
+++ b/conda_build/metadata.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 
 from . import exceptions, utils
 from .config import Config, get_or_merge_config
+from .deprecations import deprecated
 from .features import feature_list
 from .license_family import ensure_valid_license_family
 from .utils import (
@@ -45,7 +46,10 @@
 )
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from typing import Any, Literal
+    from typing import Any, Literal, Self
+
+    OutputDict = dict[str, Any]
+    OutputTuple = tuple[OutputDict, "MetaData"]
 
 try:
     import yaml
@@ -397,7 +401,7 @@ def ensure_valid_noarch_value(meta):
     build_noarch = meta.get("build", {}).get("noarch")
     if build_noarch and build_noarch not in NOARCH_TYPES:
         raise exceptions.CondaBuildException(
-            "Invalid value for noarch: %s" % build_noarch
+            f"Invalid value for noarch: {build_noarch}"
         )
 
 
@@ -408,7 +412,17 @@ def _get_all_dependencies(metadata, envs=("host", "build", "run")):
     return reqs
 
 
-def check_circular_dependencies(render_order, config=None):
+@deprecated(
+    "24.5.1",
+    "24.7.0",
+    addendum="Use `conda_build.metadata._check_circular_dependencies` instead.",
+)
+def check_circular_dependencies(
+    render_order: dict[dict[str, Any], MetaData],
+    config: Config | None = None,
+):
+    # deprecated since the input type (render_order) changed
+    envs: tuple[str, ...]
     if config and config.host_subdir != config.build_subdir:
         # When cross compiling build dependencies are already built
         # and cannot come from the recipe as subpackages
@@ -433,6 +447,39 @@ def check_circular_dependencies(render_order, config=None):
         raise exceptions.RecipeError(error)
 
 
+def _check_circular_dependencies(
+    render_order: list[OutputTuple],
+    config: Config | None = None,
+) -> None:
+    envs: tuple[str, ...]
+    if config and config.host_subdir != config.build_subdir:
+        # When cross compiling build dependencies are already built
+        # and cannot come from the recipe as subpackages
+        envs = ("host", "run")
+    else:
+        envs = ("build", "host", "run")
+
+    pairs: list[tuple[str, str]] = []
+    for idx, (_, metadata) in enumerate(render_order):
+        name = metadata.name()
+        for _, other_metadata in render_order[idx + 1 :]:
+            other_name = other_metadata.name()
+            if any(
+                name == dep.split(" ")[0]
+                for dep in _get_all_dependencies(other_metadata, envs=envs)
+            ) and any(
+                other_name == dep.split(" ")[0]
+                for dep in _get_all_dependencies(metadata, envs=envs)
+            ):
+                pairs.append((name, other_name))
+
+    if pairs:
+        error = "Circular dependencies in recipe: \n"
+        for pair in pairs:
+            error += "    {} <-> {}\n".format(*pair)
+        raise exceptions.RecipeError(error)
+
+
 def _variants_equal(metadata, output_metadata):
     match = True
     for key, val in metadata.config.variant.items():
@@ -828,7 +875,7 @@ def _get_env_path(env_name_or_path):
                 break
     bootstrap_metadir = os.path.join(env_name_or_path, "conda-meta")
     if not os.path.isdir(bootstrap_metadir):
-        print("Bootstrap environment '%s' not found" % env_name_or_path)
+        print(f"Bootstrap environment '{env_name_or_path}' not found")
         sys.exit(1)
     return env_name_or_path
 
@@ -846,14 +893,13 @@ def _get_dependencies_from_environment(env_name_or_path):
     return {"requirements": {"build": bootstrap_requirements}}
 
 
-def toposort(output_metadata_map):
-    """This function is used to work out the order to run the install scripts
-    for split packages based on any interdependencies. The result is just
-    a re-ordering of outputs such that we can run them in that order and
-    reset the initial set of files in the install prefix after each. This
-    will naturally lead to non-overlapping files in each package and also
-    the correct files being present during the install and test procedures,
-    provided they are run in this order."""
+@deprecated(
+    "24.5.1",
+    "24.7.0",
+    addendum="Use `conda_build.metadata.toposort_outputs` instead.",
+)
+def toposort(output_metadata_map: dict[OutputDict, MetaData]):
+    # deprecated since input type (output_metadata_map) and output changed
     from conda.common.toposort import _toposort
 
     # We only care about the conda packages built by this recipe. Non-conda
@@ -863,9 +909,9 @@ def toposort(output_metadata_map):
         for output_d in output_metadata_map
         if output_d.get("type", "conda").startswith("conda")
     ]
-    topodict = dict()
-    order = dict()
-    endorder = set()
+    topodict: dict[str, set[str]] = dict()
+    order: dict[str, int] = dict()
+    endorder: set[int] = set()
 
     for idx, (output_d, output_m) in enumerate(output_metadata_map.items()):
         if output_d.get("type", "conda").startswith("conda"):
@@ -907,6 +953,63 @@ def toposort(output_metadata_map):
     return result
 
 
+def _toposort_outputs(output_tuples: list[OutputTuple]) -> list[OutputTuple]:
+    """This function is used to work out the order to run the install scripts
+    for split packages based on any interdependencies. The result is just
+    a re-ordering of outputs such that we can run them in that order and
+    reset the initial set of files in the install prefix after each. This
+    will naturally lead to non-overlapping files in each package and also
+    the correct files being present during the install and test procedures,
+    provided they are run in this order."""
+    from conda.common.toposort import _toposort
+
+    # We only care about the conda packages built by this recipe. Non-conda
+    # packages get sorted to the end.
+    conda_outputs: dict[str, list[OutputTuple]] = {}
+    non_conda_outputs: list[OutputTuple] = []
+    for output_tuple in output_tuples:
+        output_d, _ = output_tuple
+        if output_d.get("type", "conda").startswith("conda"):
+            # conda packages must have a name
+            # the same package name may be seen multiple times (variants)
+            conda_outputs.setdefault(output_d["name"], []).append(output_tuple)
+        elif "name" in output_d:
+            non_conda_outputs.append(output_tuple)
+        else:
+            # TODO: is it even possible to get here? and if so should we silently ignore or error?
+            utils.get_logger(__name__).warn("Found an output without a name, skipping")
+
+    # Iterate over conda packages, creating a mapping of package names to their
+    # dependencies to be used in toposort
+    name_to_dependencies: dict[str, set[str]] = {}
+    for name, same_name_outputs in conda_outputs.items():
+        for output_d, output_metadata in same_name_outputs:
+            # dependencies for all of the variants
+            dependencies = (
+                *output_metadata.get_value("requirements/run", []),
+                *output_metadata.get_value("requirements/host", []),
+                *(
+                    output_metadata.get_value("requirements/build", [])
+                    if not output_metadata.is_cross
+                    else []
+                ),
+            )
+            name_to_dependencies.setdefault(name, set()).update(
+                dependency_name
+                for dependency in dependencies
+                if (dependency_name := dependency.split(" ")[0]) in conda_outputs
+            )
+
+    return [
+        *(
+            output
+            for name in _toposort(name_to_dependencies)
+            for output in conda_outputs[name]
+        ),
+        *non_conda_outputs,
+    ]
+
+
 def get_output_dicts_from_metadata(
     metadata: MetaData,
     outputs: list[dict[str, Any]] | None = None,
@@ -1478,7 +1581,7 @@ def check_field(key, section):
             if section == "extra":
                 continue
             if section not in FIELDS:
-                raise ValueError("unknown section: %s" % section)
+                raise ValueError(f"unknown section: {section}")
             for key_or_dict in submeta:
                 if section in OPTIONALLY_ITERABLE_FIELDS and isinstance(
                     key_or_dict, dict
@@ -1492,17 +1595,17 @@ def check_field(key, section):
     def name(self) -> str:
         name = self.get_value("package/name", "")
         if not name and self.final:
-            sys.exit("Error: package/name missing in: %r" % self.meta_path)
+            sys.exit(f"Error: package/name missing in: {self.meta_path!r}")
         name = str(name)
         if name != name.lower():
-            sys.exit("Error: package/name must be lowercase, got: %r" % name)
+            sys.exit(f"Error: package/name must be lowercase, got: {name!r}")
         check_bad_chrs(name, "package/name")
         return name
 
     def version(self) -> str:
         version = self.get_value("package/version", "")
         if not version and not self.get_section("outputs") and self.final:
-            sys.exit("Error: package/version missing in: %r" % self.meta_path)
+            sys.exit(f"Error: package/version missing in: {self.meta_path!r}")
         version = str(version)
         check_bad_chrs(version, "package/version")
         if self.final and version.startswith("."):
@@ -1571,7 +1674,7 @@ def ms_depends(self, typ="run"):
             try:
                 ms = MatchSpec(spec)
             except AssertionError:
-                raise RuntimeError("Invalid package specification: %r" % spec)
+                raise RuntimeError(f"Invalid package specification: {spec!r}")
             except (AttributeError, ValueError) as e:
                 raise RuntimeError(
                     "Received dictionary as spec.  Note that pip requirements are "
@@ -1580,7 +1683,7 @@ def ms_depends(self, typ="run"):
             if ms.name == self.name() and not (
                 typ == "build" and self.config.host_subdir != self.config.build_subdir
             ):
-                raise RuntimeError("%s cannot depend on itself" % self.name())
+                raise RuntimeError(f"{self.name()} cannot depend on itself")
             for name, ver in name_ver_list:
                 if ms.name == name:
                     if self.noarch:
@@ -1708,7 +1811,7 @@ def build_id(self):
             out = build_string_from_metadata(self)
             if self.config.filename_hashing and self.final:
                 hash_ = self.hash_dependencies()
-                if not re.findall("h[0-9a-f]{%s}" % self.config.hash_length, out):
+                if not re.findall(f"h[0-9a-f]{{{self.config.hash_length}}}", out):
                     ret = out.rsplit("_", 1)
                     try:
                         int(ret[0])
@@ -1718,14 +1821,14 @@ def build_id(self):
                     if len(ret) > 1:
                         out = "_".join([out] + ret[1:])
                 else:
-                    out = re.sub("h[0-9a-f]{%s}" % self.config.hash_length, hash_, out)
+                    out = re.sub(f"h[0-9a-f]{{{self.config.hash_length}}}", hash_, out)
         return out
 
     def dist(self):
         return f"{self.name()}-{self.version()}-{self.build_id()}"
 
     def pkg_fn(self):
-        return "%s.tar.bz2" % self.dist()
+        return f"{self.dist()}.tar.bz2"
 
     def is_app(self):
         return bool(self.get_value("app/entry"))
@@ -1733,8 +1836,8 @@ def is_app(self):
     def app_meta(self):
         d = {"type": "app"}
         if self.get_value("app/icon"):
-            d["icon"] = "%s.png" % compute_sum(
-                join(self.path, self.get_value("app/icon")), "md5"
+            d["icon"] = "{}.png".format(
+                compute_sum(join(self.path, self.get_value("app/icon")), "md5")
             )
 
         for field, key in [
@@ -2268,7 +2371,7 @@ def validate_features(self):
                 "character in your recipe."
             )
 
-    def copy(self):
+    def copy(self: Self) -> MetaData:
         new = copy.copy(self)
         new.config = self.config.copy()
         new.config.variant = copy.deepcopy(self.config.variant)
@@ -2319,7 +2422,7 @@ def variant_in_source(self):
             # constrain the stored variants to only this version in the output
             #     variant mapping
             if re.search(
-                r"\s*\{\{\s*%s\s*(?:.*?)?\}\}" % key, self.extract_source_text()
+                rf"\s*\{{\{{\s*{key}\s*(?:.*?)?\}}\}}", self.extract_source_text()
             ):
                 return True
         return False
@@ -2520,10 +2623,10 @@ def get_output_metadata_set(
         permit_undefined_jinja: bool = False,
         permit_unsatisfiable_variants: bool = False,
         bypass_env_check: bool = False,
-    ) -> list[tuple[dict[str, Any], MetaData]]:
+    ) -> list[OutputTuple]:
         from .source import provide
 
-        out_metadata_map = {}
+        output_tuples: list[OutputTuple] = []
         if self.final:
             outputs = get_output_dicts_from_metadata(self)
             output_tuples = [(outputs[0], self)]
@@ -2579,27 +2682,26 @@ def get_output_metadata_set(
                                 }
                             ),
                         ] = (out, out_metadata)
-                        out_metadata_map[deepfreeze(out)] = out_metadata
+                        output_tuples.append((out, out_metadata))
                         ref_metadata.other_outputs = out_metadata.other_outputs = (
                             all_output_metadata
                         )
                 except SystemExit:
                     if not permit_undefined_jinja:
                         raise
-                    out_metadata_map = {}
+                    output_tuples = []
 
-            assert out_metadata_map, (
+            assert output_tuples, (
                 "Error: output metadata set is empty.  Please file an issue"
                 " on the conda-build tracker at https://github.com/conda/conda-build/issues"
             )
 
-            # format here is {output_dict: metadata_object}
-            render_order = toposort(out_metadata_map)
-            check_circular_dependencies(render_order, config=self.config)
+            render_order: list[OutputTuple] = _toposort_outputs(output_tuples)
+            _check_circular_dependencies(render_order, config=self.config)
             conda_packages = OrderedDict()
             non_conda_packages = []
 
-            for output_d, m in render_order.items():
+            for output_d, m in render_order:
                 if not output_d.get("type") or output_d["type"] in (
                     "conda",
                     "conda_v2",
diff --git a/conda_build/noarch_python.py b/conda_build/noarch_python.py
index fb81565b3d..1e80fcd2e4 100644
--- a/conda_build/noarch_python.py
+++ b/conda_build/noarch_python.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def rewrite_script(fn, prefix):
         try:
             data = fi.read()
         except UnicodeDecodeError:  # file is binary
-            sys.exit("[noarch_python] Noarch package contains binary script: %s" % fn)
+            sys.exit(f"[noarch_python] Noarch package contains binary script: {fn}")
     src_mode = os.stat(src).st_mode
     os.unlink(src)
 
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ def handle_file(f, d, prefix):
     else:
         # this should be the built-in logging module, not conda-build's stuff, because this file is standalone.
         log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
-        log.debug("Don't know how to handle file: %s.  Including it as-is." % f)
+        log.debug(f"Don't know how to handle file: {f}.  Including it as-is.")
 
 
 def populate_files(m, files, prefix, entry_point_scripts=None):
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ def transform(m, files, prefix):
 
     # Create *nix prelink script
     # Note: it's important to use LF newlines or it wont work if we build on Win
-    with open(join(bin_dir, ".%s-pre-link.sh" % name), "wb") as fo:
+    with open(join(bin_dir, f".{name}-pre-link.sh"), "wb") as fo:
         fo.write(
             b"""\
     #!/bin/bash
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ def transform(m, files, prefix):
         )
 
     # Create windows prelink script (be nice and use Windows newlines)
-    with open(join(scripts_dir, ".%s-pre-link.bat" % name), "wb") as fo:
+    with open(join(scripts_dir, f".{name}-pre-link.bat"), "wb") as fo:
         fo.write(
             """\
     @echo off
diff --git a/conda_build/os_utils/ldd.py b/conda_build/os_utils/ldd.py
index b2de763074..84e80b8e90 100644
--- a/conda_build/os_utils/ldd.py
+++ b/conda_build/os_utils/ldd.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ def ldd(path):
             continue
         if "ld-linux" in line:
             continue
-        raise RuntimeError("Unexpected output from ldd: %s" % line)
+        raise RuntimeError(f"Unexpected output from ldd: {line}")
 
     return res
 
diff --git a/conda_build/os_utils/liefldd.py b/conda_build/os_utils/liefldd.py
index d02cd2bd30..3823ce4a9d 100644
--- a/conda_build/os_utils/liefldd.py
+++ b/conda_build/os_utils/liefldd.py
@@ -353,12 +353,12 @@ def _get_path_dirs(prefix):
     yield "/".join((prefix, "bin"))
 
 
-def get_uniqueness_key(file):
+def get_uniqueness_key(filename, file):
     binary = ensure_binary(file)
     if not binary:
         return EXE_FORMATS.UNKNOWN
     elif binary.format == EXE_FORMATS.MACHO:
-        return str(file)
+        return filename
     elif binary.format == EXE_FORMATS.ELF and (  # noqa
         binary.type == lief.ELF.ELF_CLASS.CLASS32
         or binary.type == lief.ELF.ELF_CLASS.CLASS64
@@ -369,8 +369,8 @@ def get_uniqueness_key(file):
         ]
         if result:
             return result[0]
-        return str(file)
-    return str(file)
+        return filename
+    return filename
 
 
 def _get_resolved_location(
@@ -505,13 +505,13 @@ def inspect_linkages_lief(
         for element in todo:
             todo.pop(0)
             filename2 = element[0]
-            binary = element[1]
-            if not binary:
+            binary2 = element[1]
+            if not binary2:
                 continue
-            uniqueness_key = get_uniqueness_key(binary)
+            uniqueness_key = get_uniqueness_key(filename2, binary2)
             if uniqueness_key not in already_seen:
                 parent_exe_dirname = None
-                if binary.format == EXE_FORMATS.PE:
+                if binary2.format == EXE_FORMATS.PE:
                     tmp_filename = filename2
                     while tmp_filename:
                         if (
@@ -527,17 +527,17 @@ def inspect_linkages_lief(
                 if ".pyd" in filename2 or (os.sep + "DLLs" + os.sep) in filename2:
                     parent_exe_dirname = envroot.replace(os.sep, "/") + "/DLLs"
                 rpaths_by_binary[filename2] = get_rpaths(
-                    binary, parent_exe_dirname, envroot.replace(os.sep, "/"), sysroot
+                    binary2, parent_exe_dirname, envroot.replace(os.sep, "/"), sysroot
                 )
                 tmp_filename = filename2
                 rpaths_transitive = []
-                if binary.format == EXE_FORMATS.PE:
+                if binary2.format == EXE_FORMATS.PE:
                     rpaths_transitive = rpaths_by_binary[tmp_filename]
                 else:
                     while tmp_filename:
                         rpaths_transitive[:0] = rpaths_by_binary[tmp_filename]
                         tmp_filename = parents_by_filename[tmp_filename]
-                libraries = get_libraries(binary)
+                libraries = get_libraries(binary2)
                 if filename2 in libraries:  # Happens on macOS, leading to cycles.
                     libraries.remove(filename2)
                 # RPATH is implicit everywhere except macOS, make it explicit to simplify things.
@@ -546,14 +546,14 @@ def inspect_linkages_lief(
                         "$RPATH/" + lib
                         if not lib.startswith("/")
                         and not lib.startswith("$")
-                        and binary.format != EXE_FORMATS.MACHO  # noqa
+                        and binary2.format != EXE_FORMATS.MACHO  # noqa
                         else lib
                     )
                     for lib in libraries
                 ]
                 for lib, orig in zip(libraries, these_orig):
                     resolved = _get_resolved_location(
-                        binary,
+                        binary2,
                         orig,
                         exedir,
                         exedir,
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ def inspect_linkages_lief(
                     # can be run case-sensitively if the user wishes.
                     #
                     """
-                    if binary.format == EXE_FORMATS.PE:
+                    if binary2.format == EXE_FORMATS.PE:
                         import random
                         path_fixed = (
                             os.path.dirname(path_fixed)
@@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ def inspect_linkages_lief(
                     if recurse:
                         if os.path.exists(resolved[0]):
                             todo.append([resolved[0], lief.parse(resolved[0])])
-                already_seen.add(get_uniqueness_key(binary))
+                already_seen.add(uniqueness_key)
     return results
 
 
@@ -1125,9 +1125,9 @@ def get_symbols(file, defined=True, undefined=True, notexported=False, arch="nat
         )
         if binary.__class__ != lief.MachO.Binary:
             if isinstance(s, str):
-                s_name = "%s" % s
+                s_name = f"{s}"
             else:
-                s_name = "%s" % s.name
+                s_name = f"{s.name}"
                 if s.exported and s.imported:
                     print(f"Weird, symbol {s.name} is both imported and exported")
                 if s.exported:
@@ -1136,16 +1136,16 @@ def get_symbols(file, defined=True, undefined=True, notexported=False, arch="nat
                 elif s.imported:
                     is_undefined = False
         else:
-            s_name = "%s" % s.name
+            s_name = f"{s.name}"
             is_notexported = False if s.type & 1 else True
 
         # print("{:32s} : s.type 0b{:020b}, s.value 0b{:020b}".format(s.name, s.type, s.value))
         # print("s.value 0b{:020b} :: s.type 0b{:020b}, {:32s}".format(s.value, s.type, s.name))
         if notexported is True or is_notexported is False:
             if is_undefined and undefined:
-                res.append("%s" % s_name)
+                res.append(f"{s_name}")
             elif not is_undefined and defined:
-                res.append("%s" % s_name)
+                res.append(f"{s_name}")
     return res
 
 
diff --git a/conda_build/os_utils/macho.py b/conda_build/os_utils/macho.py
index 516df7a0a6..17fc5d5a13 100644
--- a/conda_build/os_utils/macho.py
+++ b/conda_build/os_utils/macho.py
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ def add_rpath(path, rpath, build_prefix=None, verbose=False):
     args = ["-add_rpath", rpath, path]
     code, _, stderr = install_name_tool(args, build_prefix)
     if "Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file" in stderr:
-        print("Skipping Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file %s\n" % path)
+        print(f"Skipping Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file {path}\n")
         return
     elif "would duplicate path, file already has LC_RPATH for:" in stderr:
         print("Skipping -add_rpath, file already has LC_RPATH set")
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ def delete_rpath(path, rpath, build_prefix=None, verbose=False):
     args = ["-delete_rpath", rpath, path]
     code, _, stderr = install_name_tool(args, build_prefix)
     if "Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file" in stderr:
-        print("Skipping Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file %s\n" % path)
+        print(f"Skipping Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file {path}\n")
         return
     elif "no LC_RPATH load command with path:" in stderr:
         print("Skipping -delete_rpath, file doesn't contain that LC_RPATH")
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ def install_name_change(path, build_prefix, cb_func, dylibs, verbose=False):
             args.extend(("-change", dylibs[index]["name"], new_name, path))
         code, _, stderr = install_name_tool(args, build_prefix)
         if "Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file" in stderr:
-            print("Skipping Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file %s" % path)
+            print(f"Skipping Mach-O dynamic shared library stub file {path}")
             ret = False
             continue
         else:
diff --git a/conda_build/post.py b/conda_build/post.py
index 30a4057a30..67c6a355a7 100644
--- a/conda_build/post.py
+++ b/conda_build/post.py
@@ -150,11 +150,11 @@ def write_pth(egg_path, config):
     with open(
         join(
             utils.get_site_packages(config.host_prefix, py_ver),
-            "%s.pth" % (fn.split("-")[0]),
+            "{}.pth".format(fn.split("-")[0]),
         ),
         "w",
     ) as fo:
-        fo.write("./%s\n" % fn)
+        fo.write(f"./{fn}\n")
 
 
 def remove_easy_install_pth(files, prefix, config, preserve_egg_dir=False):
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ def find_lib(link, prefix, files, path=None):
     if link.startswith(prefix):
         link = normpath(link[len(prefix) + 1 :])
         if not any(link == normpath(w) for w in files):
-            sys.exit("Error: Could not find %s" % link)
+            sys.exit(f"Error: Could not find {link}")
         return link
     if link.startswith("/"):  # but doesn't start with the build prefix
         return
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ def find_lib(link, prefix, files, path=None):
         for f in files:
             file_names[basename(f)].append(f)
         if link not in file_names:
-            sys.exit("Error: Could not find %s" % link)
+            sys.exit(f"Error: Could not find {link}")
         if len(file_names[link]) > 1:
             if path and basename(path) == link:
                 # The link is for the file itself, just use it
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ def find_lib(link, prefix, files, path=None):
                     "Choosing the first one."
                 )
         return file_names[link][0]
-    print("Don't know how to find %s, skipping" % link)
+    print(f"Don't know how to find {link}, skipping")
 
 
 def osx_ch_link(path, link_dict, host_prefix, build_prefix, files):
@@ -417,8 +417,7 @@ def osx_ch_link(path, link_dict, host_prefix, build_prefix, files):
         )
         if not codefile_class(link, skip_symlinks=True):
             sys.exit(
-                "Error: Compiler runtime library in build prefix not found in host prefix %s"
-                % link
+                f"Error: Compiler runtime library in build prefix not found in host prefix {link}"
             )
         else:
             print(f".. fixing linking of {link} in {path} instead")
@@ -429,7 +428,7 @@ def osx_ch_link(path, link_dict, host_prefix, build_prefix, files):
         return
 
     print(f"Fixing linking of {link} in {path}")
-    print("New link location is %s" % (link_loc))
+    print(f"New link location is {link_loc}")
 
     lib_to_link = relpath(dirname(link_loc), "lib")
     # path_to_lib = utils.relative(path[len(prefix) + 1:])
@@ -647,7 +646,7 @@ def assert_relative_osx(path, host_prefix, build_prefix):
         for prefix in (host_prefix, build_prefix):
             if prefix and name.startswith(prefix):
                 raise RuntimeError(
-                    "library at %s appears to have an absolute path embedded" % path
+                    f"library at {path} appears to have an absolute path embedded"
                 )
 
 
@@ -1770,7 +1769,7 @@ def check_symlinks(files, prefix, croot):
 
     if msgs:
         for msg in msgs:
-            print("Error: %s" % msg, file=sys.stderr)
+            print(f"Error: {msg}", file=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)
 
 
diff --git a/conda_build/render.py b/conda_build/render.py
index b021f8a5b6..cc3bcd87c0 100644
--- a/conda_build/render.py
+++ b/conda_build/render.py
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def _categorize_deps(m, specs, exclude_pattern, variant):
                 # for sake of comparison, ignore dashes and underscores
                 if dash_or_under.sub("", key) == dash_or_under.sub(
                     "", spec_name
-                ) and not re.search(r"%s\s+[0-9a-zA-Z\_\.\<\>\=\*]" % spec_name, spec):
+                ) and not re.search(rf"{spec_name}\s+[0-9a-zA-Z\_\.\<\>\=\*]", spec):
                     dependencies.append(" ".join((spec_name, value)))
         elif exclude_pattern.match(spec):
             pass_through_deps.append(spec)
diff --git a/conda_build/skeletons/cpan.py b/conda_build/skeletons/cpan.py
index c9bd5c398c..31213054d1 100644
--- a/conda_build/skeletons/cpan.py
+++ b/conda_build/skeletons/cpan.py
@@ -511,9 +511,7 @@ def skeletonize(
         # packages, unless we're newer than what's in core
         if metacpan_api_is_core_version(meta_cpan_url, package):
             if not write_core:
-                print(
-                    "We found core module %s. Skipping recipe creation." % packagename
-                )
+                print(f"We found core module {packagename}. Skipping recipe creation.")
                 continue
 
             d["useurl"] = "#"
@@ -577,12 +575,11 @@ def skeletonize(
         version = None
         if exists(dir_path) and not force:
             print(
-                "Directory %s already exists and you have not specified --force "
-                % dir_path
+                f"Directory {dir_path} already exists and you have not specified --force "
             )
             continue
         elif exists(dir_path) and force:
-            print("Directory %s already exists, but forcing recipe creation" % dir_path)
+            print(f"Directory {dir_path} already exists, but forcing recipe creation")
 
         try:
             d["homeurl"] = release_data["resources"]["homepage"]
@@ -756,7 +753,7 @@ def deps_for_package(
     }
     packages_to_append = set()
 
-    print("Processing dependencies for %s..." % package, end="")
+    print(f"Processing dependencies for {package}...", end="")
     sys.stdout.flush()
 
     if not release_data.get("dependency"):
@@ -1052,11 +1049,8 @@ def metacpan_api_is_core_version(cpan_url, module):
             return True
         else:
             sys.exit(
-                (
-                    "Error: Could not find module or distribution named"
-                    " %s on MetaCPAN."
-                )
-                % (module)
+                "Error: Could not find module or distribution named"
+                f" {module} on MetaCPAN."
             )
 
 
diff --git a/conda_build/skeletons/cran.py b/conda_build/skeletons/cran.py
index 38628a52f4..93958333fb 100755
--- a/conda_build/skeletons/cran.py
+++ b/conda_build/skeletons/cran.py
@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ def dict_from_cran_lines(lines):
                 #   - Suggests in corpcor
                 (k, v) = line.split(":", 1)
         except ValueError:
-            sys.exit("Error: Could not parse metadata (%s)" % line)
+            sys.exit(f"Error: Could not parse metadata ({line})")
         d[k] = v
         # if k not in CRAN_KEYS:
         #     print("Warning: Unknown key %s" % k)
@@ -597,7 +597,7 @@ def read_description_contents(fp):
 
 def get_archive_metadata(path, verbose=True):
     if verbose:
-        print("Reading package metadata from %s" % path)
+        print(f"Reading package metadata from {path}")
     if basename(path) == "DESCRIPTION":
         with open(path, "rb") as fp:
             return read_description_contents(fp)
@@ -614,8 +614,8 @@ def get_archive_metadata(path, verbose=True):
                     fp = zf.open(member, "r")
                     return read_description_contents(fp)
     else:
-        sys.exit("Cannot extract a DESCRIPTION from file %s" % path)
-    sys.exit("%s does not seem to be a CRAN package (no DESCRIPTION) file" % path)
+        sys.exit(f"Cannot extract a DESCRIPTION from file {path}")
+    sys.exit(f"{path} does not seem to be a CRAN package (no DESCRIPTION) file")
 
 
 def get_latest_git_tag(config):
@@ -638,12 +638,12 @@ def get_latest_git_tag(config):
     stdout = stdout.decode("utf-8")
     stderr = stderr.decode("utf-8")
     if stderr or p.returncode:
-        sys.exit("Error: git tag failed (%s)" % stderr)
+        sys.exit(f"Error: git tag failed ({stderr})")
     tags = stdout.strip().splitlines()
     if not tags:
         sys.exit("Error: no tags found")
 
-    print("Using tag %s" % tags[-1])
+    print(f"Using tag {tags[-1]}")
     return tags[-1]
 
 
@@ -683,7 +683,7 @@ def get_cran_archive_versions(cran_url, session, package, verbose=True):
         r.raise_for_status()
     except requests.exceptions.HTTPError as e:
         if e.response.status_code == 404:
-            print("No archive directory for package %s" % package)
+            print(f"No archive directory for package {package}")
             return []
         raise
     versions = []
@@ -698,7 +698,7 @@ def get_cran_archive_versions(cran_url, session, package, verbose=True):
 
 def get_cran_index(cran_url, session, verbose=True):
     if verbose:
-        print("Fetching main index from %s" % cran_url)
+        print(f"Fetching main index from {cran_url}")
     r = session.get(cran_url + "/src/contrib/")
     r.raise_for_status()
     records = {}
@@ -775,7 +775,7 @@ def package_to_inputs_dict(
     """
     if isfile(package):
         return None
-    print("Parsing input package %s:" % package)
+    print(f"Parsing input package {package}:")
     package = strip_end(package, "/")
     package = strip_end(package, sep)
     if "github.com" in package:
@@ -1037,7 +1037,7 @@ def skeletonize(
                 session = get_session(output_dir)
                 cran_index = get_cran_index(cran_url, session)
             if pkg_name.lower() not in cran_index:
-                sys.exit("Package %s not found" % pkg_name)
+                sys.exit(f"Package {pkg_name} not found")
             package, cran_version = cran_index[pkg_name.lower()]
             if cran_version and (not version or version == cran_version):
                 version = cran_version
@@ -1048,8 +1048,7 @@ def skeletonize(
                 sys.exit(1)
             elif not version and not cran_version and not allow_archived:
                 print(
-                    "ERROR: Package %s is archived; to build, use --allow-archived or a --version value"
-                    % pkg_name
+                    f"ERROR: Package {pkg_name} is archived; to build, use --allow-archived or a --version value"
                 )
                 sys.exit(1)
             else:
@@ -1325,7 +1324,7 @@ def skeletonize(
         if cran_package is None:
             cran_package = get_archive_metadata(description_path)
         d["cran_metadata"] = "\n".join(
-            ["# %s" % line for line in cran_package["orig_lines"] if line]
+            [f"# {line}" for line in cran_package["orig_lines"] if line]
         )
 
         # Render the source and binaryN keys
@@ -1377,7 +1376,7 @@ def skeletonize(
             d["summary"] = " " + yaml_quote_string(cran_package["Description"])
 
         if "Suggests" in cran_package and not no_comments:
-            d["suggests"] = "# Suggests: %s" % cran_package["Suggests"]
+            d["suggests"] = "# Suggests: {}".format(cran_package["Suggests"])
         else:
             d["suggests"] = ""
 
@@ -1589,7 +1588,7 @@ def skeletonize(
                                 )
                                 package_list.append(lower_name)
 
-            d["%s_depends" % dep_type] = "".join(deps)
+            d[f"{dep_type}_depends"] = "".join(deps)
 
     if no_comments:
         global CRAN_BUILD_SH_SOURCE, CRAN_META
@@ -1603,7 +1602,7 @@ def skeletonize(
             if update_policy == "error":
                 raise RuntimeError(
                     "directory already exists "
-                    "(and --update-policy is 'error'): %s" % dir_path
+                    f"(and --update-policy is 'error'): {dir_path}"
                 )
             elif update_policy == "overwrite":
                 rm_rf(dir_path)
@@ -1626,7 +1625,7 @@ def skeletonize(
             makedirs(join(dir_path))
         except:
             pass
-        print("Writing recipe for %s" % package.lower())
+        print(f"Writing recipe for {package.lower()}")
         with open(join(dir_path, "meta.yaml"), "w") as f:
             f.write(clear_whitespace(CRAN_META.format(**d)))
         if not exists(join(dir_path, "build.sh")) or update_policy == "overwrite":
@@ -1683,14 +1682,14 @@ def get_outdated(output_dir, cran_index, packages=()):
             continue
 
         if recipe_name not in cran_index:
-            print("Skipping %s, not found on CRAN" % recipe)
+            print(f"Skipping {recipe}, not found on CRAN")
             continue
 
         version_compare(
             join(output_dir, recipe), cran_index[recipe_name][1].replace("-", "_")
         )
 
-        print("Updating %s" % recipe)
+        print(f"Updating {recipe}")
         to_update.append(recipe_name)
 
     return to_update
diff --git a/conda_build/skeletons/luarocks.py b/conda_build/skeletons/luarocks.py
index da8e641928..41ec499bad 100644
--- a/conda_build/skeletons/luarocks.py
+++ b/conda_build/skeletons/luarocks.py
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ def package_exists(package_name):
 
 def getval(spec, k):
     if k not in spec:
-        raise Exception("Required key %s not in spec" % k)
+        raise Exception(f"Required key {k} not in spec")
     else:
         return spec[k]
 
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ def warn_against_branches(branch):
     print("=========================================")
     print("")
     print("WARNING:")
-    print("Building a rock referenced to branch %s." % branch)
+    print(f"Building a rock referenced to branch {branch}.")
     print("This is not a tag. This is dangerous, because rebuilding")
     print("at a later date may produce a different package.")
     print("Please replace with a tag, git commit, or tarball.")
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ def skeletonize(
         package = packages.pop()
 
         packagename = (
-            "lua-%s" % package.lower() if package[:4] != "lua-" else package.lower()
+            f"lua-{package.lower()}" if package[:4] != "lua-" else package.lower()
         )
         d = package_dicts.setdefault(
             package,
@@ -372,13 +372,13 @@ def skeletonize(
                     modules = spec["build"]["platforms"][our_plat]["modules"]
         if modules:
             d["test_commands"] = INDENT.join(
-                [""] + ["""lua -e "require '%s'\"""" % r for r in modules.keys()]
+                [""] + [f"""lua -e "require '{r}'\"""" for r in modules.keys()]
             )
 
     # If we didn't find any modules to import, import the base name
     if d["test_commands"] == "":
         d["test_commands"] = INDENT.join(
-            [""] + ["""lua -e "require '%s'" """ % d["rockname"]]
+            [""] + ["""lua -e "require '{}'" """.format(d["rockname"])]
         )
 
     # Build the luarocks skeleton
diff --git a/conda_build/skeletons/pypi.py b/conda_build/skeletons/pypi.py
index c45c843a6d..d3b716bc8b 100644
--- a/conda_build/skeletons/pypi.py
+++ b/conda_build/skeletons/pypi.py
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ def skeletonize(
         if not is_url:
             dir_path = join(output_dir, package.lower())
             if exists(dir_path) and not version_compare:
-                raise RuntimeError("directory already exists: %s" % dir_path)
+                raise RuntimeError(f"directory already exists: {dir_path}")
         d = package_dicts.setdefault(
             package,
             {
@@ -343,14 +343,12 @@ def skeletonize(
             else:
                 # select the most visible version from PyPI.
                 if not versions:
-                    sys.exit(
-                        "Error: Could not find any versions of package %s" % package
-                    )
+                    sys.exit(f"Error: Could not find any versions of package {package}")
                 if len(versions) > 1:
-                    print("Warning, the following versions were found for %s" % package)
+                    print(f"Warning, the following versions were found for {package}")
                     for ver in versions:
                         print(ver)
-                    print("Using %s" % versions[-1])
+                    print(f"Using {versions[-1]}")
                     print("Use --version to specify a different version.")
                 d["version"] = versions[-1]
 
@@ -404,7 +402,7 @@ def skeletonize(
         d = package_dicts[package]
         name = d["packagename"].lower()
         makedirs(join(output_dir, name))
-        print("Writing recipe for %s" % package.lower())
+        print(f"Writing recipe for {package.lower()}")
         with open(join(output_dir, name, "meta.yaml"), "w") as f:
             rendered_recipe = PYPI_META_HEADER.format(**d)
 
@@ -642,8 +640,8 @@ def get_download_data(
             if not urls[0]["url"]:
                 # The package doesn't have a url, or maybe it only has a wheel.
                 sys.exit(
-                    "Error: Could not build recipe for %s. "
-                    "Could not find any valid urls." % package
+                    f"Error: Could not build recipe for {package}. "
+                    "Could not find any valid urls."
                 )
             U = parse_url(urls[0]["url"])
             if not U.path:
@@ -652,9 +650,9 @@ def get_download_data(
             fragment = U.fragment or ""
             digest = fragment.split("=")
         else:
-            sys.exit("Error: No source urls found for %s" % package)
+            sys.exit(f"Error: No source urls found for {package}")
     if len(urls) > 1 and not noprompt:
-        print("More than one source version is available for %s:" % package)
+        print(f"More than one source version is available for {package}:")
         if manual_url:
             for i, url in enumerate(urls):
                 print(
@@ -689,7 +687,7 @@ def get_download_data(
         filename = url["filename"] or "package"
     else:
         # User provided a URL, try to use it.
-        print("Using url %s" % package)
+        print(f"Using url {package}")
         pypiurl = package
         U = parse_url(package)
         digest = U.fragment.split("=")
@@ -711,7 +709,7 @@ def version_compare(package, versions):
 
     recipe_dir = abspath(package.lower())
     if not isdir(recipe_dir):
-        sys.exit("Error: no such directory: %s" % recipe_dir)
+        sys.exit(f"Error: no such directory: {recipe_dir}")
     m = MetaData(recipe_dir)
     local_version = nv(m.version())
     print(f"Local recipe for {package} has version {local_version}")
@@ -721,11 +719,11 @@ def version_compare(package, versions):
         # Comparing normalized versions, displaying non normalized ones
         new_versions = versions[: norm_versions.index(local_version)]
         if len(new_versions) > 0:
-            print("Following new versions of %s are avaliable" % (package))
+            print(f"Following new versions of {package} are avaliable")
             for ver in new_versions:
                 print(ver)
         else:
-            print("No new version for %s is available" % (package))
+            print(f"No new version for {package} is available")
         sys.exit()
 
 
@@ -828,7 +826,7 @@ def get_package_metadata(
     config,
     setup_options,
 ):
-    print("Downloading %s" % package)
+    print(f"Downloading {package}")
     print("PyPI URL: ", metadata["pypiurl"])
     pkginfo = get_pkginfo(
         package,
@@ -982,7 +980,7 @@ def _spec_from_line(line):
                     )
                     spec = _spec_from_line(dep_orig)
                 if spec is None:
-                    sys.exit("Error: Could not parse: %s" % dep)
+                    sys.exit(f"Error: Could not parse: {dep}")
 
             if marker:
                 spec = " ".join((spec, marker))
@@ -1058,10 +1056,10 @@ def get_license_name(package, pkginfo, no_prompt=False, data=None):
         if no_prompt:
             return license_name
         elif "\n" not in license_name:
-            print('Using "%s" for the license' % license_name)
+            print(f'Using "{license_name}" for the license')
         else:
             # Some projects put the whole license text in this field
-            print("This is the license for %s" % package)
+            print(f"This is the license for {package}")
             print()
             print(license_name)
             print()
@@ -1070,8 +1068,8 @@ def get_license_name(package, pkginfo, no_prompt=False, data=None):
         license_name = "UNKNOWN"
     else:
         license_name = input(
-            "No license could be found for %s on PyPI or in the source. "
-            "What license should I use? " % package
+            f"No license could be found for {package} on PyPI or in the source. "
+            "What license should I use? "
         )
     return license_name
 
@@ -1175,7 +1173,7 @@ def unpack(src_path, tempdir):
     if src_path.lower().endswith(decompressible_exts):
         tar_xf(src_path, tempdir)
     else:
-        raise Exception("not a valid source: %s" % src_path)
+        raise Exception(f"not a valid source: {src_path}")
 
 
 def get_dir(tempdir):
@@ -1209,7 +1207,7 @@ def get_requirements(package, pkginfo, all_extras=True):
         try:
             extras_require = [pkginfo["extras_require"][x] for x in extras]
         except KeyError:
-            sys.exit("Error: Invalid extra features: [%s]" % ",".join(extras))
+            sys.exit("Error: Invalid extra features: [{}]".format(",".join(extras)))
         # match PEP 508 environment markers; currently only matches the
         #  subset of environment markers that compare to python_version
         #  using a single basic Python comparison operator
@@ -1297,10 +1295,10 @@ def get_pkginfo(
         else:
             new_hash_value = ""
 
-        print("Unpacking %s..." % package)
+        print(f"Unpacking {package}...")
         unpack(join(config.src_cache, filename), tempdir)
         print("done")
-        print("working in %s" % tempdir)
+        print(f"working in {tempdir}")
         src_dir = get_dir(tempdir)
         # TODO: find args parameters needed by run_setuppy
         run_setuppy(
@@ -1366,7 +1364,7 @@ def run_setuppy(src_dir, temp_dir, python_version, extra_specs, config, setup_op
     )
     stdlib_dir = join(
         config.host_prefix,
-        "Lib" if on_win else "lib/python%s" % python_version,
+        "Lib" if on_win else f"lib/python{python_version}",
     )
 
     patch = join(temp_dir, "pypi-distutils.patch")
@@ -1421,8 +1419,8 @@ def run_setuppy(src_dir, temp_dir, python_version, extra_specs, config, setup_op
     try:
         check_call_env(cmdargs, env=env)
     except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
-        print("$PYTHONPATH = %s" % env["PYTHONPATH"])
-        sys.exit("Error: command failed: %s" % " ".join(cmdargs))
+        print("$PYTHONPATH = {}".format(env["PYTHONPATH"]))
+        sys.exit("Error: command failed: {}".format(" ".join(cmdargs)))
     finally:
         chdir(cwd)
 
diff --git a/conda_build/source.py b/conda_build/source.py
index c7b3d1921b..903f5d7ca0 100644
--- a/conda_build/source.py
+++ b/conda_build/source.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def append_hash_to_fn(fn, hash_value):
 def download_to_cache(cache_folder, recipe_path, source_dict, verbose=False):
     """Download a source to the local cache."""
     if verbose:
-        log.info("Source cache directory is: %s" % cache_folder)
+        log.info(f"Source cache directory is: {cache_folder}")
     if not isdir(cache_folder) and not os.path.islink(cache_folder):
         os.makedirs(cache_folder)
 
@@ -81,10 +81,10 @@ def download_to_cache(cache_folder, recipe_path, source_dict, verbose=False):
     path = join(cache_folder, fn)
     if isfile(path):
         if verbose:
-            log.info("Found source in cache: %s" % fn)
+            log.info(f"Found source in cache: {fn}")
     else:
         if verbose:
-            log.info("Downloading source to cache: %s" % fn)
+            log.info(f"Downloading source to cache: {fn}")
 
         for url in source_urls:
             if "://" not in url:
@@ -98,14 +98,14 @@ def download_to_cache(cache_folder, recipe_path, source_dict, verbose=False):
                     url = "file:///" + expanduser(url[8:]).replace("\\", "/")
             try:
                 if verbose:
-                    log.info("Downloading %s" % url)
+                    log.info(f"Downloading {url}")
                 with LoggingContext():
                     download(url, path)
             except CondaHTTPError as e:
-                log.warn("Error: %s" % str(e).strip())
+                log.warn(f"Error: {str(e).strip()}")
                 rm_rf(path)
             except RuntimeError as e:
-                log.warn("Error: %s" % str(e).strip())
+                log.warn(f"Error: {str(e).strip()}")
                 rm_rf(path)
             else:
                 if verbose:
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ def download_to_cache(cache_folder, recipe_path, source_dict, verbose=False):
                 break
         else:  # no break
             rm_rf(path)
-            raise RuntimeError("Could not download %s" % url)
+            raise RuntimeError(f"Could not download {url}")
 
     hashed = None
     for tp in ("md5", "sha1", "sha256"):
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ def git_mirror_checkout_recursive(
             )
             checkout = output.decode("utf-8")
         if verbose:
-            print("checkout: %r" % checkout)
+            print(f"checkout: {checkout!r}")
         if checkout:
             check_call_env(
                 [git, "checkout", checkout],
@@ -492,7 +492,7 @@ def git_info(src_dir, build_prefix, git=None, verbose=True, fo=None):
             stdout = check_output_env(cmd, stderr=stderr, cwd=src_dir, env=env)
         except CalledProcessError as e:
             if check_error:
-                raise Exception("git error: %s" % str(e))
+                raise Exception(f"git error: {str(e)}")
         encoding = locale.getpreferredencoding()
         if not fo:
             encoding = sys.stdout.encoding
@@ -535,7 +535,7 @@ def hg_source(source_dict, src_dir, hg_cache, verbose):
     # now clone in to work directory
     update = source_dict.get("hg_tag") or "tip"
     if verbose:
-        print("checkout: %r" % update)
+        print(f"checkout: {update!r}")
 
     check_call_env(["hg", "clone", cache_repo, src_dir], stdout=stdout, stderr=stderr)
     check_call_env(
@@ -953,7 +953,7 @@ def try_apply_patch(patch, patch_args, cwd, stdout, stderr):
 
     exception = None
     if not isfile(path):
-        raise RuntimeError("Error: no such patch: %s" % path)
+        raise RuntimeError(f"Error: no such patch: {path}")
 
     if config.verbose:
         stdout = None
diff --git a/conda_build/tarcheck.py b/conda_build/tarcheck.py
index 3a98559187..374422f1e1 100644
--- a/conda_build/tarcheck.py
+++ b/conda_build/tarcheck.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ def dist_fn(fn):
     elif fn.endswith(".tar.bz2"):
         return fn[:-8]
     else:
-        raise Exception("did not expect filename: %r" % fn)
+        raise Exception(f"did not expect filename: {fn!r}")
 
 
 class TarCheck:
@@ -51,9 +51,9 @@ def info_files(self):
             return
         for p in sorted(seta | setb):
             if p not in seta:
-                print("%r not in info/files" % p)
+                print(f"{p!r} not in info/files")
             if p not in setb:
-                print("%r not in tarball" % p)
+                print(f"{p!r} not in tarball")
         raise Exception("info/files")
 
     def index_json(self):
diff --git a/conda_build/utils.py b/conda_build/utils.py
index 4a3e1f782c..a2c456c66e 100644
--- a/conda_build/utils.py
+++ b/conda_build/utils.py
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@
 from conda.models.version import VersionOrder
 from conda.utils import unix_path_to_win
 
-from .deprecations import deprecated
 from .exceptions import BuildLockError
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -425,7 +424,7 @@ def bytes2human(n):
         if n >= prefix[s]:
             value = float(n) / prefix[s]
             return f"{value:.1f}{s}"
-    return "%sB" % n
+    return f"{n}B"
 
 
 def seconds2human(s):
@@ -458,7 +457,7 @@ def get_recipe_abspath(recipe):
                 tar_xf(recipe_tarfile, os.path.join(recipe_dir, "info"))
             need_cleanup = True
         else:
-            print("Ignoring non-recipe: %s" % recipe)
+            print(f"Ignoring non-recipe: {recipe}")
             return (None, None)
     else:
         recipe_dir = abspath(os.path.join(os.getcwd(), recipe))
@@ -1054,7 +1053,7 @@ def iter_entry_points(items):
     for item in items:
         m = entry_pat.match(item)
         if m is None:
-            sys.exit("Error cound not match entry point: %r" % item)
+            sys.exit(f"Error cound not match entry point: {item!r}")
         yield m.groups()
 
 
@@ -1076,7 +1075,7 @@ def create_entry_point(path, module, func, config):
             os.remove(path)
         with open(path, "w") as fo:
             if not config.noarch:
-                fo.write("#!%s\n" % config.host_python)
+                fo.write(f"#!{config.host_python}\n")
             fo.write(pyscript)
         os.chmod(path, 0o775)
 
@@ -1409,47 +1408,6 @@ def get_installed_packages(path):
     return installed
 
 
-@deprecated("24.5", "24.7", addendum="Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead.")
-def _convert_lists_to_sets(_dict):
-    for k, v in _dict.items():
-        if hasattr(v, "keys"):
-            _dict[k] = HashableDict(_convert_lists_to_sets(v))
-        elif hasattr(v, "__iter__") and not isinstance(v, str):
-            try:
-                _dict[k] = sorted(list(set(v)))
-            except TypeError:
-                _dict[k] = sorted(list({tuple(_) for _ in v}))
-    return _dict
-
-
-@deprecated("24.5", "24.7", addendum="Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead.")
-class HashableDict(dict):
-    """use hashable frozen dictionaries for resources and resource types so that they can be in sets"""
-
-    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
-        self = _convert_lists_to_sets(self)
-
-    def __hash__(self):
-        return hash(json.dumps(self, sort_keys=True))
-
-
-@deprecated("24.5", "24.7", addendum="Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead.")
-def represent_hashabledict(dumper, data):
-    value = []
-
-    for item_key, item_value in data.items():
-        node_key = dumper.represent_data(item_key)
-        node_value = dumper.represent_data(item_value)
-
-        value.append((node_key, node_value))
-
-    return yaml.nodes.MappingNode("tag:yaml.org,2002:map", value)
-
-
-yaml.add_representer(HashableDict, represent_hashabledict)
-
-
 # http://stackoverflow.com/a/10743550/1170370
 @contextlib.contextmanager
 def capture():
@@ -1622,7 +1580,6 @@ def filter_info_files(files_list, prefix):
     )
 
 
-@deprecated.argument("24.5", "24.7", "config")
 def rm_rf(path):
     from conda.core.prefix_data import delete_prefix_from_linked_data
     from conda.gateways.disk.delete import rm_rf as rm_rf
@@ -1951,7 +1908,7 @@ def insert_variant_versions(requirements_dict, variant, env):
     )
     reqs = ensure_list(requirements_dict.get(env))
     for key, val in variant.items():
-        regex = re.compile(r"^(%s)(?:\s*$)" % key.replace("_", "[-_]"))
+        regex = re.compile(r"^({})(?:\s*$)".format(key.replace("_", "[-_]")))
         matches = [regex.match(pkg) for pkg in reqs]
         if any(matches):
             for i, x in enumerate(matches):
diff --git a/conda_build/variants.py b/conda_build/variants.py
index 1e2b1adc0c..b185a7eb34 100644
--- a/conda_build/variants.py
+++ b/conda_build/variants.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 import yaml
 from conda.base.context import context
 
-from .deprecations import deprecated
 from .utils import ensure_list, get_logger, islist, on_win, trim_empty_keys
 from .version import _parse as parse_version
 
@@ -701,7 +700,6 @@ def get_package_variants(recipedir_or_metadata, config=None, variants=None):
     return filter_combined_spec_to_used_keys(combined_spec, specs=specs)
 
 
-@deprecated.argument("24.5", "24.7", "loop_only")
 def get_vars(variants: Iterable[dict[str, Any]]) -> set[str]:
     """For purposes of naming/identifying, provide a way of identifying which variables contribute
     to the matrix dimensionality"""
@@ -745,13 +743,13 @@ def find_used_variables_in_text(variant, recipe_text, selectors_only=False):
             continue
         v_regex = re.escape(v)
         v_req_regex = "[-_]".join(map(re.escape, v.split("_")))
-        variant_regex = r"\{\s*(?:pin_[a-z]+\(\s*?['\"])?%s[^'\"]*?\}\}" % v_regex
-        selector_regex = r"^[^#\[]*?\#?\s\[[^\]]*?(?<![_\w\d])%s[=\s<>!\]]" % v_regex
+        variant_regex = rf"\{{\s*(?:pin_[a-z]+\(\s*?['\"])?{v_regex}[^'\"]*?\}}\}}"
+        selector_regex = rf"^[^#\[]*?\#?\s\[[^\]]*?(?<![_\w\d]){v_regex}[=\s<>!\]]"
         conditional_regex = (
             r"(?:^|[^\{])\{%\s*(?:el)?if\s*.*" + v_regex + r"\s*(?:[^%]*?)?%\}"
         )
         # plain req name, no version spec.  Look for end of line after name, or comment or selector
-        requirement_regex = r"^\s+\-\s+%s\s*(?:\s[\[#]|$)" % v_req_regex
+        requirement_regex = rf"^\s+\-\s+{v_req_regex}\s*(?:\s[\[#]|$)"
         if selectors_only:
             all_res.insert(0, selector_regex)
         else:
diff --git a/conda_build/windows.py b/conda_build/windows.py
index 706b499265..00287c50bf 100644
--- a/conda_build/windows.py
+++ b/conda_build/windows.py
@@ -56,16 +56,13 @@ def fix_staged_scripts(scripts_dir, config):
             # If it's a #!python script
             if not (line.startswith(b"#!") and b"python" in line.lower()):
                 continue
-            print(
-                "Adjusting unix-style #! script %s, "
-                "and adding a .bat file for it" % fn
-            )
+            print(f"Adjusting unix-style #! script {fn}, and adding a .bat file for it")
             # copy it with a .py extension (skipping that first #! line)
             with open(join(scripts_dir, fn + "-script.py"), "wb") as fo:
                 fo.write(f.read())
             # now create the .exe file
             copy_into(
-                join(dirname(__file__), "cli-%s.exe" % config.host_arch),
+                join(dirname(__file__), f"cli-{config.host_arch}.exe"),
                 join(scripts_dir, fn + ".exe"),
             )
 
@@ -338,7 +335,7 @@ def build(m, bld_bat, stats, provision_only=False):
             rewrite_env = {
                 k: env[k] for k in ["PREFIX", "BUILD_PREFIX", "SRC_DIR"] if k in env
             }
-            print("Rewriting env in output: %s" % pprint.pformat(rewrite_env))
+            print(f"Rewriting env in output: {pprint.pformat(rewrite_env)}")
         check_call_env(
             cmd, cwd=m.config.work_dir, stats=stats, rewrite_stdout_env=rewrite_env
         )
diff --git a/docs/scrape_help.py b/docs/scrape_help.py
index 2f99fbb403..66d5af1e57 100755
--- a/docs/scrape_help.py
+++ b/docs/scrape_help.py
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ def external_commands():
 
     def get_help(command):
         command_help[command] = conda_command_help(command)
-        print("Checked for subcommand help for %s" % command)
+        print(f"Checked for subcommand help for {command}")
 
     with ThreadPoolExecutor(len(commands)) as executor:
         # list() is needed for force exceptions to be raised
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ def generate_man(command):
             [
                 "help2man",
                 "--name",
-                "conda %s" % command,
+                f"conda {command}",
                 "--section",
                 "1",
                 "--source",
@@ -172,36 +172,34 @@ def generate_man(command):
                 "--version-string",
                 conda_version,
                 "--no-info",
-                "conda %s" % command,
+                f"conda {command}",
             ]
         )
         retries -= 1
 
     if not manpage:
-        sys.exit("Error: Could not get help for conda %s" % command)
+        sys.exit(f"Error: Could not get help for conda {command}")
 
     replacements = man_replacements()
     for text in replacements:
         manpage = manpage.replace(text, replacements[text])
-    with open(join(manpath, "conda-%s.1" % command.replace(" ", "-")), "w") as f:
+    with open(join(manpath, "conda-{}.1".format(command.replace(" ", "-"))), "w") as f:
         f.write(manpage)
 
-    print("Generated manpage for conda %s" % command)
+    print(f"Generated manpage for conda {command}")
 
 
 def generate_html(command):
     command_file = command.replace(" ", "-")
 
     # Use abspath so that it always has a path separator
-    man = Popen(
-        ["man", abspath(join(manpath, "conda-%s.1" % command_file))], stdout=PIPE
-    )
+    man = Popen(["man", abspath(join(manpath, f"conda-{command_file}.1"))], stdout=PIPE)
     htmlpage = check_output(
         [
             "man2html",
             "-bare",  # Don't use HTML, HEAD, or BODY tags
             "title",
-            "conda-%s" % command_file,
+            f"conda-{command_file}",
             "-topm",
             "0",  # No top margin
             "-botm",
@@ -210,14 +208,14 @@ def generate_html(command):
         stdin=man.stdout,
     )
 
-    with open(join(manpath, "conda-%s.html" % command_file), "wb") as f:
+    with open(join(manpath, f"conda-{command_file}.html"), "wb") as f:
         f.write(htmlpage)
-    print("Generated html for conda %s" % command)
+    print(f"Generated html for conda {command}")
 
 
 def write_rst(command, sep=None):
     command_file = command.replace(" ", "-")
-    with open(join(manpath, "conda-%s.html" % command_file)) as f:
+    with open(join(manpath, f"conda-{command_file}.html")) as f:
         html = f.read()
 
     rp = rstpath
@@ -225,13 +223,13 @@ def write_rst(command, sep=None):
         rp = join(rp, sep)
     if not isdir(rp):
         makedirs(rp)
-    with open(join(rp, "conda-%s.rst" % command_file), "w") as f:
+    with open(join(rp, f"conda-{command_file}.rst"), "w") as f:
         f.write(RST_HEADER.format(command=command))
         for line in html.splitlines():
             f.write("   ")
             f.write(line)
             f.write("\n")
-    print("Generated rst for conda %s" % command)
+    print(f"Generated rst for conda {command}")
 
 
 def main():
diff --git a/news/5222-deprecating-conda_interface b/news/5222-deprecating-conda_interface
deleted file mode 100644
index d7737f9368..0000000000
--- a/news/5222-deprecating-conda_interface
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.CONDA_VERSION` constant. Use `conda.__version__` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.binstar_upload` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.binstar_upload` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.default_python` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.default_python` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.envs_dirs` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.envs_dirs` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.pkgs_dirs` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.pkgs_dirs` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.cc_platform` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.platform` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.root_dir` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.root_prefix` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.root_writable` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.root_writable` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.subdir` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.subdir` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.create_default_packages` constant. Use `conda.base.context.context.create_default_packages` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.get_rc_urls` function. Use `conda.base.context.context.channels` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.get_prefix` function. Use `conda.base.context.context.target_prefix` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.get_conda_channel` function. Use `conda.models.channel.Channel.from_value` instead. (#5222)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.reset_context` function. Use `conda.base.context.reset_context` instead. (#5222)
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5233-enable-codspeed b/news/5233-enable-codspeed
deleted file mode 100644
index efb32df4d1..0000000000
--- a/news/5233-enable-codspeed
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* Enable CodSpeed benchmarks for select tests. (#5233)
diff --git a/news/5237-select_lines-caching b/news/5237-select_lines-caching
deleted file mode 100644
index 434a832350..0000000000
--- a/news/5237-select_lines-caching
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* Add `conda_build.metadata._split_line_selector` to cache line-selector parsed text. (#5237)
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5238-open_recipe b/news/5238-open_recipe
deleted file mode 100644
index 9d5d42c4c5..0000000000
--- a/news/5238-open_recipe
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* Add `conda_build.render.open_recipe` context manager to detect the recipe type (file/`meta.yaml`, directory/recipe, or tarball/package) and properly handling any exit/close behavior. (#5238)
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5251-deprecating-conda_interface b/news/5251-deprecating-conda_interface
deleted file mode 100644
index 9f5e48d6cd..0000000000
--- a/news/5251-deprecating-conda_interface
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.context` singleton. Use `conda.base.context.context` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.configparser` module. Use `configparser` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.os` module. Use `os` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.partial` function. Use `functools.partial` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.import_module` function. Use `importlib.import_module` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.determine_target_prefix` function. Use `conda.base.context.determine_target_prefix` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.non_x86_linux_machines` constant. Use `conda.base.context.non_x86_machines` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.ProgressiveFetchExtract` class. Use `conda.core.package_cache.ProgressiveFetchExtract` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.CondaError` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaHTTPError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.CondaHTTPError` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.LinkError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.LinkError` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.LockError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.LockError` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.NoPackagesFoundError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.NoPackagesFoundError` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.PaddingError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.PaddingError` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.UnsatisfiableError` class. Use `conda.exceptions.UnsatisfiableError` instead. (#5251)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.get_conda_build_local_url` class. Use `conda.models.channel.get_conda_build_local_url` instead. (#5251)
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5271-context b/news/5271-context
deleted file mode 100644
index b4143e00f4..0000000000
--- a/news/5271-context
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* Require `conda >=23.7.0`. (#5271)
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* Fix all CLI arguments to properly initialize `conda.base.context.context` with parsed arguments. Fixes issue with arguments not being processed (e.g., `--override-channels` was previously ignored). (#3693 via #5271)
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* Deprecate `conda_build.config.Config.override_channels`. Use `conda.base.context.context.override_channels` instead. (#5271)
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5276-deprecating-conda_interface b/news/5276-deprecating-conda_interface
deleted file mode 100644
index 701b9a53f1..0000000000
--- a/news/5276-deprecating-conda_interface
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,56 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface._toposort`. Use `conda.common.toposort._toposort` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.add_parser_channels`. Use `conda.cli.helpers.add_parser_channels` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.add_parser_prefix`. Use `conda.cli.helpers.add_parser_prefix` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.ArgumentParser`. Use `conda.cli.conda_argparse.ArgumentParser` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.cc_conda_build`. Use `conda.base.context.context.conda_build` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.Channel`. Use `conda.models.channel.Channel` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.Completer`. Unused. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaSession`. Use `conda.gateways.connection.session.CondaSession` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.download`. Use `conda.gateways.connection.download.download` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.EntityEncoder`. Use `conda.auxlib.entity.EntityEncoder` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.env_path_backup_var_exists`. Unused. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.FileMode`. Use `conda.models.enums.FileMode` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.human_bytes`. Use `conda.utils.human_bytes` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.input`. Use `input` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.InstalledPackages`. Unused. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.lchmod`. Use `conda.gateways.disk.link.lchmod` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.MatchSpec`. Use `conda.models.match_spec.MatchSpec` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.NoPackagesFound`. Use `conda.exceptions.ResolvePackageNotFound` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.normalized_version`. Use `conda.models.version.normalized_version` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.PackageRecord`. Use `conda.models.records.PackageRecord` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.PathType`. Use `conda.models.enums.PathType` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.prefix_placeholder`. Use `conda.base.constants.PREFIX_PLACEHOLDER` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.Resolve`. Use `conda.resolve.Resolve` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.rm_rf`. Use `conda_build.utils.rm_rf` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.spec_from_line`. Use `conda.cli.common.spec_from_line` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.specs_from_args`. Use `conda.cli.common.specs_from_args` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.specs_from_url`. Use `conda.cli.common.specs_from_url` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.StringIO`. Use `io.StringIO` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.symlink_conda`. Unused. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.TempDirectory`. Use `conda.gateways.disk.create.TemporaryDirectory` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.TmpDownload`. Use `conda.gateways.connection.download.TmpDownload` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.unix_path_to_win`. Use `conda.utils.unix_path_to_win` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.Unsatisfiable`. Use `conda.exceptions.UnsatisfiableError` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.untracked`. Use `conda.misc.untracked` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.url_path`. Use `conda.utils.url_path` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.VersionOrder`. Use `conda.models.version.VersionOrder` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.walk_prefix`. Use `conda.misc.walk_prefix` instead. (#5276)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.conda_interface.win_path_to_unix`. Use `conda.common.path.win_path_to_unix` instead. (#5276)
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5280-deprecate-get_vars-loop_only b/news/5280-deprecate-get_vars-loop_only
deleted file mode 100644
index e18d5cfe8c..0000000000
--- a/news/5280-deprecate-get_vars-loop_only
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* Deprecate `conda_build.variants.get_vars(loop_only)`. Unused. (#5280)
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5284-deprecate-HashableDict b/news/5284-deprecate-HashableDict
deleted file mode 100644
index c411443395..0000000000
--- a/news/5284-deprecate-HashableDict
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* Deprecate `conda_build.utils.HashableDict`. Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead. (#5284)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.utils._convert_lists_to_sets`. Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead. (#5284)
-* Deprecate `conda_build.utils.represent_hashabledict`. Use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead. (#5284)
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5299-remove-deprecations b/news/5299-remove-deprecations
deleted file mode 100644
index c78531ea4d..0000000000
--- a/news/5299-remove-deprecations
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-### Enhancements
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Bug fixes
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Deprecations
-
-* Postpone `conda_build.index.channel_data` deprecation. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.api.get_output_file_path`. Use `conda_build.api.get_output_file_paths` instead. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.bdist_conda`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.build.have_prefix_files`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.get_index`. Use `conda.core.index.get_index` instead. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.get_version_from_git_tag`. Use `conda_build.environ.get_version_from_git_tag` instead. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.handle_proxy_407`. Handled by `conda.gateways.connection.session.CondaSession`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.hashsum_file`. Use `conda.gateways.disk.read.compute_sum` instead. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.conda_interface.md5_file`. Use `conda.gateways.disk.read.compute_sum(path, 'md5')` instead. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.environ._load_all_json`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.environ._load_json`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.environ.cached_actions`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.environ.Environment`. Use `conda.core.prefix_data.PrefixData` instead. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.environ.InvalidEnvironment`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.environ.LINK_ACTION`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.environ.PREFIX_ACTION`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.index._apply_instructions`. Use `conda_index._apply_instructions` instead. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.index.DummyExecutor`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.index.LOCK_TIMEOUT_SECS`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.index.LOCKFILE_NAME`. (#5299)
-* Remove `conda_build.index.MAX_THREADS_DEFAULT`. (#5299)
-
-### Docs
-
-* <news item>
-
-### Other
-
-* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5333-remove-24.7.x-deprecations b/news/5333-remove-24.7.x-deprecations
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..332176a70c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/5333-remove-24.7.x-deprecations
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+### Enhancements
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Deprecations
+
+* Remove the following deprecations (#5333):
+  * `conda_build.config.Config.override_channels` (use `conda.base.context.context.channels` instead)
+  * `conda_build.config.noarch_python_build_age_default`
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.add_parser_channels` (use `conda.cli.helpers.add_parser_channels` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.add_parser_prefix` (use `conda.cli.helpers.add_parser_prefix` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.ArgumentParser` (use `conda.cli.conda_argparse.ArgumentParser` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.binstar_upload` (use `conda.base.context.context.binstar_upload` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.cc_conda_build` (use `conda.base.context.context.conda_build` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.cc_platform` (use `conda.base.context.context.platform` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.Channel` (use `conda.models.channel.Channel` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.Completer`
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.configparser` (use `configparser` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaError` (use `conda.exceptions.CondaError` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaHTTPError` (use `conda.exceptions.CondaHTTPError` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.CondaSession` (use `conda.gateways.connection.session.CondaSession` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.CONDA_VERSION` (use `conda.__version__` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.context` (use `conda.base.context.context` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.create_default_packages` (use `conda.base.context.context.create_default_packages` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.default_python` (use `conda.base.context.context.default_python` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.determine_target_prefix` (use `conda.base.context.determine_target_prefix` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.download` (use `conda.gateways.connection.download.download` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.env_path_backup_var_exists`
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.envs_dirs` (use `conda.base.context.context.envs_dirs` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.EntityEncoder` (use `conda.auxlib.entity.EntityEncoder` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.FileMode` (use `conda.models.enums.FileMode` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.get_conda_build_local_url` (use `conda.models.channel.get_conda_build_local_url` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.get_conda_channel` (use `conda.models.channel.Channel.from_value` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.get_prefix` (use `conda.base.context.context.target_prefix` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.get_rc_urls` (use `conda.base.context.context.channels` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.human_bytes` (use `conda.utils.human_bytes` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.import_module` (use `importlib.import_module` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.input` (use `input` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.InstalledPackages`
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.lchmod` (use `conda.gateways.disk.link.lchmod` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.LinkError` (use `conda.exceptions.LinkError` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.LockError` (use `conda.exceptions.LockError` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.MatchSpec` (use `conda.models.match_spec.MatchSpec` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.non_x86_linux_machines` (use `conda.base.context.non_x86_machines` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.NoPackagesFound` (use `conda.exceptions.ResolvePackageNotFound` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.NoPackagesFoundError` (use `conda.exceptions.NoPackagesFoundError` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.normalized_version` (use `conda.models.version.normalized_version` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.os` (use `os` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.PackageRecord` (use `conda.models.records.PackageRecord` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.PaddingError` (use `conda.exceptions.PaddingError` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.partial` (use `functools.partial` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.PathType` (use `conda.models.enums.PathType` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.pkgs_dirs` (use `conda.base.context.context.pkgs_dirs` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.prefix_placeholder` (use `conda.base.constants.PREFIX_PLACEHOLDER` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.ProgressiveFetchExtract` (use `conda.core.package_cache_data.ProgressiveFetchExtract` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.reset_context` (use `conda.base.context.reset_context` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.Resolve` (use `conda.resolve.Resolve` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.rm_rf` (use `conda_build.utils.rm_rf` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.root_dir` (use `conda.base.context.context.root_prefix` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.root_writable` (use `conda.base.context.context.root_writable` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.spec_from_line` (use `conda.cli.common.spec_from_line` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.specs_from_args` (use `conda.cli.common.specs_from_args` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.specs_from_url` (use `conda.cli.common.specs_from_url` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.StringIO` (use `io.StringIO` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.subdir` (use `conda.base.context.context.subdir` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.symlink_conda`
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.TemporaryDirectory` (use `conda.gateways.disk.create.TemporaryDirectory` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.TmpDownload` (use `conda.gateways.connection.download.TmpDownload` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface._toposort` (use `conda.common.toposort._toposort` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.unix_path_to_win` (use `conda.utils.unix_path_to_win` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.untracked` (use `conda.misc.untracked` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.Unsatisfiable` (use `conda.exceptions.UnsatisfiableError` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.UnsatisfiableError` (use `conda.exceptions.UnsatisfiableError` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.url_path` (use `conda.utils.url_path` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.VersionOrder` (use `conda.models.version.VersionOrder` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.walk_prefix` (use `conda.misc.walk_prefix` instead)
+  * `conda_build.conda_interface.win_path_to_unix` (use `conda.common.path.win_path_to_unix` instead)
+  * `conda_build.index.channel_data`; `conda_build.index.get_build_index` return value for `channel_data` is now always `None`
+  * `conda_build.utils._convert_lists_to_sets` (use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead)
+  * `conda_build.utils.HashableDict` (use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead)
+  * `conda_build.utils.represent_hashabledict` (use `frozendict.deepfreeze` instead)
+  * `conda_build.utils.rm_rf(config)`
+  * `conda_build.variants.get_vars(loop_only)`
+
+### Docs
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Other
+
+* <news item>
diff --git a/news/5355-deprecate-check_external b/news/5355-deprecate-check_external
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2a6939ce8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/5355-deprecate-check_external
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+### Enhancements
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Deprecations
+
+* Mark `conda_build.build.check_external` for deprecation. `patchelf` is an explicit conda-build dependency on Linux so it will always be installed. (#5355)
+
+### Docs
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Other
+
+* <news item>
diff --git a/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_build_script/meta.yaml b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_build_script/meta.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..406ba464c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_build_script/meta.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+package:
+  name: pkg
+  version: '1.0'
+source:
+  path: .
+outputs:
+  - name: pkg-output
+    build:
+      script:
+        - exit 1
diff --git a/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/exit_1.bat b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/exit_1.bat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6dedc57766
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/exit_1.bat
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+exit 1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/exit_1.sh b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/exit_1.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6dedc57766
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/exit_1.sh
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+exit 1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/meta.yaml b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/meta.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..43c2f9d054
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/output_script/meta.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+package:
+  name: pkg
+  version: '1.0'
+source:
+  path: .
+outputs:
+  - name: pkg-output
+    script: exit_1.sh   # [unix]
+    script: exit_1.bat  # [win]
diff --git a/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/toplevel/meta.yaml b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/toplevel/meta.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..df710d103b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/_build_script_errors/toplevel/meta.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+package:
+  name: pkg
+  version: '1.0'
+source:
+  path: .
+build:
+  script: exit 1
diff --git a/tests/test-recipes/metadata/gh-5342/meta.yaml b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/gh-5342/meta.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f083f1c95e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test-recipes/metadata/gh-5342/meta.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{% set name = "gh-5342" %}
+
+package:
+  name: {{ name }}
+  version: 1.0
+
+outputs:
+  - name: {{ name }}
+    build:
+        skip: true
+
+  - name: {{ name }}-dev
+    build:
+    files:
+      - file
diff --git a/tests/test_api_build.py b/tests/test_api_build.py
index a663f18e73..8f431bfae2 100644
--- a/tests/test_api_build.py
+++ b/tests/test_api_build.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 from conda_build import __version__, api, exceptions
 from conda_build.config import Config
 from conda_build.exceptions import (
+    BuildScriptException,
     CondaBuildException,
     DependencyNeedsBuildingError,
     OverDependingError,
@@ -383,7 +384,7 @@ def test_dirty_variable_available_in_build_scripts(testing_config):
     testing_config.dirty = True
     api.build(recipe, config=testing_config)
 
-    with pytest.raises(subprocess.CalledProcessError):
+    with pytest.raises(BuildScriptException):
         testing_config.dirty = False
         api.build(recipe, config=testing_config)
 
@@ -816,13 +817,13 @@ def test_disable_pip(testing_metadata):
     testing_metadata.meta["build"]["script"] = (
         'python -c "import pip; print(pip.__version__)"'
     )
-    with pytest.raises(subprocess.CalledProcessError):
+    with pytest.raises(BuildScriptException):
         api.build(testing_metadata)
 
     testing_metadata.meta["build"]["script"] = (
         'python -c "import setuptools; print(setuptools.__version__)"'
     )
-    with pytest.raises(subprocess.CalledProcessError):
+    with pytest.raises(BuildScriptException):
         api.build(testing_metadata)
 
 
@@ -1539,7 +1540,7 @@ def test_setup_py_data_in_env(testing_config):
     # should pass with any modern python (just not 3.5)
     api.build(recipe, config=testing_config)
     # make sure it fails with our special python logic
-    with pytest.raises(subprocess.CalledProcessError):
+    with pytest.raises(BuildScriptException):
         api.build(recipe, config=testing_config, python="3.5")
 
 
@@ -1945,7 +1946,7 @@ def test_add_pip_as_python_dependency_from_condarc_file(
     testing_metadata, testing_workdir, add_pip_as_python_dependency, monkeypatch
 ):
     """
-    Test whether settings from .condarc files are heeded.
+    Test whether settings from .condarc files are needed.
     ref: https://github.com/conda/conda-libmamba-solver/issues/393
     """
     # TODO: SubdirData._cache_ clearing might not be needed for future conda versions.
@@ -1961,10 +1962,44 @@ def test_add_pip_as_python_dependency_from_condarc_file(
     if add_pip_as_python_dependency:
         check_build_fails = nullcontext()
     else:
-        check_build_fails = pytest.raises(subprocess.CalledProcessError)
+        check_build_fails = pytest.raises(BuildScriptException)
 
     conda_rc = Path(testing_workdir, ".condarc")
     conda_rc.write_text(f"add_pip_as_python_dependency: {add_pip_as_python_dependency}")
     with env_var("CONDARC", conda_rc, reset_context):
         with check_build_fails:
             api.build(testing_metadata)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "recipe", sorted(Path(metadata_dir, "_build_script_errors").glob("*"))
+)
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("debug", (False, True))
+def test_conda_build_script_errors_without_conda_info_handlers(tmp_path, recipe, debug):
+    env = os.environ.copy()
+    if debug:
+        env["CONDA_VERBOSITY"] = "3"
+    process = subprocess.run(
+        ["conda", "build", recipe],
+        env=env,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        check=False,
+        cwd=tmp_path,
+    )
+    assert process.returncode > 0
+    all_output = process.stdout + "\n" + process.stderr
+
+    # These should NOT appear in the output
+    assert ">>> ERROR REPORT <<<" not in all_output
+    assert "An unexpected error has occurred." not in all_output
+    assert "Conda has prepared the above report." not in all_output
+
+    # These should appear
+    assert "returned non-zero exit status 1" in all_output
+
+    # With verbose mode, we should actually see the traceback
+    if debug:
+        assert "Traceback" in all_output
+        assert "CalledProcessError" in all_output
+        assert "returned non-zero exit status 1" in all_output
diff --git a/tests/test_api_build_conda_v2.py b/tests/test_api_build_conda_v2.py
index 4c0c09b9ac..dc4078e61f 100644
--- a/tests/test_api_build_conda_v2.py
+++ b/tests/test_api_build_conda_v2.py
@@ -40,4 +40,4 @@ def test_conda_pkg_format(
 
     # Verify that test pass ran through api
     assert "Manual entry point" in out
-    assert "TEST END: %s" % output_file in out
+    assert f"TEST END: {output_file}" in out
diff --git a/tests/test_build.py b/tests/test_build.py
index 839cce4b9e..49fc1a4924 100644
--- a/tests/test_build.py
+++ b/tests/test_build.py
@@ -324,3 +324,8 @@ def test_guess_interpreter(
 ):
     with pytest.raises(error) if error else nullcontext():
         assert build.guess_interpreter(script) == interpreter
+
+
+def test_check_external():
+    with pytest.deprecated_call():
+        build.check_external()
diff --git a/tests/test_codesigned.py b/tests/test_codesigned.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3ed13086da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_codesigned.py
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+# Copyright (C) 2014 Anaconda, Inc
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from functools import lru_cache
+from pathlib import Path
+from shutil import which
+from subprocess import CalledProcessError, check_output, run
+
+import pytest
+
+from conda_build.utils import on_win
+
+HERE = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+REPO_ROOT = (Path(HERE) / "..").resolve().absolute()
+STUB_FOLDER = REPO_ROOT / "conda_build"
+
+
+@lru_cache(maxsize=None)
+def find_signtool() -> str | None:
+    """Tries to find signtool
+
+    Prefers signtool on PATH otherwise searches system.
+    Ref:
+      - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/tools/signtool-exe
+      - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/seccrypto/signtool
+      - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/seccrypto/using-signtool-to-verify-a-file-signature
+    """
+    signtool_path = which("signtool")
+    if signtool_path:
+        return signtool_path
+
+    # Common installation directories where signtool might be located
+    common_paths = [
+        "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Windows Kits\\10\\bin",
+        "C:\\Program Files\\Windows Kits\\10\\bin",
+        "C:\\Windows\\System32",
+    ]
+
+    signtool_path = None
+    # Search for signtool in common paths
+    for path in common_paths:
+        if signtool_path:
+            # We found one already
+            return signtool_path
+        if not os.path.exists(path):
+            continue
+        signtool_path = os.path.join(path, "signtool.exe")
+        if os.path.exists(signtool_path):
+            return signtool_path
+        elif "Windows Kits" in path:
+            signtool_path = None
+            max_version = 0
+            for dirname in os.listdir(path):
+                # Use most recent signtool version
+                if not dirname.endswith(".0"):
+                    continue  # next dirname
+                if int(dirname.replace(".", "")) < max_version:
+                    continue  # next dirname
+
+                maybe_signtool_path = os.path.join(path, dirname, "x64", "signtool.exe")
+                if os.path.exists(maybe_signtool_path):
+                    signtool_path = maybe_signtool_path
+    return signtool_path
+
+
+@lru_cache(maxsize=None)
+def signtool_unsupported_because() -> str:
+    reason = ""
+    if not on_win:
+        reason = "Only verifying signatures of stub exe's on windows"
+        return reason
+    signtool = find_signtool()
+    if not signtool:
+        reason = "signtool: unable to locate signtool.exe"
+    try:
+        check_output([signtool, "verify", "/?"])
+    except CalledProcessError as exc:
+        reason = f"signtool: something went wrong while running 'signtool verify /?', output:\n{exc.output}\n"
+    return reason
+
+
+def signtool_unsupported() -> bool:
+    return bool(signtool_unsupported_because())
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(signtool_unsupported(), reason=signtool_unsupported_because())
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "stub_file_name", ["cli-32.exe", "cli-64.exe", "gui-32.exe", "gui-64.exe"]
+)
+def test_stub_exe_signatures(stub_file_name: str) -> None:
+    """Verify that signtool verifies the signature of the stub exes"""
+    stub_file = STUB_FOLDER / stub_file_name
+    signtool_exe = find_signtool()
+    completed_process = run([signtool_exe, "verify", "/pa", "/v", stub_file])
+    assert completed_process.returncode == 0
diff --git a/tests/utils.py b/tests/utils.py
index b4ed64912b..4d6803f09d 100644
--- a/tests/utils.py
+++ b/tests/utils.py
@@ -91,8 +91,7 @@ def assert_package_consistency(package_path):
                 has_prefix_present = False
     except tarfile.ReadError:
         raise RuntimeError(
-            "Could not extract metadata from %s. "
-            "File probably corrupt." % package_path
+            f"Could not extract metadata from {package_path}. File probably corrupt."
         )
     errors = []
     member_set = set(member_list)  # The tar format allows duplicates in member_list
@@ -101,7 +100,7 @@ def assert_package_consistency(package_path):
     file_set = set(file_list)
     # Check that there are no duplicates in info/files
     if len(file_list) != len(file_set):
-        errors.append("Duplicate files in info/files in %s" % package_path)
+        errors.append(f"Duplicate files in info/files in {package_path}")
     # Compare the contents of files and members
     unlisted_members = member_set.difference(file_set)
     missing_members = file_set.difference(member_set)
@@ -109,14 +108,16 @@ def assert_package_consistency(package_path):
     missing_files = [m for m in unlisted_members if not m.startswith("info/")]
     if len(missing_files) > 0:
         errors.append(
-            "The following package files are not listed in "
-            "info/files: %s" % ", ".join(missing_files)
+            "The following package files are not listed in info/files: {}".format(
+                ", ".join(missing_files)
+            )
         )
     # Find any files missing in the archive
     if len(missing_members) > 0:
         errors.append(
-            "The following files listed in info/files are missing: "
-            "%s" % ", ".join(missing_members)
+            "The following files listed in info/files are missing: {}".format(
+                ", ".join(missing_members)
+            )
         )
     # Find any files in has_prefix that are not present in files
     if has_prefix_present:
@@ -129,15 +130,15 @@ def assert_package_consistency(package_path):
             elif len(parts) == 3:
                 prefix_path_list.append(parts[2])
             else:
-                errors.append("Invalid has_prefix file in package: %s" % package_path)
+                errors.append(f"Invalid has_prefix file in package: {package_path}")
         prefix_path_set = set(prefix_path_list)
         if len(prefix_path_list) != len(prefix_path_set):
-            errors.append("Duplicate files in info/has_prefix in %s" % package_path)
+            errors.append(f"Duplicate files in info/has_prefix in {package_path}")
         prefix_not_in_files = prefix_path_set.difference(file_set)
         if len(prefix_not_in_files) > 0:
             errors.append(
                 "The following files listed in info/has_prefix are missing "
-                "from info/files: %s" % ", ".join(prefix_not_in_files)
+                "from info/files: {}".format(", ".join(prefix_not_in_files))
             )
 
     # Assert that no errors are detected