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Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

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251–260 of 380 posts

Re: Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

#251

I have switched my full OS-level dev env to https://mise.jdx.dev/ from Homebrew+pipx+npm, initially as an experiment but found out that it actually works amazingly well. Many things get installed directly from GitHub releases or a corresponding package manager (uv, pnpm, go get ...), zero glue code to "repackage", zero version lag. You can install any arbitrary version of a package, even multiple ones at once, and dy…

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Re: Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

#252
With NetBSD and Macports, when I need to find a file I can predict where it is almost every time. With FreeBSD, Linux, and Brew, it feels like “here we go” while I guess. Since tools in categories like this are similar, things like this end up being tie breakers for me.

Re: Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

#254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This gets thrown around a lot, but it's not entirely true. Depending on the particular distro, only certain core packages are likely to get updates on LTS releases. Non-core packages may just get left to rot until the next LTS release. Specifically Ubuntu follows this. A lot of their non-core packages just get imported from Debian and then just sit unmaintained until next release (this goes doubly if not using Ubuntu…

> Depending on the particular distro, only certain core packages are likely to get updates on LTS releases. All LTS distros fix only some core packages sporadically as no one is able to back port all the patches esp. since most packages do not use CVEs and just fix bugs on the go. "Stable" for non-rolling distributions simply means "horribly broken and outdated".

It’s not horribly broken any more than your toaster is for not needing constant updates. Though I do have such a longstanding love/hate relationship with Ubuntu because of this. It is why it runs everywhere and just works (even powers the WSL2 defaults), but everything it provides also always so very far behind I end up recompiling so much important stuff by hand.

Re: Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

#255
post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two reasons come to mind for me: 1. It's very common, especially in certain ecosystems like Python, for the system to depend on old versions of things in such a way that updating to modern versions will break your entire system, while at the same time you want to run something at the user level that depends on a newer version. The solutions to this are usually ecosystem specific and often annoying to use for someone…

Honestly for python just using uv is enough, not only does it handle virtualenv for you, it will also install the necessary python version you need locally.

That’s entirely a user package manager though and is GPs point: what uv does cannot be done in a package manager like apt which sees itself as only doing system package management.

Re: Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

#256
post #89
post #24

Hi Mike, I’m @bfontaine on GitHub (I helped maintain Homebrew in ~2014-2016). I’m always impressed at your longevity as a maintainer; it’s been like what, 16+ years you’ve been maintaining Homebrew and you’re still here, still shipping new features! Thank you for everything!

Homebrew is so good that I use it on Linux whenever possible. Most Linux package managers cannot separate user-installed packages from system packages. This makes cleaning up your workstation nearly impossible and a pain in the ass, since you can't tell what should be removed, or more importantly, what can be removed. Also, most native package managers update much slower than Homebrew, meaning you often only get outd…

My personal solution for this is to install a simpler distro in chroot, alpine, and install dev newer apps in to it. Additionally, I run chroot via bwrap sandbox and have been doing this for quite some time now before flatpak became famous.

Re: Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

#257
post #186

Slightly tangential, but I went to set up Homebrew today on a new Mac. Stupidly clicked the top link in Google (which was sponsored but not obviously so). Took me to a spoof Homebrew page. I ran the script. Typed in my Mac password like a fool when prompted, and nothing happened. Then I realised what an idiot I’d been. Claude found evidence of an exfiltration malware on my laptop and I inmediately wiped the device an…

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Re: Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

#259
post #24

Hi Mike, I’m @bfontaine on GitHub (I helped maintain Homebrew in ~2014-2016). I’m always impressed at your longevity as a maintainer; it’s been like what, 16+ years you’ve been maintaining Homebrew and you’re still here, still shipping new features! Thank you for everything!

17 in September. Thanks for all your great work at the time! Hope you’re well <3

Thank you mike!

Re: Show HN: Homebrew 6.0.0

#260

The deprecation of Intel support is agressive! Every Mac enthusiast I know who uses a Mac as a server uses their old machines, which are pretty much all Intel. We'll lose support from you guys a year before Apple! I know supporting Intel is an ordeal and a choice, but I'm firmly on the camp that Homebrew should find a way to maintain Intel support as long as possible.

AFAIK, github action runner for intel will be deprecated at similar period, maybe that is major reason.
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