Apt-bundle: brew bundle for apt • Hacker News Board

Re: Apt-bundle: brew bundle for apt

#31

Post by pamcake » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 6:21 AM UTC

pamcake wrote: post #28

Imustaskforhelp wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Big fan! Was like magic at first but now I have a big bunch of Aptfiles to deal with instead... Currently working on solving that with the next-generation tool apt-bundle-bunch, which has a simple declarative format to manage your apt-bundle projects in an Aptbundlefile. It's already great for agents and Im working with Claude on a curl|sh install for the v1. Good luck share the progress and let us know how it goes…

One key insight is that bundles are really sets of packages and that what we're doing when we bundle things is really just set join operations. Imagine the possibilities if we implement arbitrary set operations. So a bunch is defined as a set of bundles (which can themselves be down to a single package of course) and the declarations in the Aptbundlefile translates under the hood to references and set operations. Thi…

This whole thread was fiction and was missing this: "/s". I don't believe any of what I proposed above would be a good idea. Didn't think it would woosh and couldn't help myself doubling down when (if?) it did. Sorry for trolling.

Re: Apt-bundle: brew bundle for apt

#32

Post by PhilipRoman » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:56 AM UTC

hiciu wrote: post #20

curt15 wrote: post #10

Brew got one thing right that no Linux package manager seems to emulate: it doesn't require root for normal operations and even goes so far as to error out if running as root ( https://docs.brew.sh/FAQ#why-does-homebrew-say-sudo-is-bad ).

"let's allow any user process to modify my binaries" is not something to be proud of...

https://xkcd.com/1200/

Re: Apt-bundle: brew bundle for apt

#33

Post by cromka » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 10:08 AM UTC

yladiz wrote: post #29

cromka wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brew is so full of Linux/OSS/GNU anti-patterns that I can't wrap my head how did it ever managed to receive so much adoption. I guess macOS people are way more ignorant about things that made Linux/OSS what it is.

Can you give some examples?

Updating all of your installed packages when you ask it to install a new one. This is so utterly ridiculous that it singlehandedly nade me stop using brew. I can't imagine what other bad decisions they make if this is what they thought was a good one.

Another fact is that it's basically like AUR, with little to no oversight. If AUR had malware then just imagine how much malware is there in brew recipes.

They also didn't use cryptographic signing for the longest time, they did get some shit for that.

There were more, can't remember now.

One other thing that seriously annoys me is the automated closure of reported issues after they get no response for a while. So I reported maybe 3 bugs and then I stopped altogether, because why would you waste your time on a project that doesn't respect it? All these bugs were actual full blown bug reports, well written and researched. I can't but think that projects that close issues like that are made to look better than they are.

Also, you guys remember when its author ranted about not having gotten a job at Apple? I always thought they cared about the prestige of that project more than the actual project, based on the level of security shortcomings. Brew has that serious amateurish taste to it.

Re: Apt-bundle: brew bundle for apt

#34

Post by cromka » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 10:16 AM UTC

stephenr wrote: post #30

cromka wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brew is so full of Linux/OSS/GNU anti-patterns that I can't wrap my head how did it ever managed to receive so much adoption. I guess macOS people are way more ignorant about things that made Linux/OSS what it is.

It doesn't help that the project authors shut down any conversation about flaws. They're so convinced that their way is right and essentially stick their fingers in their ears when anyone raises concerns. Unfortunately cargo culting is a thing. I say this as a macOS user. Fortunately alternatives like MacPorts exist.

Absolutely this. I can't but think that brew is an extension of author(s) ego. Remember that essay about them failing to get a job at Apple?