Enhancement: Add Homebrew install option

[fettpl]

As initially discussed via Reddit, I propose the addition of Homebrew as install method.

Numerous CLI coding tools support it and it would be great to have such an option to keep nanocoder up to date easily.

[will-lamerton]

Homebrew Installation Specification

Overview

Add official Homebrew support for nanocoder to provide a standardized installation and update mechanism for macOS and Linux users.

Implementation Approach

Include the Homebrew formula directly in the main repository:

• Location: Formula/nanocoder.rb in main repo
• Installation: brew install Mote-Software/nanocoder/nanocoder
• Benefits: Single repository to maintain, simpler workflow, automated updates with releases

Technical Requirements

Formula Specification

class Nanocoder < Formula
  desc "Local-first AI coding agent with multi-provider support"
  homepage "https://github.com/Mote-Software/nanocoder"
  url "https://github.com/Mote-Software/nanocoder/archive/v#{version}.tar.gz"
  sha256 "..." # Auto-generated for each release
  license "MIT" # Confirm license

  depends_on "node@18" => :build
  depends_on "npm" => :build

  def install
    system "npm", "install"
    system "npm", "run", "build"
    libexec.install Dir["*"]
    bin.install_symlink libexec/"dist/index.js" => "nanocoder"
  end

  test do
    assert_match version.to_s, shell_output("#{bin}/nanocoder --version")
  end
end

Repository Structure

nanocoder/
├── Formula/
│   └── nanocoder.rb
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
│       ├── release.yml (existing)
│       └── update-formula.yml (new)
└── ... (existing project files)

Automated Updates

Add to existing release workflow or create new workflow:

name: Update Homebrew Formula
on:
  release:
    types: [published]
jobs:
  update-formula:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Update formula version and SHA
        run: |
          VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/v}
          SHA=$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/Mote-Software/nanocoder/tarball/v${VERSION}" | sha256sum | cut -d' ' -f1)
          sed -i "s/version \".*\"/version \"${VERSION}\"/" Formula/nanocoder.rb
          sed -i "s/sha256 \".*\"/sha256 \"${SHA}\"/" Formula/nanocoder.rb
      - name: Commit formula update
        run: |
          git config --local user.email "action@github.com"
          git config --local user.name "GitHub Action"
          git add Formula/nanocoder.rb
          git commit -m "Update Homebrew formula to v${VERSION}"
          git push

User Experience

Installation

# Direct install from main repo
brew install Mote-Software/nanocoder/nanocoder

Updates

# Update to latest version
brew upgrade nanocoder

# Update all packages
brew upgrade

Uninstallation

brew uninstall nanocoder

Documentation Updates

README.md

Add Homebrew installation section:

## Installation

### Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

```bash
brew install Mote-Software/nanocoder/nanocoder
```

npm (All platforms)

npm install -g nanocoder

Documentation

• Add Homebrew as primary installation method for macOS users
• Include troubleshooting section for common Homebrew issues
• Document version compatibility requirements

Testing Strategy

Local Testing

# Test formula locally
brew install --build-from-source ./Formula/nanocoder.rb
brew test nanocoder
brew audit --strict ./Formula/nanocoder.rb

CI Testing

• Test installation on multiple macOS versions
• Verify binary works after installation
• Test upgrade path from previous versions

Maintenance Considerations

Formula Updates

• Automatically triggered by new GitHub releases
• Manual updates for dependency changes
• Version compatibility testing

Support Channels

• Add Homebrew-specific troubleshooting to documentation
• Monitor Homebrew-related issues in GitHub
• Provide clear error messages for common installation failures

[will-lamerton]

@fettpl has offered to take this on 👌🏼