Add Homebrew installation support

[misterlami]

Feature Request: Homebrew Installation

Description

I'd like OpenSpec to be available as a Homebrew formula so users on macOS (and Linux via Homebrew) can install it with a simple command.

Motivation

For macOS/Linux users, Homebrew is a standard package manager and would provide an easier, more discoverable installation method.

Proposed Solution

Create and publish a Homebrew formula (in either homebrew-core or as a tap) so users can install OpenSpec with: brew install openspec

Additional Context

• Many popular CLI tools are available via Homebrew
• This would reduce friction for new users
• Homebrew would handle updates automatically

[1code-async]

Task completed.

The enrichment comment has been posted on issue #766. Here's a summary of what was included:

Key findings:

• Duplicate identified: Issue [FEATURE REQUEST] Add homebrew support for macOS #333 requests the same feature, opened 3 months earlier with no progress
• Technical context: OpenSpec is a Node.js CLI tool (not a compiled binary), which means the Homebrew formula needs to use the NodeFormula pattern with a node@20 dependency
• Recommended approach: Start with a custom Homebrew tap (fission-ai/homebrew-openspec) rather than homebrew-core, since homebrew-core has strict acceptance criteria
• Formula skeleton: Provided a working example Ruby formula
• Release automation: Identified that the existing Changesets release pipeline (.github/workflows/release-prepare.yml) would need a new step to auto-bump the formula on each npm publish
• Prior art: Referenced the Nix flake support addition as precedent for adding non-npm distribution methods through the project's proposal process
• Files to change: Listed the specific files and repos that would need to be created or modified

---

View full conversation

Powered by 1Code

[1code-async]

Issue Triage: Homebrew Installation Support

Duplicate Check

This is a duplicate of #333 ("[FEATURE REQUEST] Add homebrew support for macOS"), which was opened on 2025-11-24 and remains open with no comments or progress. Consider consolidating discussion into one issue.

Current Installation Methods

OpenSpec currently supports installation via npm/pnpm/yarn/bun (all requiring Node.js >= 20.19.0) and Nix. See docs/installation.md for the full list.

Implementation Considerations

OpenSpec is a Node.js CLI package (@fission-ai/openspec on npm), not a compiled binary. The entry point is a Node.js script (bin/openspec.js) that requires Node.js at runtime. This has specific implications for Homebrew packaging:

1. Homebrew's node_formula_class: Homebrew supports Node.js-based formulae via its NodeFormula pattern, which handles npm installation within the Homebrew prefix and manages the Node.js dependency automatically. This is the standard approach for tools like typescript, vercel, etc.

2. Node.js dependency: The formula would need to declare a dependency on node@20 (minimum 20.19.0 per package.json). Homebrew's node@20 formula currently satisfies this.

3. pnpm workspace: OpenSpec uses pnpm with a lockfile (pnpm-lock.yaml). Homebrew formulae typically use npm for installation, so the formula would likely use system "npm", "install", *std_npm_args rather than pnpm directly.

Suggested Approach: Homebrew Tap (Recommended Starting Point)

Given that homebrew-core has strict acceptance criteria (notably: 30+ GitHub stars, notable user base, no cask alternatives), starting with a custom tap (fission-ai/homebrew-openspec) is more practical:

# Example formula skeleton
class Openspec < Formula
  desc "AI-native system for spec-driven development"
  homepage "https://github.com/Fission-AI/OpenSpec"
  url "https://registry.npmjs.org/@fission-ai/openspec/-/openspec-1.2.0.tgz"
  sha256 "<sha256-of-tarball>"
  license "MIT"

  depends_on "node@20"

  def install
    system "npm", "install", *std_npm_args
    bin.install_symlink libexec.glob("bin/*")
  end

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

Users would then install with:

brew tap fission-ai/openspec
brew install openspec

Release Automation

The current release pipeline uses Changesets + npm OIDC publishing (.github/workflows/release-prepare.yml). A Homebrew tap would need an additional workflow step to:

• Compute the SHA256 of the published npm tarball
• Update the formula's url and sha256 fields in the tap repo
• This can be automated with brew bump-formula-pr or a GitHub Action like mislav/bump-homebrew-formula-action

Prior Art in This Repo

The project has precedent for adding non-npm distribution methods. Nix flake support was added through the OpenSpec proposal process (see archived proposals under openspec/changes/archive/2026-01-07-add-nix-flake-support/). The flake.nix file already handles multi-platform builds (x86_64/aarch64 for both Linux and Darwin), which shows the project's willingness to support alternative installation paths.

Files Likely to Change

File	Change
New repo: fission-ai/homebrew-openspec	Homebrew tap with formula
.github/workflows/release-prepare.yml	Add step to bump formula on npm publish
docs/installation.md	Add Homebrew installation instructions
README.md	Update installation section (if applicable)

[misterlami]

duplicate issue