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by rsa25519 1876 days ago
> Linux distributions don't depend on running random code from GitHub repositories like Homebrew does, it has package repositories.

Is the Homebrew github repo not a package repository?
2 comments
heavyset_go 1876 days ago
Anyone can upload a Homebrew formula to Github that installs a malicious binary via brew.

Debian, for example, has trusted build systems that compile packages for their package repositories, and some packages already have reproducible builds[1].

Package repositories on Linux tend to provide the sources and binaries needed to install software. Homebrew just supplies formulas on GitHub, which only contain instructions on how to fetch and install externally hosted binaries, or instructions on how to fetch and install via externally hosted source code.

[1] https://wiki.debian.org/ReproducibleBuilds

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reshlo 1876 days ago
Homebrew has build servers that compile pre-built binaries.[1] Most of the common software that people install with it (not considering Casks) comes in this form.

It’s not the case that anyone can upload a malicious formula, either. They do review requests to update formulas.

[1] https://docs.brew.sh/Bottles

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iudqnolq 1876 days ago
There was a post today about their auto version upgrade PR bot. I don't think any distro does that.
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