Displaying a message about left behind site-package upon uninstalling Python

[simurgh9]

Output of brew config

Note relevant.

Output of brew doctor

Note relevant.

Description of issue

I came across the following GitHub Issue while attempting to learn why upon uninstalling a python version, e.g., brew uninstall python@X.Y the corresponding site packages $(brew --prefix)/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages are not removed.

@Bo98 explains,

The reason is largely because these directories are not entirely managed by Homebrew. If you run pip yourself then it will also install there.

If there's nothing you've installed there that you want to keep, it is safe to delete.

I think it will be better if a little message along the lines of "/opt/homebrew/lib/pythonX.Y/ was left behind, If there's nothing you've installed there that you want to keep, it is safe to delete" etc. is displayed when someone uninstalls Python.

[gromgit]

I think that's a dangerous "enhancement", as there's a mental disconnect between "I installed something in /opt/homebrew/lib/pythonX.Y" and "I ran pip install foobar". There's an even larger gap between the former and "I installed a program that quietly ran pip install foobar under the hood".

Also, I suspect Python-savvy Homebrew users are actually a minority, which invariably leads to "well, I certainly didn't install whatsit, so bye-bye...hey why can't I run ScuzzTool any more?"

The status quo is much safer, in that it doesn't encourage the user to do something they'll regret, when they didn't know that they didn't know.

[SMillerDev]

When that GitHub issue was made, Homebrew hadn't adapted https://peps.python.org/pep-0668/ yet. Nowadays if people have libraries there they are either managed by homebrew on purpose, or people or tools very specifically installed them.

Giving a message about removing files only risks installs. In the current state, few people will benefit from it

[simurgh9]

Can we at least notify users with the existence of /opt/homebrew/lib/pythonX.Y/ with maybe a non-threatening message that prompts for nothing? So the more OCD Python-savvy Homebrew users can be reminded that they usually clean that place?

Something along the lines of,

Packages from Python X.Y are left in /opt/homebrew/lib/pythonX.Y/.