Best way to distribute an open source project via Homebrew

[simonwhitaker]

Let's say I have a new open source project, and I want folks to be able to install it with brew install. My project is written in some compiled language (Rust, Go, etc) and I want users to be able to install a pre-built binary. I've got a couple of choices here, regarding distributing via my own tap repo:

1. Build the binaries myself, host them somewhere (e.g. as Github releases), distribute using a cask (that's how I do it for runny, for example, using goreleaser to maintain the cask definition.)
2. Build bottles myself, host them somewhere (e.g. Github packages?), distribute using a formula
3. Do what goreleaser used to do: build the binaries myself, host them as Github releases, distribute using a formula with custom install instructions (example here). (I assume this is not recommended, but I'm including it for completeness.)
4. I'm holding it wrong! I shouldn't use a tap for open source software, I should just submit a formula to Homebrew core and let them build the bottles.

Which of these, if any, is "the right way" to do it?

[SMillerDev]

The easiest for your users will be to have it in the main Homebrew taps. So if your software meets the criteria that's by far the best experience.

If you want to have the software in your own tap there are two options:

1. For open source software, write a formula that builds the software and use the default CI workflow in the tap to have it build bottles.
2. Build binaries and upload them somewhere and download/distribute them as a Cask the way goreleaser does it.

[simonwhitaker]

Thanks Sean, appreciate the fast response!

If I want to start with my own tap (e.g. because it's a brand new project, or because I'm still actively iterating on an early release and want to make updates available as soon as possible) then migrate to the main Homebrew taps, is that easier if I vend as a formula in my own tap? It looks like in that scenario, I can migrate early brew install myorg/tap/foo users over to brew install foo with a tap_migrations.json file like this. But I wonder if that would work if brew install myorg/tap/foo was installing a cask, but brew install foo was installing a formula.

[SMillerDev]

I believe it will do the right thing there. If it doesn't that should be reported and fixed as a bug.

[simonwhitaker]

Great, thanks!