Homebrew Copilot CLI

A Homebrew formula to install GitHub Copilot CLI on macOS. This repository provides an easy way to manage GitHub Copilot's command-line tool via Homebrew.

🚀 Quick Start

# Install
brew tap thesmokinator/copilot-cli
brew install copilot-cli

# Use it
copilot --help

What is this?

The copilot-cli.rb script is a Homebrew formula that automates the installation of GitHub Copilot CLI. Homebrew is a package manager for macOS that simplifies installation and management of command-line applications.

How it works

1. Defines metadata: specifies the package name, description, NPM package URL, and SHA256 checksum for integrity verification
2. Declares dependencies: requires Node.js as a prerequisite
3. Installs the package: downloads and installs the @github/copilot package from NPM
4. Creates executable link: copies the executable to Homebrew's bin directory, making it available system-wide
5. Verifies installation: runs automated tests to confirm the tool works correctly

Prerequisites

Before installing, ensure you have:

• macOS (Intel or Apple Silicon)
• Homebrew installed (get it here)
• Node.js (v14 or higher; will be installed automatically if missing)

Installation

Method 1: From the Homebrew tap (recommended)

# Add the tap (one-time setup)
brew tap thesmokinator/copilot-cli

# Install Copilot CLI
brew install copilot-cli

# Verify installation
copilot --version

Method 2: Install from local formula

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/thesmokinator/homebrew-copilot-cli.git
cd homebrew-copilot-cli

# Install from local formula
brew install ./copilot-cli.rb

# Verify installation
copilot --version

Verify the installation

After installation, confirm everything works:

copilot --version
copilot --help

Usage Examples

Get help

# Display general help
copilot --help

# Show version
copilot --version

Common commands

# Explain code or concepts
copilot explain "your question here"

# Generate code suggestions
copilot suggest "describe what you need"

# Ask Copilot questions
copilot ask "how do I use X in JavaScript?"

Updating the Formula (for maintainers)

To update the Homebrew formula to a new version of the Copilot CLI:

1. Find the new version number from the NPM package
2. Update the url in copilot-cli.rb to point to the new tarball
3. Calculate the new SHA256 hash:

curl -sL https://registry.npmjs.org/@github/copilot/-/copilot-<version>.tgz | shasum -a 256

Replace <version> with the actual version number (e.g., 0.0.395).

4. Update the sha256 in copilot-cli.rb with the calculated hash
5. Test the formula locally:

brew install --build-from-source ./copilot-cli.rb
copilot --version

6. Commit and push the changes

Updating

To update Copilot CLI to the latest version:

brew upgrade copilot-cli

Uninstallation

To remove Copilot CLI:

brew uninstall copilot-cli

# Optional: Remove the tap if you don't need other packages from it
brew untap thesmokinator/copilot-cli

Troubleshooting

"copilot: command not found"

# Verify Homebrew installation path
which brew

# Check your shell PATH
echo $PATH

# Add Homebrew to PATH (if needed)
# For Intel Mac:
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"

# For Apple Silicon:
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH"

# Make it permanent by adding to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile

"Node.js not found"

# Install Node.js via Homebrew
brew install node

# Verify installation
node --version
npm --version

Installation fails with permission errors

# Run with proper permissions
brew install copilot-cli --verbose

# If issues persist, try:
brew doctor

Need help?

# Get more detailed information
copilot --help

# Check your version
copilot --version

# Diagnose Homebrew issues
brew doctor

Technical Details

Aspect	Details
Package	@github/copilot
Current Version	0.0.358
Source	NPM Registry
License	MIT
Dependencies	Node.js ≥ v14
Platforms	macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon)

Contributing

To report issues or suggest improvements, visit the GitHub repository.

Resources

• GitHub Copilot Official Docs
• Homebrew Documentation
• NPM Package

License

MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.