Interest in Homebrew distribution, what's needed on the release side?

[hcrosse]

Hey, I'm looking at packaging witchcraft (and pickbrain) for Homebrew so users on macOS can get a working install with brew install witchcraft / brew install pickbrain instead of the current make flow. Wanted to check alignment before opening PRs, since part of this touches your release process.

The formulas themselves would live in a separate tap, not this repo. But to make brew installs fast and not force every user through a full Rust toolchain build, the tap really needs prebuilt binaries per platform attached to GitHub Releases. Right now v0.1.0 exists as a tag but there's no Release object and no .github/workflows/, so the only artifacts are GitHub's auto-generated source zips.

What I think would need to happen in this repo:

1. Promote tags to proper GitHub Releases (so formulas can pin to a release + checksum).
2. A release workflow that builds binaries on tag push for the platforms that matter, at minimum macOS arm64 and x86_64, with the recommended feature flags from the README baked in per target:
   • arm64: t5-quantized,metal,accelerate
   • x86_64: t5-quantized,accelerate,hybrid-dequant,fbgemm
3. Two binaries per platform in each release: warp-cli and pickbrain.
4. A decision on weights. I'd suggest not shipping them in the release artifact. We could either keep the current Python download flow, or add a pickbrain setup subcommand that fetches + quantizes on first run. Happy to do whichever you prefer.

Open questions:

• Do you want the tap under dropbox/homebrew-witchcraft, or are you fine with a community tap to start and potentially adopt later?
• Any objection to the CI additions above? I can open a PR with the workflow if so.
• For pickbrain, the brew formula would install the skill definition files and print caveats telling users how to register them with Claude Code / Codex (brew can't touch user config directly). Does that match how you'd want the skill installed, or do you want to keep make pickbrain-install as the official path and have brew only ship the binary?
• Linux support in scope, or macOS-only for v1?

Happy to do the CI work and send a PR if there's appetite. Just didn't want to land a release-pipeline change cold.

[LinusOstlund]

+1 for a proper installation pipeline

[jacobgorm]

hi, would be very interested in having this. I did actually try to build this with Claude, see patch below, but ran in to lack of Actions support on the official dropbox github repos, and got stuck. Totally fine with this being a community tap, but it seems we at Dropbox would have to figure out the Github Release process?

wrt 4) on weights, the download scripts need python and pytorch, so having to install these just to download and quantize the weights seems like it would be almost as much pain as building everything from source. OTOH in the future we might want the ability to choose weights individually. Perhaps we could find a way to make the weights downloadable in pre-quantized .gguf format, possibly from huggingface?

Wrt pickbrain-install, I think we should ship with a script that does the same as "make pickbrain-install", but without requiring make.

Wrt linux (and Windows), this supposedly will work already, just a bit slower as it will fall back to CPU for inferencing.

Here is as far as I got myself:

From eb23360ec981a0710314007b803d59fdb174bed4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacob Gorm Hansen <jhansen@dropbox.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:09:49 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Add Homebrew formula and CI release workflow for pickbrain

Builds pickbrain for macOS ARM64, macOS Intel, and Windows Intel
via GitHub Actions on tag push. Formula lives in the main repo,
installable via `brew tap dropbox/witchcraft <url>`.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 .github/workflows/release.yml | 196 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 Formula/pickbrain.rb          |  47 ++++++++
 README.md                     |  18 +++-
 release.sh                    |  66 ++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 324 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .github/workflows/release.yml
 create mode 100644 Formula/pickbrain.rb
 create mode 100755 release.sh

diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f78f8ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+name: Release
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags: ['v*']
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+
+env:
+  CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - name: macos-arm64
+            os: macos-14
+            target: aarch64-apple-darwin
+            features: t5-quantized,metal,progress,embed-assets
+            rustflags: ''
+            backend: gguf
+            archive: tar.gz
+          - name: macos-intel
+            os: macos-13
+            target: x86_64-apple-darwin
+            features: t5-quantized,fbgemm,hybrid-dequant,progress,embed-assets
+            rustflags: '-C target-feature=+avx2,+fma'
+            backend: gguf
+            archive: tar.gz
+          - name: windows-intel
+            os: windows-latest
+            target: x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
+            features: t5-openvino,fbgemm,progress,embed-assets
+            rustflags: ''
+            backend: openvino
+            archive: zip
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+        with:
+          targets: ${{ matrix.target }}
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.13'
+
+      - name: Cache model weights
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        id: cache-weights
+        with:
+          path: assets
+          key: weights-${{ matrix.backend }}-${{ hashFiles('downloadweights.py', 'quantize-openvino.py') }}
+
+      - name: Install Python deps
+        if: steps.cache-weights.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        run: pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+      - name: Download weights
+        if: steps.cache-weights.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p assets
+          python downloadweights.py
+
+      - name: Quantize to GGUF
+        if: matrix.backend == 'gguf' && steps.cache-weights.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        run: cargo run --release -p quantize-tool -- xtr.safetensors assets/xtr.gguf
+
+      - name: Quantize to OpenVINO IR
+        if: matrix.backend == 'openvino' && steps.cache-weights.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        run: python quantize-openvino.py
+
+      - name: Cache Cargo
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: |
+            ~/.cargo/registry
+            ~/.cargo/git
+            target
+          key: cargo-${{ matrix.target }}-${{ hashFiles('**/Cargo.toml') }}
+          restore-keys: cargo-${{ matrix.target }}-
+
+      - name: Build
+        env:
+          RUSTFLAGS: ${{ matrix.rustflags }}
+        run: >
+          cargo build --release
+          --target ${{ matrix.target }}
+          --features ${{ matrix.features }}
+          --example pickbrain
+
+      - name: Package (macOS)
+        if: runner.os == 'macOS'
+        run: |
+          VERSION=${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}
+          DIR="pickbrain-${VERSION}-${{ matrix.target }}"
+          mkdir -p "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain" "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain-codex"
+          cp "target/${{ matrix.target }}/release/examples/pickbrain" "${DIR}/"
+          cp skills/pickbrain/SKILL.md "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain/"
+          cp skills/pickbrain-codex/SKILL.md "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain-codex/"
+          tar -czf "${DIR}.tar.gz" "${DIR}"
+
+      - name: Package (Windows)
+        if: runner.os == 'Windows'
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          VERSION=${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}
+          DIR="pickbrain-${VERSION}-${{ matrix.target }}"
+          mkdir -p "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain" "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain-codex"
+          cp "target/${{ matrix.target }}/release/examples/pickbrain.exe" "${DIR}/"
+          cp skills/pickbrain/SKILL.md "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain/"
+          cp skills/pickbrain-codex/SKILL.md "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain-codex/"
+
+          # Bundle OpenVINO runtime DLLs
+          pip install openvino
+          OVDIR=$(python -c "import openvino, os; print(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(openvino.__file__), 'libs'))")
+          while IFS= read -r dll; do
+            cp "${OVDIR}/${dll}" "${DIR}/" || echo "Warning: ${dll} not found in ${OVDIR}"
+          done < openvino-dlls.txt
+
+          7z a "${DIR}.zip" "${DIR}"
+
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: ${{ matrix.name }}
+          path: pickbrain-*.*
+
+  release:
+    needs: build
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          path: artifacts
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: Update formula and create release
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          VERSION=${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}
+
+          # Update formula version and SHA256 hashes
+          sed -i "s/^  version \".*\"/  version \"${VERSION}\"/" Formula/pickbrain.rb
+          for arch in aarch64-apple-darwin x86_64-apple-darwin; do
+            TARBALL="artifacts/pickbrain-${VERSION}-${arch}.tar.gz"
+            if [ -f "${TARBALL}" ]; then
+              HASH=$(sha256sum "${TARBALL}" | awk '{print $1}')
+              sed -i "/${arch}/{ n; s/sha256 \".*\"/sha256 \"${HASH}\"/; }" Formula/pickbrain.rb
+            fi
+          done
+
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git add Formula/pickbrain.rb
+          git diff --cached --quiet || git commit -m "formula: update pickbrain to ${VERSION}"
+          git push origin HEAD:master
+
+          # Create release with all artifacts
+          gh release create "${GITHUB_REF_NAME}" \
+            --title "pickbrain ${VERSION}" \
+            --notes "$(cat <<'NOTES'
+          Semantic search over Claude Code and Codex conversations.
+
+          ## Install (macOS)
+
+          ```
+          brew tap dropbox/witchcraft https://github.com/dropbox/witchcraft
+          brew install pickbrain
+          ```
+
+          ## Install (Windows)
+
+          Download the zip below, extract, and add the directory to your PATH.
+
+          ## Install skills (all platforms)
+
+          After installing, set up the Claude Code and Codex skills:
+
+          ```
+          mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/pickbrain ~/.codex/skills/pickbrain
+          cp skills/pickbrain/SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/pickbrain/
+          cp skills/pickbrain-codex/SKILL.md ~/.codex/skills/pickbrain/
+          ```
+          NOTES
+          )" \
+            artifacts/pickbrain-*
diff --git a/Formula/pickbrain.rb b/Formula/pickbrain.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..489a9f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Formula/pickbrain.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+class Pickbrain < Formula
+  desc "Semantic search over Claude Code and Codex conversations"
+  homepage "https://github.com/dropbox/witchcraft"
+  version "0.1.0"
+  license "Apache-2.0"
+
+  on_macos do
+    on_arm do
+      url "https://github.com/dropbox/witchcraft/releases/download/v#{version}/pickbrain-#{version}-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz"
+      sha256 "PLACEHOLDER"
+    end
+    on_intel do
+      url "https://github.com/dropbox/witchcraft/releases/download/v#{version}/pickbrain-#{version}-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz"
+      sha256 "PLACEHOLDER"
+    end
+  end
+
+  def install
+    bin.install "pickbrain"
+    (share/"pickbrain/skills/pickbrain").install "skills/pickbrain/SKILL.md"
+    (share/"pickbrain/skills/pickbrain-codex").install "skills/pickbrain-codex/SKILL.md"
+  end
+
+  def post_install
+    claude_dir = Pathname.new(Dir.home)/".claude/skills/pickbrain"
+    codex_dir = Pathname.new(Dir.home)/".codex/skills/pickbrain"
+    claude_dir.mkpath
+    codex_dir.mkpath
+    cp share/"pickbrain/skills/pickbrain/SKILL.md", claude_dir/"SKILL.md"
+    cp share/"pickbrain/skills/pickbrain-codex/SKILL.md", codex_dir/"SKILL.md"
+  end
+
+  def caveats
+    <<~EOS
+      Skill definitions have been installed to:
+        ~/.claude/skills/pickbrain/SKILL.md
+        ~/.codex/skills/pickbrain/SKILL.md
+
+      First run will ingest and embed your sessions (~7s).
+      The database is stored at ~/.claude/pickbrain.db
+    EOS
+  end
+
+  test do
+    assert_match "Usage", shell_output("#{bin}/pickbrain 2>&1")
+  end
+end
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b9f8899..91e7ada 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -60,11 +60,23 @@ authored documents into a Witchcraft database for fast semantic search. Ever
 wondered "what was that conversation where I fixed the auth middleware?" —
 pickbrain finds it, and lets you resume the session directly.
 
+```
+brew tap dropbox/witchcraft https://github.com/dropbox/witchcraft
+brew install pickbrain
+```
+
+Or build from source:
+

make pickbrain
-./pickbrain auth middleware fix # search across all sessions (auto-ingests new sessions)
-./pickbrain --session auth # search within one session
-./pickbrain --dump # print full conversation
+ + +Then search: + +
+pickbrain auth middleware fix # search across all sessions (auto-ingests new sessions)
+pickbrain --session auth # search within one session
+pickbrain --dump # print full conversation

The source lives in `examples/pickbrain/` and demonstrates how to use
diff --git a/release.sh b/release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ab53667
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+VERSION="${1:?Usage: release.sh <version>}"
+REPO="dropbox/witchcraft"
+TAG="v${VERSION}"
+FORMULA="Formula/pickbrain.rb"
+
+# Build both architectures
+echo "==> Building aarch64 (Apple Silicon)..."
+cargo build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin \
+  --features t5-quantized,metal,progress,embed-assets \
+  --example pickbrain
+
+echo "==> Building x86_64 (Intel)..."
+RUSTFLAGS='-C target-feature=+avx2,+fma' cargo build --release --target x86_64-apple-darwin \
+  --features t5-quantized,fbgemm,hybrid-dequant,progress,embed-assets \
+  --example pickbrain
+
+# Package tarballs
+STAGING=$(mktemp -d)
+for arch in aarch64 x86_64; do
+  echo "==> Packaging ${arch}..."
+  DIR="${STAGING}/pickbrain-${VERSION}-${arch}-apple-darwin"
+  mkdir -p "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain" "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain-codex"
+  cp "target/${arch}-apple-darwin/release/examples/pickbrain" "${DIR}/"
+  cp skills/pickbrain/SKILL.md "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain/"
+  cp skills/pickbrain-codex/SKILL.md "${DIR}/skills/pickbrain-codex/"
+  tar -czf "${STAGING}/pickbrain-${VERSION}-${arch}-apple-darwin.tar.gz" -C "${STAGING}" \
+    "pickbrain-${VERSION}-${arch}-apple-darwin"
+done
+
+# Update formula with version and SHA256 hashes
+echo "==> Updating ${FORMULA}..."
+for arch in aarch64 x86_64; do
+  TARBALL="${STAGING}/pickbrain-${VERSION}-${arch}-apple-darwin.tar.gz"
+  HASH=$(shasum -a 256 "${TARBALL}" | awk '{print $1}')
+  echo "  ${arch}: ${HASH}"
+  # Replace the sha256 on the line after the url containing this arch
+  sed -i '' "/${arch}-apple-darwin/{ n; s/sha256 \".*\"/sha256 \"${HASH}\"/; }" "${FORMULA}"
+done
+sed -i '' "s/^  version \".*\"/  version \"${VERSION}\"/" "${FORMULA}"
+
+# Create GitHub release and upload
+echo ""
+echo "==> Creating GitHub release ${TAG}..."
+gh release create "${TAG}" \
+  --repo "${REPO}" \
+  --title "pickbrain ${VERSION}" \
+  --notes "Semantic search over Claude Code and Codex conversations.
+
+## Install
+
+\`\`\`
+brew tap dropbox/witchcraft https://github.com/dropbox/witchcraft
+brew install pickbrain
+\`\`\`
+
+Or download the binary for your platform below." \
+  "${STAGING}/pickbrain-${VERSION}-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz" \
+  "${STAGING}/pickbrain-${VERSION}-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz"
+
+rm -rf "${STAGING}"
+
+echo ""
+echo "==> Done! Formula updated. Commit and push to make it live."
-- 
2.46.0.dropbox.15

[jacobgorm]

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