brew install @lts

[gireeshpunathil]

A detailed description of the proposed feature

Ability to issue brew install node@lts that installs the latest stable release

The motivation for the feature

being able to consume the stable versions as opposed to specific versions

How the feature would be relevant to at least 90% of Homebrew users

because most users aspire to use lts versions of any software

What alternatives to the feature have been considered

manually identify the lts version and use it in the command line

reference: https://github.com/nodejs/help/issues/1599

Thanks in advance!

[MikeMcQuaid]

@Homebrew/core for thoughts on this for node specifically with an alias or formula (jenkins-lts is some prior art).

[gireeshpunathil]

is it closed by mistake? just wondering about the issue life cycle - the above comment suggests that it is forwarded for further considerations, but where that will be tracked, that I can follow? thanks!

[MikeMcQuaid]

@gireeshpunathil In general we close those out we don't have specific plans to do.

[gireeshpunathil]

ah! ok. I then mis-interpreted as forwarded for further consideration.

Any reason why this cannot be taken up? invalid requirement / not a common use case / anything else?

[MikeMcQuaid]

@gireeshpunathil A combination of not enough demand, existing solutions (being able to install by version number) perhaps being sufficient and there be no clear implementation in Homebrew for this solution.

[MikeMcQuaid]

Also it being pretty specific to NodeJS and a few other tools rather than most formulae.

[vitorgalvao]

Ability to issue brew install node@lts that installs the latest stable release

I’ve never seen LTS to mean “latest stable release”. To me it always meant Long Term Support, which is the latest stable only for a short while, then becoming an older and older version that still gets patches.

because most users aspire to use lts versions of any software

With that definition, I agree most users want the latest stable, but only a few (generally a company) want the LTS.

[gireeshpunathil]

@vitorgalvao - I did not mean to expand lts into latest stable release. If the requested tag is confusing, please treat it as brew install xyz@lsr or something, you got the idea.

suggestion to install by specifying the version does not yield a good user experience, as it requires going through the software's website and reading deeper which, kind of defeats the premise of the tool's flexibility?

[vitorgalvao]

Then what’s the issue with brew install node? You don’t need to specify a version or any @. The default behaviour is to install the latest stable version, isn’t it?

[gireeshpunathil]

default install installs current version (v12.x) , not the stable one (v10.x). ref: https://nodejs.org/en/

[vitorgalvao]

not the stable one (v10.x)

That’s the long term support version. They even state as much on the website.

You’re conflating things. “Latest Stable” is not the same as “Long Term Support”. What you want is a version for long term support. In that case, no, I don’t think this is “relevant to at least 90% of Homebrew users”.

[gireeshpunathil]

I do not wish to pursue this any further, however the data points suggest usage of lts
https://nodejs.org/en/user-survey-report/#version