Allow installation without sudo access - #1148
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Copilot review overview
馃煛 Changes recommended
There are a couple of concrete installer UX/logic issues in the changed install.sh block that should be addressed before approving.
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What changed in this PR
This PR updates the installer to better support running without administrator membership by preferring writable prefixes and reducing reliance on sudo, while adding documentation and automated coverage for non-admin/provisioned-prefix scenarios.
Changes:
- Adjusts macOS group selection and installer behavior to allow installs into writable/provisioned prefixes without requiring admin membership.
- Adds conservative
sudocapability detection and makesexecute_sudoattempt operations without elevation before retrying withsudowhen necessary. - Adds permission-focused tests and CI coverage, plus README guidance for no-sudo installs.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
install.sh |
Implements sudo-less flow, conservative sudo failure detection, and conditional /etc/paths.d creation. |
tests/鈥媡est_install.py |
Adds unit tests covering sudo detection, probing behavior, and group selection for non-admin installs. |
README.md |
Documents no-sudo installation expectations and HOMEBREW_NO_SUDO. |
.github/鈥媤orkflows/鈥媡ests.yml |
Runs the new installer permission tests in CI and adds a provisioned-prefix no-sudo install scenario. |
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MikeMcQuaid
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p-linnane
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Sep 22, 2026
- Allow writable prefixes without administrator membership. - Keep macOS's admin group for members and use the primary group otherwise, allowing group changes without elevation. - Remove group and other write access when falling back to `staff`, including existing files, and restrict the umask for new files. - Honour `HOMEBREW_NO_SUDO` and detect known privilege failures. - Probe sudo without refreshing cached credentials. - Try filesystem operations before requesting elevation. - Skip Command Line Tools without sudo and make their installation failures non-fatal when a usable Git is available. - Validate Git before downloading Homebrew, accepting PATH and Xcode installations without invoking Apple's developer-tool stubs. - Recommend the macOS package for MDM and identify the release requirement for installation without Git or developer tools. - Cover permissions and optional tools with Ruby tests and verify installation and package use as a real non-admin account in CI. - Use the test account's login environment to avoid inheriting the runner's inaccessible working directory.
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HOMEBREW_NO_SUDOand detect known privilege failures.