Package manager distribution (Homebrew, Linux packages, WinGet/Scoop, crates.io)

Umbrella issue for making tgrep installable through native package managers.

Follows on from #107, which asks specifically for a Homebrew formula. The same gap applies to Linux and Windows users.

Current state

The only documented install paths are:

• cargo install --path tgrep-cli --locked after cloning the repo
• manually downloading a tarball/zip from Releases and extracting it onto PATH

There is no package manager story on any platform, and nothing published to crates.io.

The good news is that .github/workflows/release.yml already produces the artifacts packaging needs:

• x86_64-unknown-linux-musl
• aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
• x86_64-apple-darwin
• aarch64-apple-darwin
• Windows zip

So most of this is packaging and release automation rather than new build work.

Proposed scope

macOS + Linux — Homebrew (covers #107)

Publish a formula to a microsoft/homebrew-tap so users can run brew install microsoft/tap/tgrep. Homebrew works on Linux as well, so a single bottle-less formula pointing at the existing release tarballs covers both platforms. Moving to homebrew-core later is possible once the project meets its notability requirements.

Linux — native packages

• .deb via cargo-deb and .rpm via cargo-generate-rpm, attached to each GitHub release
• optionally a Nix derivation and an AUR PKGBUILD (both are typically community-maintained)

Windows — WinGet and/or Scoop

Submit a WinGet manifest and/or a Scoop bucket entry built from the existing Windows zip.

Cross-platform — crates.io

Publishing tgrep-cli to crates.io makes cargo install tgrep work without cloning the repo. This is the cheapest win and benefits every platform at once.

Release automation

Whatever we adopt needs a bump step in the release workflow so formulas/manifests are updated with the new version and checksums automatically. Otherwise these go stale within a release or two.

Suggested order

1. crates.io publish (lowest effort, immediate cross-platform benefit)
2. Homebrew tap (closes #107, highest demand)
3. .deb/.rpm artifacts on releases
4. WinGet/Scoop
5. Automate version + checksum bumps in release.yml

Docs

Update the Installation section of README.md as each channel lands.

Start by reading .github/workflows/release.yml and the existing installation section in README.md, then review the current cargo install and release artifact paths. The issue spans crates.io, Homebrew, Linux packages, Windows manifests, and release automation, so define one channel as a focused contribution. Done means the selected channel is published or attached to releases, version and checksum updates are covered where applicable, and README.md reflects it.