fix(native): use host Homebrew (read-only) instead of empty per-job prefix#99
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…refix Native macOS jobs were given a per-job Homebrew prefix (HOMEBREW_PREFIX=<jobDir>/homebrew) with an empty Cellar, and only the host's brew *binaries* were symlinked into PATH — not the formula metadata. So `brew list`-style checks (e.g. `spc doctor`, which php-sdk's macOS build runs) queried the empty per-job Cellar, concluded nothing was installed, and tried to (re)install formulae the host already had — which then failed because the sandbox denies writes to /opt/homebrew. Point HOMEBREW_PREFIX/HOMEBREW_CELLAR at the host's real /opt/homebrew instead. Jobs now SEE the host's installed formulae (so tool checks pass) but still cannot mutate them (the sandbox write-deny stays), which is how a normal shared macOS runner behaves. Drops the now-pointless per-job homebrew dir + symlink step. Verified: a php-sdk macOS SDK build now runs green end-to-end on the native path (spc doctor / LLVM / build libphp.a / package / upload), where it previously failed at deps setup. Note: this makes the host's Homebrew the source of truth for native build tooling — deps must be installed AND kept current on the host, since jobs can't `brew install`/upgrade. Follow-up: a host-provisioning dep list + periodic `brew upgrade` so upstream formula bumps don't regress builds. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01ChVRC9ZrvQarrctDwSy1S5
This was referenced Jul 8, 2026
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Problem
php-sdk's macОS build failed on the native path at "Install Homebrew + build deps via spc doctor". Root cause: native jobs got a per-job
HOMEBREW_PREFIX=<jobDir>/homebrewwith an empty Cellar — only the host's brew binaries were symlinked into PATH, not the formula metadata.So
spc doctor(which queries Homebrew) saw the empty per-job Cellar, decided pkg-config/etc. weren't installed, and tried to install them — which failed because the sandbox correctly denies writes to/opt/homebrew. It reported this as a misleading "Download … failed. Please check your internet connection" (the network was fine).Fix
Point
HOMEBREW_PREFIX/HOMEBREW_CELLARat the host's real/opt/homebrew. Jobs now see the host's installed formulae (tool checks pass) but still cannot mutate them (sandbox write-deny unchanged) — exactly how a normal shared macОS runner behaves. Removes the now-pointless per-job homebrew dir + symlink step.Verified live
A php-sdk macОS SDK build now runs green end-to-end on native (spc doctor ✓, LLVM ✓, build libphp.a ✓, package ✓, upload ✓), driven by a real webhook, where it previously died at deps setup.
Trade-off / follow-up
This makes the host's Homebrew the source of truth for native build tooling — deps must be installed and kept current on the host, since jobs can't
brew install/upgrade (write-denied). When Homebrew bumps a formula upstream, the host goes "outdated" and a job'sbrew install Xwill attempt an upgrade and fail. Follow-up: a host-provisioning dep list (autoconf automake libtool bison re2c cmake ninja llvm …) + periodicbrew upgrade, and likely an arch-doc note revisiting the per-job-Homebrew decision.🤖 Generated with Claude Code