Baptl;dr
🥇 Homebrew-core: the missing package manager for macOS (or Linux)
🥈 Homebrew-cask: A CLI workflow for macOS applications
🥉 Nixpkgs: Packages collection & NixOS.
The repos which received the most amount of valid PRs throughout Hacktoberfest are all package managers.
This is due to:
- large community
- repo complexity which opens the door for lots of incremental improvements and bug fixes
- a high amount of minor fixes, which can be resolved using automated tools (and leading to potential PR inflation)
Hi friends 👋
Hacktoberfest is now over! 🥹
This month was absolutely fantastic, and we hope many of you had fun contributing! 🙏
Although Hacktoberfest 2023 is now finished, the party is most definitely not done...
In fact, it’s just getting started!
First, you can keep contributing to open source alongside a fantastic community and find the perfect repos! Simply sign up for free to Quira.
Also, it is time to celebrate the best repos from Hacktoberfest! At Quira, we built up a hacktoberfest leaderboard to find the top 100 repos, organisations and contributors.
Now that the event is wrapped up, let's take a look at the top repos you CANNOT miss: 👀
Note: If you want to understand how the leaderboard was created, you can learn more about it here.
1. Homebrew-core
🍻 Default formulae for the missing package manager for macOS (or Linux).
Homebrew installs the stuff you need that Apple (or your Linux system) didn’t. A neat feature of Homebrew is you can create your own "taps" to distribute software. You can bundle your favourite tools and make them easily installable across your team, just like you would with public packages. It's a little bit like having your own private app store. 😁
Homebrew Core:
- is a non-profit and community-driven project which has won the hearts of many developers around the planet (including mine ☺️).
- It offers a straightforward and efficient way to install and manage command-line software on macOS and Linux.
- It brings a diverse catalogue of command-line tools and utilities, simplifying the installation process for developers.
2. Homebrew-cask
🏗️ A CLI workflow for the administration of macOS applications distributed as binaries.
Homebrew Casks is like the next-level upgrade of Homebrew. While Homebrew mainly handles command-line tools, Casks lets you install full-on Mac applications and GUI-based software with a single command.
Homebrew Cask:
- is a very friendly CLI workflow for administering macOS applications distributed as binaries.
- It is an extension of Homebrew and brings great speed (and simplicity!) to the installation.
- It also manages GUI macOS applications such as Visual Studio Code and Google Chrome.
3. Nixpkgs
📦 Nix Packages collection & NixOS.
NixOS offers a unique package and configuration management approach through its functional language-based model. It lets you roll back system changes easily (a little something called _immutable infrastructure). This is super useful if you like the idea of 'undo' buttons for system tweaks.
Nixpkgs:
- is a collection of over 80,000 software packages that can be installed with the Nix package manager.
- It implements NixOS, a purely functional Linux distribution.
- It also provides packages that are available for several platforms and which can be used with the Nix package manager on most GNU/Linux distributions.
One thing that is obvious in the three winners is that all are package managers and there may be a good reason why:
Minor fixes: Package managers require many small updates, such as changes in the version system of a small library. These changes are often done automatically through automated tools, which could be the reason why the PR numbers are inflated!
Complexity: These tools have many features and support multiple languages or environments. This complexity opens the door for lots of incremental improvements and bug fixes.
Community-Driven: Package managers often have a strong community around them. A passionate community is more likely to lead to high usage and contribution, especially during events like Hacktoberfest.
There could be further discussions to decide who are the best singular Hactkoberfest contributions since we have looked at things only from the angle of the most amount of merged PRs.
This is also why you can play around with the leaderboard and get to find amazing repos, orgs and contributors on your own! 😄
I hope this piece brought you some value, and I'll see you in the next one!
Your Dev.to buddy,
Bap 💚
If you want to join the self-proclaimed "coolest" server in open source (😝), you should join our discord server. We are here to help you in your journey with open source. 🫶
