Getting Started: permissions issue with ubuntu linuxbrew

[crkrenn]

Output of brew config

HOMEBREW_VERSION: 5.0.1-58-gcb9051d
ORIGIN: https://github.com/Homebrew/brew
HEAD: cb9051d3780fc6030d7673c611d12ea89c2d3c34
Last commit: 39 minutes ago
Branch: main
Core tap JSON: 14 Nov 22:22 UTC
HOMEBREW_PREFIX: /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew
HOMEBREW_CASK_OPTS: []
HOMEBREW_DOWNLOAD_CONCURRENCY: 16
HOMEBREW_FORBID_PACKAGES_FROM_PATHS: set
HOMEBREW_MAKE_JOBS: 8
Homebrew Ruby: 3.4.7 => /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/Homebrew/Library/Homebrew/vendor/portable-ruby/3.4.7/bin/ruby
CPU: octa-core 64-bit icelake
Clang: N/A
Git: 2.43.0 => /bin/git
Curl: 8.5.0 => /bin/curl
Kernel: Linux 6.14.0-1015-aws x86_64 GNU/Linux
OS: Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS (noble)
Host glibc: 2.39
Host libstdc++: 6.0.33
/usr/bin/gcc: N/A
/usr/bin/ruby: N/A
glibc: N/A
gcc@12: N/A
gcc: N/A
xorg: N/A

Output of brew doctor

Please note that these warnings are just used to help the Homebrew maintainers
with debugging if you file an issue. If everything you use Homebrew for is
working fine: please don't worry or file an issue; just ignore this. Thanks!

Warning: No developer tools installed.
Install Clang or run `brew install gcc`.

Description of issue

The recommended installation method

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

does not work with Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS when connected with ssm auth on aws.

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
Release:        24.04
Codename:       noble

With ChatGPT's help (see below), I could get brew installed, but I wanted to share this experience so it could help others.

Manual Homebrew Installation Workaround (Linuxbrew Prefix Issue)

At this point the official installer script is failing due to persistent permission issues in the Linuxbrew prefix. The good news: you're very close, and you can finish the installation manually while still staying fully compliant with the documented recommended prefix:

/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew

The recurring error:

/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/Homebrew/.git: Permission denied
Failed during: /usr/bin/git -c init.defaultBranch=main init --quiet

indicates that the installer is attempting to initialize the Homebrew/ directory as a git repository, but the permissions inside that directory are still incorrect.

Instead of continuing to fight the install script, here is a manual installation process that Homebrew officially supports. This avoids the problematic step and uses the correct prefix.

---

1. Clean up the broken Homebrew checkout

Run as ssm-user:

sudo rm -rf /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/Homebrew
sudo rm -rf /home/ssm-user/.cache/Homebrew

This removes only the partial or corrupted checkout; we leave the main prefix directory intact.

---

2. Ensure the prefix is writable

Since ssm-user is already in the linuxbrew group, ensure proper ownership and group permissions:

sudo chown -R ssm-user:linuxbrew /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew
sudo chmod -R 775 /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew

---

3. Manually clone Homebrew into the prefix

mkdir -p /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin

git clone https://github.com/Homebrew/brew \
  /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/Homebrew

Create the brew wrapper in the bin directory:

ln -s ../Homebrew/bin/brew /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew

At this point you now have exactly what the installer script attempts to create.

---

4. Add Homebrew to your PATH

Append to your ~/.bashrc:

echo 'eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.bashrc

And load it immediately:

eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

---

5. Verify installation

brew --version
brew doctor

If these commands run successfully, Homebrew is now correctly installed under the recommended Linux prefix (/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew), and you have bypassed the installer’s failing git-initialization step.

If any of the manual steps fail—especially the git clone—feel free to share the output so permissions can be adjusted precisely.

[SMillerDev]

Not sure what the goal here is. Likely step 1 already fixed your issue but we'll never know.