Improve distribution beyond NuGet (winget, Homebrew, Docker, standalone binaries)

[sajeetharan]

Discussion: Improve Distribution Beyond NuGet

Context

CosmosDB Shell is currently distributed only via NuGet, which limits reach to .NET developers. To maximize adoption before GA, we should expand distribution to channels where developers already discover and install CLI tools.

Proposed Distribution Channels

High Impact (Priority for GA)

Channel	Benefit
GitHub Releases (standalone binaries)	Platform-specific self-contained executables (win-x64, linux-x64, osx-arm64). No .NET runtime required.
winget	Windows native package manager. winget install Azure.CosmosDBShell
Homebrew	Standard for macOS/Linux CLI tools. brew install cosmosdb-shell
Docker image	Instant use, no install. Great for CI/CD. docker run -it azure/cosmosdb-shell

Medium Impact

Channel	Benefit
npm wrapper	npx cosmosdb-shell downloads correct binary (like esbuild pattern)
Azure CLI extension	az extension add --name cosmosdb-shell — reaches Azure CLI users
Snap / apt (Linux)	Standard Linux distribution
Chocolatey (Windows)	choco install cosmosdb-shell
Dev Containers feature	Pre-installed in GitHub Codespaces / Dev Containers

Low Effort / Quick Wins

Channel	Benefit
Install script	curl -fsSL https://aka.ms/install-cosmosdb-shell.sh \| bash
GitHub Action	uses: azure/cosmosdb-shell@v1 for CI/CD scenarios

Recommendation for GA

1. GitHub Releases with self-contained binaries — zero dependency, works everywhere
2. winget + Homebrew — covers Windows + macOS/Linux with native package managers
3. Docker image — unlocks CI/CD and "try without installing" scenarios

Questions for the Team

• Which channels should we prioritize for GA vs. post-GA?
• Do we have any constraints on distribution (e.g., signing requirements, compliance)?
• Should we automate release publishing to all channels via GitHub Actions?
• Any preference on the npm wrapper approach vs. native installers?

[sajeetharan]

@sevoku @mkrueger @jawelton74 @languy @tnaum-ms