Update on community packages

[rmdes]

Amazing !

[girish]

@jadudm Good idea, will give it a try.

@murgero right now, the first step is to make it possible to install community packages easily. Depending on how many packages we have and how many people provide multiple packages, we have to look into adding custom stores.

[timconsidine]

@girish said in Update on community packages:

Depending on how many packages

my CustomAppGateway has ~25 apps, and there are more currently out there not added to it, and with 9.1, I would expect the numbers to double at least.

I have no hesitancy with deferring 'app discovery' in favour of getting the core functionality available and working.

I feel we will need a discovery place of some kind, relying on a forum post in an AppWishList topic might be viable as short and medium term. But catalogue / CUR / "awesome" style git package is likely needed longer term. And it's more polished / prettier

[Kubernetes]

Sorry, maybe a stupid question, but I didn't find the answer anywhere. Don't we have any "Guide" on how to create the new Community Apps for Cloudron? How do I know how the CloudronVersions.json have to be configured. What are the requirements? Are there limitations? When I look at existing CloudronVersions.json it seems that Community Apps do not need to use the Cloudron Base Image anymore? Questions over questions

[james]

Hello @kubernetes

In the announcement https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/15174/community-apps we have linked the documentation.
Follow the Packaging documentation and Publishing.

[james]

Hello @kubernetes

If you find something unclear of lacking in the documentation, please let me know so we can improve further.

[timconsidine]

@james

Spread the word

Post about new packages in the App Packaging & Development category of the forum.

Personally I think that category should remain more technical, devs needing assistance / having questions.

You published a different category : https://forum.cloudron.io/category/220/community-apps

I think that is where the word should be spread.

Just my 2p.

[james]

Hello @timconsidine
Good point.
Will update the documentation.

[timconsidine]

@james said:

If you find something unclear of lacking in the documentation ...

Just getting my head around the workflow, and I like to "spell things out" :

---

• build the Community App (previously known as a Custom App)
  (my 'old fashioned' approach : docker build, docker push, cloudron install, probably keep doing that because my build script does it, don't fix what ain't broke)

---

• make a CloudronVersions.json file
  
  same folder as project dev folder (Dockerfile, start.sh, CloudronManifest.json, README.md, POSTINSTALL.md etc.)
  • cloudron versions init
  • cloudron versions add
  • maybe add to my build script

---

• why "CloudronVersions" in the plural ?
  
  I guess Cloudron thinking is that a Community App might have v1.0.0, v1.0.1, v2.0.0
  Very complete approach, lovely
  but with cloudron versions revoke I wonder if this will ever be in true in practice (I would likely revoke every old version).

---

• upload CloudronVersions.json to static hosting
  gotcha
  but if I have 10 Custom oops Community Apps, what is Cloudron team envisioning :

  • that I will have 10 Surfer apps (app1.tim.uk, app2.tim.uk, etc) ?

  • Or 1 sectioned Surfer app (communityapps.tim.uk) ?

  • Or no Surfer apps and just stick CloudronVersions.json in the relevant git repo (urls to files from git are not always clear) ?

  • I guess you probably don't care, but I'm intrigued what your expectations are

---

Cloudron CLI help typo ?

% cloudron versions --help 
Usage: cloudron-versions [options] [command]

Hyphenated ?

---

[girish]

@timconsidine said:

upload CloudronVersions.json to static hosting

I think if the packaging code is public, it makes much sense to keep it in version control itself. If packaging code is private, you can upload it to surfer. In the case latter case, I would just have 1 surfer instance for all the apps that I would publish.

Cloudron CLI help typo ?

This is quirk of commander. Which incidentally, I just fixed yesterday - https://git.cloudron.io/platform/cloudron-cli/-/commit/a926a848400de22ddaae30f2139e0556e9461f80