Sponsored App Creation

[plusone-nick]

@marcusquinn i second Directus & NodeRED, Odoo would also be useful!

[girish]

I tried to get https://git.cloudron.io/cloudron/directus-app going here, let's see.

[marcusquinn]

@plusone-nick Odoo has the best accounting module of any FOSS app I've ever tested.

It's a solid alternative to Xero / Quickbooks / Salesforce / Magento / Wordpress etc. I have a feeling it will be as popular here as Nextcloud seems to be, and it has Nextcloud integrations.

Pivot tables on everything is a killer feature — a surprisingly rare feature in other apps.

[marcusquinn]

@girish Sorry, re-reading, hope my comment didn't come across as ungrateful.

I just saw the list of WIP apps being more hobbyist focused but the best of the bunch business and framework apps on Cloudron I'd hope will also attract more developers and dev-ops brains to the community that should find the convenience and have more experience to help evolve these apps and new ones.

I realise each app is maintenance and experience for working through issues but they are the kind of apps I think you'll get more qualified assistance with that sort of thing.

[girish]

@marcusquinn No offense taken at all We get asked in support non-stop about all sorts of apps. I think many are even willing to pay for it but under estimate the actual cost of packaging an app.

Let me provide some numbers for clarity. Each app is usually atleast 1 week of full time work for us including packaging, testing and writing automated tests etc (and of course maintaining it forever). So, we have to justify the cost on our side before we start packaging an app. We have to factor in how much we think the app will be used and whether we can support it at all.

To bring some closure to this topic, if an app is required urgently and if you are willing to sponsor the work, please factor in for atleast 40 hours of our time and then feel free to reach out to us at support@cloudron.io. Otherwise, rest assured, we will continue to package new apps primarily based on how many votes it gets in the forum, it just takes time. If you can rally users on the forum to vote on the app you need (maybe interesting info about it, use cases etc), it will already help getting it packaged soon

[robi]

If you thought I meant a Desktop App, that's easy enough to create with https://webcatalogapp.com for those that like their WebApps separated as I do.

Ooh, thanks for mentioning Webcatalog. I tried using Rambox but it didn't inspire me to use it.

Surprised the Webcatalog guys don't have it in their table matrix.

[marcusquinn]

@robi Yeah, love it for separating responsibilities and head-spaces, it's not a full browser, so expectations accordingly. This is how I have my Cloudron stuff in WebCalatog for interest:

Also, recently changed to using Vivaldi browser as my daily workhorse, and very happy with that.

[marcusquinn]

@girish That's very fair. I'll see what I can do this end, I've also kept 10 devs busy with a long ticket backlog, so just trying to get some projects closed off to free them up.

Seeing a few new active devs here working on proof-of-concept work is great to see too, so doing what I can on the share-the-joy mentioning to try to get more involved too.

[jdaviescoates]

Anyone up for packaging 4minitz?

Seems @marcusquinn up for sponsoring it:

https://forum.cloudron.io/post/13804

[marcusquinn]

@jdaviescoates Sure, I have an awkward situation to handle at the mo, while going through a business review, otherwise I'd be much more budget happy — but I can sneak our a few pounds/euros/dollars here and there through Paypal to help the cause if anyone needs to justify their time on these things.

Odoo & 4minitz would help a lot, and I think be very good for the community.

NodeRED is a bit more specialist but useful to many developers.

Trying to avoid distracting the core team because their roadmap is equally valuable, so don't want to jump the queue on that.

[Lonkle]

@marcusquinn Send the Git links of Odoo + 4minitz and I'll take a look! ️

[marcusquinn]

@Lonk I think @samir started something with Odoo but it needs work:

• https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/1256/odoo-distributed-business-apps
• https://git.cloudron.io/altsyst/odoo-ce-app

4minitz is a new request but more detail here:

• https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/2763/4minitz-free-webapp-for-taking-meeting-minutes

I can probably sneak out a few hundred bucks in compensation but I have to be a bit respectful at the mo on that since I should be giving my own team bonuses that are waiting on a few business developments.

[robi]

if you get a gitpod link to the various WIP apps, i'm sure more folks will pitch in since it's easy to collaborate.

[marcusquinn]

@robi Sorry, is Gitpod something different to here? https://git.cloudron.io/explore/projects

[Lonkle]

@marcusquinn Sounds good to me, I like to learn and think this is a great learning opportunity for me! Do you have any special requirements aside from converting it into a Cloudron app? And do you need both apps converted or just 4minitz?

[marcusquinn]

Seems to be 3 x Odoo:

• https://git.cloudron.io/explore/projects?utf8=✓&name=odoo&sort=latest_activity_desc

2 x Directus:

• https://git.cloudron.io/explore/projects?utf8=✓&name=directus&sort=latest_activity_desc

Nothing for 4minitz yet but I think I just reignited interest in that.

[marcusquinn]

@Lonk Just that I have to focus on my day-job and family-care needs at the mo, so really just getting things Cloudron App Store approved, launch and go. Forum chat I can manage as it's just another chat app in my chatty day. My days of getting to dig into anything more than that are long gone I'm afraid, that's the price of getting old, you have more people relying on you not being on a computer

For that to happen they need the unit-tests written:

• https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/2850/writing-automated-tests-for-packages

[marcusquinn]

@Lonk Sorry, didn't answer fully. Yeah, Odoo & 4minitz would help a lot right now. Odoo I have a load of work on another VPS I could shut down if I could migrate it here.

4minitz I think will help anyone with a company or team.

I'm hoping for Direcutus too, which @murgero kindly started. I detailed more on the forum thread for that as to why.

They are the kind of apps I can quickly help a bunch of people with, in our own business and others.

Also they are the kind of apps that I think will give a lot of features that just any user or developer would find inspiring, either working with them or replicating features from.

[Lonkle]

@marcusquinn Completely understand that! I have a yearning to learn tho so, just list out your priorities (so I know what app to work on first), and as I convert each one and get them approved to the Cloudron App Store, we can talk about doing the next one (if needed, other people might be working on the other two for their own reasons)?

Thanks for the automated test forum link, I didn't realize that was needed and will add that to my OpenVPN Client app as well! ️

[marcusquinn]

1. 4minitz (it just jumped the queue as I could use that for my biz and friends biz straight away)
2. Odoo
3. Directus
4. NodeRED
5. Take ya pick: https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/2798/sponsored-app-creation/12

[marcusquinn]

Maybe a better link for seeing what's what: https://git.cloudron.io/cloudron

For some reason it's a few clicks from the home page to find that list. I mostly use GitLab.com so the CE version is a bit different to me as I usually have the Activity feed as my GitLab home page.

[Lonkle]

@marcusquinn Thanks for sending me those extra resources that I'll likely need to get my first app into the App Store; I'll let ya know as soon as I make this Cloudron App Store ready!

[robi]

@marcusquinn said in Sponsored App Creation:

@robi Sorry, is Gitpod something different to here? https://git.cloudron.io/explore/projects

Yes, you can google it or just visit the gitpod site for more.

[marcusquinn]

@robi Interesting, not seen that before, we're mostly Atom / Jetbrains & GitHub Desktop / CLI. Is git.cloudron.io already setup with GitPod or is that the proposal?

[robi]

@marcusquinn
Have you tried it? Use the "Try it Now" button and feed it a github/gitlab project link.

Self hosted it would be adapted to the git.cloudron.io domain. https://www.gitpod.io/blog/gitpod-self-hosted-0.4.0/

https://www.gitpod.io/docs/

[Lonkle]

Yeah, it's an interesting tech. Incredibly useful on the go and for people that don't have dedicated software license for professional code IDE's. I really liked playing with it, but my Desktop apps just run much faster.

[robi]

@Lonk
Perhaps you could describe and show a how-to setup your desktop app dev environment for those looking to get started.

For everyone else, there's GitPod, plus the ability to co-create with others (up-to 5 people) in the same environment.

[Lonkle]

@robi I plan doing a complete run through for getting a Cloudron Development up and running on your desktop (a tutorial post on the Custom Apps forum category). But, right now, mine is pretty hacked together since I just started developing for this platform 1.5 weeks ago. So, my setup is not something I'm proud of rn, despite it technically working (inefficiently).

[marcusquinn]

Meant to post this here:

Be good if there was a way to make Upvotes developer sponsorship pledges!

$100 = 10 App Wishlist Sponsorship Upvotes. I don't mind sponsoring a few things here and there - but developers have to eat, so I think if everyone wants specific apps, start pledging some Paypal dollars in the Wishlist threads to feed the hungry

[jdaviescoates]

jdaviescoates
jdaviescoates 5 minutes ago

@marcusquinn I think my ideal scenario would be something like

1. Cloudron 6.0 fully open source again
2. Cloudron sets-up an Open Collective
3. All subscription monies get paid into the collective and all monies coming in/ out totally transparent (this is one of the really nice features of open collective) - sadly in reality this might not make much sense because of default %'s taken out - although OC recently started trialing 0% fees (still payment processor fees, obviously) with pay it forward option for contributors.
4. Option for people to pay more money into the collective should the so choose and have the means. Either lump sum or regular amount (both are already supported).
5. Developers who make wished-for apps can also be paid out of the collective and everything is totally transparent.

Or something like that. I open source and I total transparency (Buffer, for example, are really great on this, see https://buffer.com/about#transparency )

[marcusquinn]

Sure, in the meantime, knowing how business can stretch developers thin - let's help them with the PR around the interweb as more subscribers equals more funds to recruit

https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/2877/upvote-and-review-cloudron-on-all-the-alternative-to-type-websites-to-help-grow-the-team-and-community

[marcusquinn]

To conclude this thread, new forum section to get involved:

• https://forum.cloudron.io/category/104/help-wanted-or-offered

[marcusquinn]

Can't edit any comments after a time now, so adding this to the sponsoring wishlist:

• https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/1202/restyaboard-trello-like-kanban-board

[girish]

@marcusquinn I made you a mod for this category. Can you check if you can edit now?

[marcusquinn]

@girish Danke, that works

[jagan]

@marcusquinn said in Sponsored App Creation:

https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/1067/pretix-ticketing-software-that-cares-about-your-event-all-the-way

I would love to contribute to the packaging of pretix and a couple of others too.
Can we set up a bounty pool for each of these so that we can commit/contribute to?

Thank you

[robi]

@jagan there are a few ways to accelerate this process..

• have packaging meetups as a group (large, small)
• have a first attempt by yourself and post progress in a thread here to get help in getting to the next step towards completion
• sponsor an app request, and many here will chime in to lead that development
• actively promote/hire for others to package their own or others apps for the community
• insert other ideas here: __________

[marcusquinn]

There's clearly room and a need for a full-time Cloudron App packager and maintainer, given that the current experience has competing interests for time.

@girish @nebulon Can you just put prices up a bit and hire a full-timer please?

It's the fairest and smartest way I can see to get any more momentum in this area — you're not getting any younger either

[murgero]

@marcusquinn I wouldn't mind being a part-time packager.

[marcusquinn]

@murgero +10 upvotes to you sir!

[thetomester13]

I second @murgero in that I would also be interested in being a part-time packager!

[timconsidine]

@marcusquinn : very interesting suggestion and I am not against it at all.

With my business hat on, there is immediately the question of how much price increase, how many paying users, how much increased business .... vs .... the cost of a full-time resource. Not being negative, it might turn out a very viable formula.

And I am not asking for answers to any of that, that's @girish and @nebulon business. I hope they don't answer, because that's a slippery information slope.

Really excited by the 2 volunteers already spoken up for a part-time role. They have system knowledge already (minimal learning curve) and good track-record.

And we have to remember that full-time resource is a risk also (holidays, sickness, career path, competence).

A team of paid part-timers might be a very good interim phase until the business side is clear.

Just my 2p. Hats off to you @marcusquinn for thinking out loud.

[robi]

Yes, this is what we've all been feeling and waiting for, no?

Building a business needs tools, and self-hosting needs to keep up with those needs.

Let's revive the weekly community packaging events, help out the staff and help ourselves.

[privsec]

To help add/revive this, what needs to be done to make this happen?

[privsec]

@privsec
I’d be very happy to spin up a USA LLC and act as a host via https://opencollective.com/

[robi]

Has anyone tried to reach out to folks on Fiverr and UpWork and similar gig work sites for packaging needs?

[privsec]

@robi
I’d be concerned with continued support once it’s created, but that’s a neat idea.

[robi]

@privsec why? The two are separate things.

Cloudron devs maintain the packaged updates, app maintainers the code.