Most based opinion ever. I don't understand why GitHub can't have a dedicated "download" button; why they can't put it right on the top of the page, and make it a requirement? I'm tired of having to hunt around for the "releases" section, assuming it's even there to begin with (and half the time it isn't)! Sometimes the developer buries the download button in the middle of the description instead, sometimes they don't include it at all and expect you to compile it yourself. It's inconsistent and bullshit.
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You can tag releases and have a dedicated release page
because in most cases, github is not for marketing its for source code. its why they make github pages if you don't have a public facing domain.
GitHub is designed for sharing code. Executable downloads are not really supposed to be there, but small projects with no budget won’t put in the effort and money to host their own downloads on a separate website.
Don’t worry, these days some scammer will use an LLM to generate a site for your project and fill it with malware.
Do you know how much easier malware would spread on github? Its esoteric as a speed bump.
I know you're actually serious, but this is coming off as satire. Did you read the OP?
You can't make this shit up.
Yes I know it's satire but read the room. Several comments are saying basically the same thing.
yeah that just proves there's multiple idiots in the room
This is me without all the swearing, lol. I am not a code person but I am into FOSS for ethical and privacy reasons and some github pages can be truly frustrating especially if it's an app that's description is exactly what you're looking for yet it's out of reach.
The Releases page! Check the releases 😭
If it's not there and there are build instructions instead...be afraid. Be very afraid.
What's annoying is when the build is not just "git pull then run python main.py"
And it's like "compile this using this special library no one else uses called Blueberries, then wrong it through Rust v4.8279 (no other version works), then it will output a blob of text to copy the API key from that you put in this other special compiler, and if you mess up any of these steps it is all permanently irreversible. Also the person making the code forgot like 3 random steps in there because it's second nature, duuuh."
Also Blueberries has been discontinued, but don't worry, it's forked on this other super obscure repo and you need to configure your package manager to accept that as a source.
My pet peeve is the releases page always being so hidden. For some reason half the time it's in the sidebar??
I'm OPs defense, there isn't always one. I've run into some that say you gotta compile it yourself, use docker, or whatever.
Bro just:
curl -s http://raw.githubusercontent.com/Juche1948/NotABackdoor/master/packaging/linux/install.sh | sh
Trust me bro
Should probably run it with sudo to avoid those annoying permissions errors.
Don‘t forget to disable secure boot! You know, just to be friendly to the new software.
“INSTALL: build from source” 😬
it’s just as much my fault for needing weird niche programs and not just learning, but christ i swear every time i’ve done it the steps have been completely different hahahah
Once big reason it's building from source is to accommodate as many installation scenarios as possible. It's different for each because everyone builds things differently but they all should be able to run from source on anything ideally. (This is a very boiled down explanation)
If the project is actively maintained, you can always ask for an installer to be provided. Often developers don't put in the effort if they don't think anyone would need it
I always try to build installer scripts at a minimum, usually with automatic dependency resolvers baked in to try and make it as easy as possible. The downside of doing things this way is that I spend about 15-30% more time on my releases vs writing pure features/bugfixes/security, and sometimes static obstacles can be brittle (they break between different systems or updates). I choose to do that because my apps are all intended to be end-user facing and ND-primary focus so it makes sense for me to put that effort in.
I just made my own shitty NSIS script generator for windows and an easily adaptable script for GNU/Linux systems.
What's funny is, half the time there IS an exe file, but it's in the sidebar under builds and not always obvious like a big green "DOWNLOAD HERE" AD.
You could literally put it in the README as an image link though.
I am this person. Every time I hit github I think to myself ' oh shit, here we go again' as I have to rediscover how it works.
WHERE DOWNLOAD LINK
Most likely in the "releases" section
Yeah seriously. A lot of devs also point out where to download from in the readme.
Because they WANT ppl to use their software!
I dunno.... I see more build instructions and whatnot, myself.
to be fair, that's probably a bias on my part 'cos I'm only slightly improved from the original meme
I'm doing the opposite, whenever a program's website smells of marketing talk and I can't find what exactly it does and how in five seconds, I hit Github instead and read the Readme. Surprisingly, devs consistently want to wax eloquent on the project site, but get straight to the point on Github.
Honestly, ten seconds into trying to figure it out I usually reevaluate if I really need it and close the tab.
This is often on purpose. I have my own, and contribute to, many projects. Some of them have easy docs to get going, find things, etc, because they happen to be easy to manage. Others do not, because the only support time I have to give is to those who also have the time to put in the work.
And to be clear, it's not that we look down on "those who aren't willing to learn" or anything at all like that, we recognize others don't have the time either. It's just a natural filter that has to exist in free software.
They managed to somehow open a pull request 😭
I'm 50% sure it's just a joke, but then reality is way dumber than fiction, so who knows
least annoying arch user