The average experience of interacting with end users 😭
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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.
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.
Yes they will, it might not be a scammer if you’re lucky, might just be someone wanting your project to have a better web presence.
In which case, don’t expect them to ask your permission.
That’s a poor excuse because oftentimes the only place you can download the program from is GitHub. Developers are literally placing a link to the GitHub on their websites.
Therefore it doesn’t matter what GitHub is designed for, it matters what it’s used for. You develop around the need, not the intention.
I honestly thought ur first comment was satire cuz of how braindead it is😂😂
And they developed the tool, and they’re rarely paid enough to spin up a separate Web host just to share a wizard. GitHub is perfectly fine for simple archives and executables with little setup and provisioning. You also need to buy a static address to host your own content or use DynDNS, which adds more provisioning and setup.
If you don’t know how to navigate Github then you are not the target audience for that specific program.
You’re wandering out of the walled garden into the jungle and then you complain there aren’t any neatly maintained trails.
I’d thought your first post was satire. Thanks for clarifying that you’d not tried to look up git, and therefore understand git - hub.
Beggars can’t be choosers my dude. People giving away their hobby projects for free don’t owe you anything.
What a piss poor attitude. Regardless, this isn’t a developer problem, it’s a website problem. Microsoft needs to fix this regardless of what you people think.
Is this satire or sincere idiocy? I can’t tell anymore.
What solution do you propose to compile every type of language that has or has not been written into executable formats that have or have not been made yet for systems that do or will exist? I’m just curious about how that should happen, given your expert opinion on the matter.
You do realize that for most of the projects you talk about, the devs are volunteers producing code on their free time, and they put it on Github so that other devs can re-use that code?
They don’t owe you a “release” or a “.exe” or whatever you’re expecting. They have no excuse to give you.
And more often that not, when there is no ready-to-click download button with a nice .exe, that’s because the dev is spending more time working on the code itself and considers it not ready for everyone’s use. And during that time, yes: some people can still try out the app, and yes, there is a technical barrier to do so, and that is totally part of the plan!
Part of the plan and part of the fun!
I love the side quest of installing something from GitHub; it’s rarely simple. Usually some combination of docker, cmake, python, etc… sometimes you get a release for your system that actually works if lucky
I empathise with the OOP’s crashout 😂
the releases section is in the same place every time, on every github repo everywhere. if you struggle to find it after the first time, then the skill check is working. come back when your basic pattern recognition is turned back on.
if there is no binary release and you can’t figure out how to proceed, the skill check is working and you probably shouldn’t be fucking around with it until you know what you’re doing.
everything doesn’t have to be for everyone.
Eh the UI sucks on mobile, have fun getting your apps from github.
May I suggest an Obtainium in this trying time?
I didn’t say that the releases section isn’t in the same place every time, I’m saying that the download isn’t always placed in the releases section. Sometimes it’s in the description instead, sometimes it’s somewhere else entirely, sometimes there is no download at all because they expect you to compile it.
Don’t put words into my mouth.
GitHub is literally a source code repository, and git is for tracking and managing changes in programming projects (among other things). The developers that have releases do it as a courtesy.
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.
Hahahahaha are you sure?
Yes.
yeah that just proves there’s multiple idiots in the room
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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.
99% of the time you need to install pip packages and if you do this without venv/uv/conda you’re sort of fucking up your python install for other repos you’re running from source
This is why I gave up and started using docker. I don’t have time to fight with this shit anymore. I resisted for a long time and for the life of my I cannot remember why because it’s been great lol.
Same. Every Python app in its own container. Of course, this raises the skill bar again.
Ubuntu doesn’t even let you not use a venv without extra effort these days. I kind of appreciate it getting me into better habbits
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 | shTrust 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.
My pet peeve is the releases page always being so hidden. For some reason half the time it’s in the sidebar??
What do you mean “half of the time”.
It’s toggleable and not every project uses the feature for their releases
if by “half the time” you mean “every single time on every single github repo,” then you probably shouldn’t be fucking around trying to compile code. this is a skill check.
I don’t WANT TO COMPILE CODE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR APP OH MY GOD
To be clear, I myself am perfectly capable of getting software working; I’ve debugged some pretty weird stuff to get apps to install, including nix-ld + systemd library linking dependency shenanigans on NixOS.
The point is that github is a code repository, not a software distribution service, and it shows: The options to view, modify, and request changes to the code are front and center, while the option to download the product of said code (or other related artifacts) is hidden to the point where it is annoyingly difficult to find it in comparison. It’s a tiny section hidden underneath the social metrics and like the privacy policy and coding language breakdown iirc, which is NOT discoverable at all. I’ll also note that releases are not always found in the sidebar-- that section is toggleable, and some projects do not use the official releases feature to release their software.
On phones it’s at the bottom iirc, together with other info from the sidebar. Perhaps that’s what they was remembering, but of course on one platform the link stays in the same place (after they finished the redesigns some years ago, anyway).
I actuallty recoiled in fear seeing “build instructions.” Didn’t realize the amount of PTSD inflicted upon me via those github pages. 😭
Tbh, even if you have to build there’s GitHub Actions, so I don’t know what could stop anyone.
“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.
Github is up again?
LMAO! 🤣
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
You need AI.
Oh yeah, just ask the hallucination machine to compile your software from the GitHub repo, what could possibly go wrong?
I meant that as an insult but whatever.
But seriously, there are more uses to AI than just asking it to compile software. If you’re a noob, you can ask it to ELI5 and go hard on following instructions. Plus, AI has stolen all of StackOverflow, so it can absolutely help debug issues along the way.
No need to ask it to compile it all from scratch.
People, pls refrain from posting my literal thoughts verbatim in public, you’re making me feel nude!
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.
Linux.exe
You’ll need to run Linux using Wine
But that’s not an emulator …
They weren’t talking about the translation software…🍷
Linux-image-7.0-amd64-rt.exe
Aka CoLinux.
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
idk opening a pr instead of an issue is exactly what I would expect someone who has no idea how github works to do
I’m pretty sure linux kernel on github only had pull requests available at the time, which wrre useless since linux on github is just a mirror, and it seems since then they’ve been disabled
but you’d need to fork it and push some changes or otherwise have some ref to try and merge, seems unlikely to me
ugh where is my exe to install the linux app on my windows
WSL, you install it from the Windows Store.
Debian, for example, https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9msvkqc78pk6 .
Well, there was Wubi
We don’t speak of it
There was also CoLinux, which is straight up Linux as a Windows executable.
least annoying arch user
And I believe this person was being serious
Your link contains a tracker at the end, you’ll want this one.
github/comments/1at9br4/i_am_new_to_github_and_i_have_lots_to_say/
Thank you!
Additionally, if you wish to use a privacy-respecting frontend, go for Redlib.
I knew it sounded familiar. Nice sleuthing
He’s not wrong
Definitely not wrong. As someone who works nowhere near the tech sector who has attempted to dabble in Linux, that initial learning curve is just too high. I don’t have the time to dedicate to that, I have other interests in my life
why are you going to github to compile code if you’re not even comfortable with regular day to day linux use yet? you skipped so many steps, no wonder it’s offputting.
Sir, I’m reacting to a meme, not visiting github.
For what it’s worth, Linux mint was pretty simple to install. I think Linux folks tend to sneer at it because it just works without the crazy headaches and hassles we associate with Linux.
(I finally tried Mint rather than pay for windows 11. And as much as we all hate ai, it was really useful when I had a quick weird question during my install.)
Not even Linux, the READMEs of a lot of code repositories are sometimes made for people who already know what it is, but seem alien to anyone just trying to understand “does this codebase help with my use-case?”
My experience is the opposite. Open a project’s website, it’s full of marketing talk where I can’t find what the project does in a minute or several minutes. Open Github instead, the readme starts with “this thing is for doing X with Y under Z circumstances”. These days I mostly skip sites and go straight to Github.
Maybe you need the sites instead, idk.
I always go to the primary source as first port of contact, but sometimes it’s not clear what the code does.
For example, I need a JTAG adapter on my ESP32 via USB that I can program my laptop through the device. Does this 10-starred seemingly perfect repo do what I want[1]? https://github.com/emard/esp32s3-jtag
No, the ESP32 is only the JTAG host, you do not actually get access to the pins, so if you want to do custom timings you will not be in luck. This is not clear. I have seen dozens more like this. ↩︎
Ah, well, afaict this is a rather more specialized case. Here, I’m a complete noob because I don’t do electronics, so I have no idea what a JTAG is or how I could use this. An intermediate scenario would be if you found their site in search, and it said “have you ever wished to connect one thing to another thing?” instead of the JTAGs and stuff. This case, when you basically know what it supposedly does but have to pore over documentation or code to figure out details, is a more involved one, and of course, I’ve ran into such stuff aplenty too.
(Out of curiosity, would you be able to beat that code with a C++ stick (or whatever) yourself until it did what you wanted?)
oh okay good to know I’m at least not alone in this experience
Edit: To do it myself, I’d have to implement the JTAG protocol on the GPIO’s directly using arduino or esp libraries, which is not something I would relish doing. Perhaps in MicroPython, but that has limited libraries and it would be a lot of trial and error… and ultimately, I just want to run a JTAG debugger on an ARM core I found, not re-invent a new JTAG debugger
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The beauty of it is that once you work out how Linux and self hosting works, you won’t have time for anything else. So the cliff face learning curve is to dissuade the filthy casuals.
He’s absolutely wrong, you don’t show up to a tomato farm and wonder where the pizza is.
If people say “make your own pizza” and then point you towards the tomato farm, then the reaction is understandable
What I don’t get is people will say “pizza is too hard, i’m going back to Lasagne [to get my fix of tomato]” but they don’t make their own Lasagne, they get it delivered (analogy is breaking down at this point).
So, they should just ask their delivery guy (computer installer) to get the sauce and put it on their pizza (computer), or they should buy a pizza (computer with linux on) just like they bought the lasagne (computer with Windows OS on).
As always, it comes down to whether or not they want a margerhita or a mushroom calzone. Most people on this site would happily just get a margerhita and add their own toppings and eat it piece by piece… but there’s a vast sea of people who want to fold it in half and shove it in their mouth whilst enjoying the texture but not experiencing any of the flavour
Except you do expect a tomato farm to have the actual tomatoes, instead of just tomato seeds, bags of dirt and fertilizer, and a note telling you how to use them to grow your own tomatoes.
Pfff .exe I’ll take my .deb like the basic mint bitch I am.
Lmaoooooo
Download the .zip
Extract it.
You will know what to do.
If not, it’s above your pay grade. Move on.
This is how I’ve dealt with it all these years.
