2w ago

I created a script for installing Linux apps from their official sources

I created a script that always installs apps from their official source

It's a proof of concept of an idea I had a while ago. I dislike having to hunt down apps for my Linux machine when I want them from an official source. Some apps are packages as tarballs, some as .debs, some as install scripts that download a binary, some are flatpaks and snaps.

I created a yaml file with only verified apps from flathub and snapcraft, and added a few apps outside of them that I could think of.

The ultimate goal is the user just typing the names of what they want, and the script will just get it. They shouldn't waste time with picking the right source.

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I also like the idea of installing software "as intended by their developers" and I don't like Linux distros that make a lot of changes and customizations. That's why I like Slackware for example, a distro that remains "pure" and intervenes as little as possible.
Good idea!

I like the idea ! And looked at the project on github. But ..... snap disgust me so much more than searching the right source, i'm not adapting to it. But still nice thinking!
- Try https://github.com/Fmstrat/gam?
  Same idea as this but specific to source releases
- Thank you, and fair enough.
  
  Maybe add something in the search results to indicate the app's origin? Or even just a way to choose search sources?
- Seriously? Very strong feelings XD
  
  Same here. I switched to Debian, pop and fedora on my machines to escape the snap control.

I like this idea, but with the increase in supply chain attacks, I'm reluctant to use it. I've been much more reticent about installing from AUR, and my use of github projects has drastically slowed down since I now feel as if I have to read all the source code for everything I get.
I've sandboxed programs before, and I may just start making that standard practice, but still... it makes me angry. It's, like: this is why we can't have nice things. There are precious few OSS supply chain static code analysis tools, and there are a lot of languages I don't know well enough to review, or which have such broad or deep dependency trees that it's more work than it's worth. The most frustrating is the dampening effect it's having on OSS. It only pushes people to only use programs from big commercial companies.
Anyway, none of that is directly related to your program, which is really cool. Sadly, if there aren't any positive developments in the OSS ecosystem for attacking the supply chain problem, cool projects like this are not going into my toolbox.
- That's understandable. Truth be told I probably wouldn't trust this either if I didn't make it. Anything can be hiding in the custom field.
  
  Now I'm wondering, if it were bundled with an OCI sandboxing system, that would address my issues with Flatpack and Snap. Technology has moved on and Flatpack has stagnated, and Snap's just an attempt to centralize control and distribution. It's time for a redesign, specifically focusing on supply chain attacks, with sandboxing all the way down.

Obtainium works in Android, because all the apks have their own Libraries already included, and bc android itself is Immutable
Take that into a mutable system like Linux, and you get break my Gentoo if you didnt even have the great anti dep hell functionality of portage
- Android works much better, no doubt in that regard, but I think the chance of this script breaking your system is very low. The vast majority of the apps are flatpaks, then snaps, tarballs, AppImages, and only then a few .debs. I try to avoid them because even if you are on Debian/Ubuntu after a few years your version will stop being supported, whereas snaps will continue to work for 10 years.

Sounds like Obtainium on Android.
The thing that concerns me is that it downloads an unofficial source.
- Those are all official sources tho, but you have to trust me not to put in malicious commands of course.
  
  Oh so you are essentially personally maintaining the sources list?

Its cool to see this xkcd in action.
That being said theres a couple options out here attempting the same thing, but due to the required level of trust youre fighting a bit of an uphill battle for widespread adoption.
Not that this changes how cool of a tool it is and valuable for you use case!
- Could you link some of those other options? I tried searching for something similar and found nothing. I know about LURE which got abandoned and didn't have the same goal.
  
  Heres the biggest and most active I could quickly find, but I believe the XKCD in that repo inspired a handful of similar projects

Genuine question: Why would I use this as opposed to Nix? Between nixpkgs and the NUR, there are an insane amount of packages available, and you can build everything from source if you wish.
- It's meant for people who prefer their apps from the official sources rather than repackaged. All this script dies is make it easy so you don't have to google the app's name and search for an install method on its website.
  
  right, that's what nix does if you build from source

I think that using some "custom" package names for internal args is not the best choice.
Anyway, later I'll take a better look at it and probably contribute to it. Ty
- Could you elaborate? I'm not the best programmer so I'm open to suggestions.
  
  I saw that "version" and "update" are inside apps.yaml instead inside the program itself like "search". I see why version helps to be there which gets updated with the list, but the update link looks more like a quirk to be inside apps list. And it would make sense to distinguish program version and apps list version.

Some apps are packages as tarballs, some as .debs, some as install scripts that download a binary, some are flatpaks and snaps.
tarballs - heckle the devs to make a proper package
debs - this is a package, but its format makes it weak
flatpaks - discard this unvalidatable crap
snaps - discard this unvalidatable crap
just
sus.
typing the names of what they want, and the script will just get it.
apt-get install <some app> (thank you, Conectiva)
This is how it should be. This is how it was. The sooner we leave this swamp of quicksand packaging, the better.
- I like the separation between system packages and apps. A random system library being out of date doesn't matter to me as long as it receives security patches. But I will not use out of date GUI apps when I don't have to.

46 comments