The AM application manager for AppImage has been updated to include support for third-party application databases. This new version is now available. Application Manager (AM) is an application manager that is modeled after AUR and functions as an installer, updater, and manager of AppImages.

"AM" 6.3

It's the green light for third-party application databases!

Introduced a mechanism for using a third-party database, while maintaining the CLI from this repository. Simply introduce a BASH script named "neodb" in the "$AMPATH" directory. More details below (from the README).

Use your personal online database or a third-party one by adding a script called "neodb" in the installation folder of your CLI.

A template is available at  https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/blob/main/templates/neodb

This script is an example of how you can use third-party databases instead of the default one used in AM/AppMan (without having to change the CLI repository with the newrepo option).

It should be placed in $AMPATH (for "AM" it is always /opt/am, while for "AppMan" is the "appman" folder located in the path chosen to install the applications).
The purpose of each assigned value is explained on each of the five (5) variables available.

Content

In brief, the a "neodb" BASH script must contain as follows:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

APPSDB="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IVAN-HC/AM/main/programs/$arch"
APPSLISTDB="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IVAN-HC/AM/main/programs/$arch-apps"
AMCATALOGUE="https://PORTABLE-LINUX-APPS.GITHUB.IO"
AMCATALOGUEMARKDOWNS="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portable-Linux-Apps/Portable-Linux-Apps.github.io/main/apps"
#NEODBFLAG=nowarn

In the example, I used the default values used by "AM"/"AppMan".

Below is the meaning of each of the 5 variables listed.

Variables

1. "$APPSDB" is a url that must point to an online directory containing the installation scripts (for the -i and -d options)

SYNTAX: https://yoursite.org/path/to/directory

EXAMPLE: APPSDB="https://yoursite.org/path/to/directory"

each file managed in the modules is called "$arg"

2. "$APPSLISTDB" is the url that must point to an online $arch-apps file (for example "x86_64-apps", "$arch" is the architecture name).
   This file is the list of all available programs (for the -l, -q and -s options)

SYNTAX: https://yoursite.org/path/to/file/named/x86_64-apps

EXAMPLE: APPSLISTDB="https://yoursite.org/path/to/file/named/x86_64-apps"

3. "$AMCATALOGUE" is the url of the main page of the catalog you want to use

SYNTAX: https://yoursite.org

EXAMPLE: AMCATALOGUE="https://PORTABLE-LINUX-APPS.GITHUB.IO"

4. "$AMCATALOGUEMARKDOWNS" is a url that points to an online directory containing .md (Markdown) files containing the application description (for the -a option)

SYNTAX: https://yoursite.org/path/to/markdown/files/#

EXAMPLE: AMCATALOGUEMARKDOWNS="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portable-Linux-Apps/Portable-Linux-Apps.github.io/main/apps"

each file managed in the  database.am module is called $arg.md

5. "$NEODBFLAG" is of no use, if not to silence the "Source: ..." message about using a third-party repository, just uncomment it to disable the messages

#NEODBFLAG=nowarn

Motivation

Having reached version 6.3, I still don't know where the project will go and how far I can continue to support it. I opened too many projects at once, to the point of monopolizing the use of this CLI, and that wasn't what I wanted.

Everyone should be free to add as many applications as they want and maintain their own app database.

I hope that this version can help build a much more modern community database managed by many more people, to bring AppImages and portable apps in general to grow and compete with Flatpak and Snap.

I could disappear at any moment, and I don't want this database to end up in the cemetery of forgotten projects on github.

I wanted to build something long-lasting, and the application database must be too, and if managing it is a person who can suddenly disappear, then this project will be another of the many lost forever.

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Among the other new features introduced in this release:added a "--less" suboption to the "-f" option to show only the number of applications;removed code redundancies between the main CLI and some modules;various code cleanups;adaptation of new variables for the use of future new application databases to be used;merge libraries with apps to simplify adaptation.Mark this release as a starting point New Contributors

• @Samueru-sama made their first contribution in  #316

Full Changelog:  6.2.1...6.3

Release "AM" 6.3 · ivan-hc/AM