The "AM" 9.6.1 release resolves issues concerning the management of applications installed using the -e or extra option and eliminates variables specific to third-party databases, delegating them to a file designated for use as a source. AppImages installed using this option will be categorized separately in -f or files, and any duplicates will be indicated in -a or about. The issues associated with reporting modified scripts in -s or sync, along with their elimination in the new reinstall option, have been addressed by incorporating an additional extension to locally hidden scripts. This adjustment connects AppImages installed through the -e option to programs sourced from external databases.

"AM" 9.6.1

Various improvements related to the management of applications external to the "AM" database

This release fixes some issues related to the management of apps installed via the -e or extra option, and removes some variables specific to third-party databases delegating them to a file to be used as a source.

Let's proceed in order.

-e or extra option

From this release onwards, AppImages installed with this option will have their own category in -f or files...

...if there is a duplicate, it will be reported in -a or about...

...also, the problems of reporting changed scripts in -s or sync and the problems of their removal in the brand new reinstall option (see  https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/releases/tag/9.6) have been fixed

 simplescreenrecorder-2025-03-14_10.51.06.mp4 

...all these issues have been fixed by adding an .extra extension to locally hidden scripts, relating AppImages installed via the -e option to those programs installed from external databases (for example soarpkg/toolpack).

The only difference is that for applications with the extension .extra there is no description...

...which is fair, since they are not "classified".

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A "banner" for -e in your repository?

I added a small paragraph to the README in which I suggest users who have their own AppImage package not listed in "AM" and who would like to help users get all the benefits (updating, integration, sandboxing...) enjoyed by those listed here

To install and update my AppImage using " AM", simply run the following command:

am -e https://github.com/user/project appname keyword

if you want to install and update it locally, run

am -e --user https://github.com/user/project appname keyword

...or if you use  AppMan

appman -e https://github.com/user/project appname keyword

...the idea came to me after I came across a similar instruction in another repository.

It could be an idea for all those who, for one reason or another, cannot or do not want to submit their AppImage hosted on github in the "AM" database.

See  https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM#do-you-own-a-repository-for-appimages-external-to-this-database-follow-these-instructions

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External databases

I moved all the supported databases into this file that I named "am-extras", like  the repository that hosts it:

https://github.com/ivan-hc/am-extras/blob/main/am-extras

The file will be placed in $HOME/.local/share/AM together with the lists.

The new variable $AM_EXTRA_SOURCES is exportable! You can attach it to the .bashrc file in case you want to use a different list.

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"Test-100" Workflow

As the days go by, I'm improving the workflow provided by  @zen0bit , so that I can constantly keep an eye on existing scripts, ensuring their highest quality.

You can also keep an eye on those flows, here

https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/actions/workflows/test-apps.yml

For now, each new test starts automatically every two hours, thus completing all tests in less than two days (also ensuring that I have enough time to fix broken scripts... and do other things).

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Mass update of AppImage scripts

All AppImage scripts are now fairly uniform.

All include support for appimageupdatetool, while zsync support has been removed as it is not always reliable.

In addition, many scripts have been improved, eventually making them more similar, making them easier to debug.

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Repology.org

Yesterday, the repology.org site that about sixty installation scripts rely on, had problems, many workflows (see above) were abruptly interrupted.

While waiting to further resolve the dependency on repology.org, I moved all references to an alternative API kindly provided by the amazing Package Forge team, at  https://github.com/pkgforge

The change has been applied:

• to about 60 applications
• to the "install.am" module (the new API has no geographical restrictions, so the torsocks patch has been completely removed)
• to the "template.am" module

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Bug in the -t option

A nasty bug in the -t option that led to the creation of a wrong AM-updater if an AppImage was hosted on a site other than github has finally been fixed.

The bug was introduced months ago, with the addition of appimageupdatetool in the AppImage template. This change made the script longer, which resulted in the command being placed on the wrong line.

Fortunately, not too many AppImages had been added since then... we had already added a ton of them since then, and most of the new ones had the "$version" variable above that line... so it was a problem with 5-6 scripts.

It wasn't a major bug, fortunately, but it did prevent apps from updating.

Just run am reinstall if you haven't already.

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What's Changed

• Add appimageupdatetool to my AppImages by  @ivan-hc in  #1390
• Add appimageupdatetool support / remove zsync by  @ivan-hc in  #1394
• Add appimageupdatetool support / remove zsync (pt2) by  @ivan-hc in  #1395
• Add appimageupdatetool support and remove zsync (i686) by  @ivan-hc in  #1397
• Update some installation scripts for aarch64 by  @ivan-hc in  #1398
• Check the connection during installation by  @zen0bit in  #1399
• Replace repology.org with api.rl.pkgforge.dev by  @ivan-hc in  #1401

Full Changelog:  9.6...9.6.1

Release "AM" 9.6.1 · ivan-hc/AM