this one here: https://getsol.us/articles/software/third-party/en/

the google giving me mixed messages, i.e., all solus 3rd-P moved to github or moved to snap...conflicting sources, undated. as long as this url is still accurate then that's all I want to know.
Thank you. This query not urgent in the least.

That is current yes. The plan is to move away from this method of installation and to snaps. Snaps need to be implemented into the new Software Center before we can fully remove the 3rd Party instructions.

    thanks for speedy reply. after SC implementation of this repo I imagine installations done from the terminal will function the same, just less verbose (?)

      brent
      When snaps replace the existing third party my guess would be it would function just like how you install snaps now via the command line on Solus.

      sudo snap install packagename

      In case you're unaware, this functionality is already in Solus, what isn't is the software center integration.

      Until the integration exists, if you want a gui search, you can use https://snapcraft.io/store to browse packages and only use the command line when you want to install something.

          Justin is flatpak integration also still planned for the new software center?

            I'm not sure, I don't believe so. But I'm not up to date on the plans for the Software Center.

            The new software center will have a plugin architecture which will allow it to support Flatpaks, Snaps or anything else that may come later, but it doesn't mean the plugins will be available right after the new SC is released. The focus will be put on the rewrite in C and GTK3 and on the user experience. This was explained in the 2019: To Venture Ahead blog post.

            Until it's there, the 3rd party repository will remain available in maintenance mode (meaning only updating what is currently available but no new software inclusion). If a software of the 3rd party repository fails to update/install, you can open an issue here.

              kyrios If the only option left to install 3rd party/proprietary apps in Solus would be snaps - then I am worried. I have tested a few snaps both in Solus and other distributions, and while it usually works great with some applications it is often broken or very inconsistent theming wise. The 3rd party handling is excellent as it is in Solus.

                  If the only option left to install 3rd party/proprietary apps in Solus would be snaps - then I am worried.

                  Nobody said that. Even the blog post states "Introduce support for Flatpak and Snaps via our planned plugin architecture". But we do plan on killing off the old system.

                  tobcro The 3rd party handling is excellent as it is in Solus.

                  I'm sorry but no, it really isn't. We have to manually update the pspec.xml and actions.py files (which are from the old build system) if a 3rd-party item is outdated. If an item is outdated and someone goes to install it via the Software Center, it will basically lock up the Software Center or provide an extremely cryptic message. It's not like our binary package repo where you can still install the current version even if it isn't up-to-date. These 3rd-Party applications do not automatically update or have a sane update mechanism (our "Check for Update" is actually just trying to fetch the pspec again and installing a newly generated eopkg), which is not the case for snaps (which periodically check for updates and update via their refresh mechanism and snapd).

                  Building on that, in order to do this we have to interact with pisi directly, over python 2, which means essentially forcing ourselves to have that as the language for the Software Center, which results in (IMO) a less robust experience that also takes up more memory.

                      tobcro My two cents identical to yours. My experience is snap clunky/risky awhile the maintained 3rd party page commands rocked. In other words terminal installation of 3P always worked much better for me than SoftwareCenter 3Party installation or snap. At least we still have it, maintenance mode and all.

                      EDITED after re-reading Justin: patience. It all works out at the end.

                        JoshStrobl I truly understand and have respect for the problems you are dealing with here. What I meant was that for me - as a user - the 3rd party handling in Software Center has been a great experience, especially compared with doing the same things in other distributions.

                        And I withhold that snaps/flatpaks are not really there yet. This is not Solus fault. But if you somehow can work around it and make snaps (and/or flatpaks) work just as great for the user as the 3rd party section, then I am of course fine with it. As a user I dont care about the method, just the function and the result.

                          I understand and support the reasoning behind deprecating the 3rd party repo, however I wonder whether we can "evolve" the legacy 3rd party repo's methods, as I prefer the idea behind it to Snaps and FlatPaks.
                          Perhaps some of the enhancements brought by the the new trackers could be of use to such an endeavor, if someone would attempt it.

                          however I wonder whether we can "evolve" the legacy 3rd party repo's methods, as I prefer the idea behind it to Snaps and FlatPaks.

                          There is a way to evolve it. Drop 3rd-Party and encourage vendors to use Snaps or Flatpaks. Microsoft, Slack, GitKraken, etc. are already doing this with snaps. I don't think it is in our best interest to have a separate third-party mechanism.

                          As a 3rd-party maintainer I wholeheartedly agree with Josh. It's using the ancient package format, the update mechanism is terribly inefficient and error-prone (with almost no real feedback), and things easily break, e.g. when there is the slightest change to a URL, or just a momentarily unavailable server.
                          Integrating snaps/flatpaks would make everything simpler for both users and devs. Perhaps they are not a perfect solution (yet), but they're getting there.

                          Out of curiosity, how will snaps and flatpaks be managed against apps already available in Software Centre?

                          For example, if GIMP is available on all three platforms, would there be a way of highlighting the version in Software Centre as the first go to choice to install rather than installing from Snaps or Flatpak?

                          I presume this would give the best experience as the version in Software Centre has been curated and known to work well in Solus?

                          For example, if GIMP is available on all three platforms, would there be a way of highlighting the version in Software Centre as the first go to choice to install rather than installing from Snaps or Flatpak?

                          If it exists in the repo, we won't show the respective snap or flatpak.

                          What about if there's a flatpak AND a snap for an app? Will we be able to choose, will one be preferred over the other? This question is just about the presentation in the software center.

                          Here are my speculations 😃

                          I simply imagine there will be a priority between the different sources that will be defined by the core team for example:

                          1. Shannon/Stable repository
                          2. Snapcraft
                          3. Flathub
                            ...

                          It makes no sense to focus on the package format because Solus is designed for everyone and a lamda user should just be able to easily find the application and install it without having to wonder what snaps, flatpaks, etc are. We could also imagine that in the future there would be alternate store to (for example) flathub also shipping flatpaks packages.... who knows ?

                          There could be a visual for each source type (like the Solus, Snapcraft, Flathub logo) to identify from which repository the application comes from (and to know where issues should be reported in case of problem with a package) or something like that.

                          23 days later

                          Harvey But not everything is available. For example, Google Chrome Beta is not available in the Snapcraft Store, nor Flathub, while it is available in the Solus 3rd party repo.

                            ugh.. going full snaps route? i still dont see native timidity for the featured openttd