Provide a packaged build for Linux releases

[Measurity]

Describe the issue

Some Linux users would like Nitrox as a package instead of loose files. We should investigate which packaging format serves Nitrox best.

Package requirements

• Cross-platform meaning it can generate the packed exe on windows
• Allows us to specify what packages we need, rather than forced auto-detect
• Free
• Headless compatible & compatible with as many distros as possible

Things to check

• Can the package work for both launcher and server executable? Can Launcher find the server this way?

[Kiaos]

Ok so I just made the app image myself.

set -e

# ------------------------------
# Variables
# ------------------------------
NITROX_URL="https://github.com/SubnauticaNitrox/Nitrox/releases/download/1.8.0.0/Nitrox_1.8.0.0_linux_x64.zip"
ICON_URL="https://github.com/SubnauticaNitrox/NitroxWebsite/blob/master/public/assets/img/favicon.png?raw=true"
WORKDIR="$HOME/Games/Nitrox.AppDir"
OUTPUT_DIR="$HOME/Games"
APPIMAGE_TOOL="$HOME/Downloads/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage"

# ------------------------------
# Prepare AppDir
# ------------------------------
rm -rf "$WORKDIR"
mkdir -p "$WORKDIR/usr/bin"

# ------------------------------
# Download Nitrox zip
# ------------------------------
TMPZIP="$HOME/Downloads/Nitrox_1.8.0.0_linux_x64.zip"
echo "Downloading Nitrox 1.8..."
curl -L -o "$TMPZIP" "$NITROX_URL"

# ------------------------------
# Extract linux-x64 folder into AppDir/usr/bin
# ------------------------------
echo "Extracting Nitrox..."
unzip -q "$TMPZIP" -d "$WORKDIR/usr/bin"
rm "$TMPZIP"

# ------------------------------
# Download favicon for icon
# ------------------------------
echo "Downloading icon..."
curl -L -o "$WORKDIR/Nitrox.Launcher.png" "$ICON_URL"

# ------------------------------
# Create AppRun script
# ------------------------------
cat > "$WORKDIR/AppRun" << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
HERE="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$0")")"
cd "$HERE/usr/bin/linux-x64"
./Nitrox.Launcher
EOF
chmod +x "$WORKDIR/AppRun"

# ------------------------------
# Create .desktop file
# ------------------------------
cat > "$WORKDIR/Nitrox.desktop" << EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Nitrox
Exec=AppRun
Icon=Nitrox.Launcher
Type=Application
Categories=Game;
EOF

# ------------------------------
# Set .DirIcon for AppImage
# ------------------------------
ln -sf Nitrox.Launcher.png "$WORKDIR/.DirIcon"

# ------------------------------
# Download appimagetool if missing
# ------------------------------
if [ ! -f "$APPIMAGE_TOOL" ]; then
    echo "Downloading appimagetool..."
    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$APPIMAGE_TOOL")"
    curl -L -o "$APPIMAGE_TOOL" \
        https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/releases/download/continuous/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage
    chmod +x "$APPIMAGE_TOOL"
fi

# ------------------------------
# Build AppImage
# ------------------------------
echo "Building AppImage..."
"$APPIMAGE_TOOL" "$WORKDIR"

# ------------------------------
# Move AppImage to output folder
# ------------------------------
mv "$WORKDIR/Nitrox-x86_64.AppImage" "$OUTPUT_DIR/"

echo "✅ Done! Nitrox AppImage is at $OUTPUT_DIR/Nitrox-x86_64.AppImage"

[Kiaos]

Describe the issue

Investigate if creating an AppImage can work for Nitrox, then implement as MSBuild task when making a release.

One thing, this all needs to be done from linux. since the app image tool needs to be run in linux in order to make the .appimage file.

Things to check:

• Can AppImage work for both launcher and server executable? Can Launcher find the server this way?

I tested it and the server launches just fine with the appimage.

[Kiaos]

here is my output after i made everything

📦[Kiaos@fedora-toolbox ~]$ ~/Downloads/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage ~/Games/Nitrox.AppDir
appimagetool, continuous build (commit 5735cc5), build <local dev build> built on 2023-03-08 22:52:04 UTC
WARNING: appstreamcli command is missing, please install it if you want to use AppStream metadata
Using architecture x86_64
/home/Kiaos/Games/Nitrox.AppDir should be packaged as Nitrox-x86_64.AppImage
WARNING: AppStream upstream metadata is missing, please consider creating it
         in usr/share/metainfo/Nitrox.appdata.xml
         Please see https://www.freedesktop.org/software/appstream/docs/chap-Quickstart.html#sect-Quickstart-DesktopApps
         for more information or use the generator at http://output.jsbin.com/qoqukof.
Generating squashfs...
Parallel mksquashfs: Using 16 processors
Creating 4.0 filesystem on Nitrox-x86_64.AppImage, block size 131072.
[==============================================================================================|] 472/472 100%

Exportable Squashfs 4.0 filesystem, gzip compressed, data block size 131072
	compressed data, compressed metadata, compressed fragments,
	compressed xattrs, compressed ids
	duplicates are removed
Filesystem size 22304.90 Kbytes (21.78 Mbytes)
	49.25% of uncompressed filesystem size (45288.10 Kbytes)
Inode table size 3189 bytes (3.11 Kbytes)
	43.40% of uncompressed inode table size (7348 bytes)
Directory table size 2257 bytes (2.20 Kbytes)
	45.07% of uncompressed directory table size (5008 bytes)
Number of duplicate files found 0
Number of inodes 187
Number of files 178
Number of fragments 48
Number of symbolic links  1
Number of device nodes 0
Number of fifo nodes 0
Number of socket nodes 0
Number of directories 8
Number of ids (unique uids + gids) 1
Number of uids 1
	root (0)
Number of gids 1
	root (0)
Embedding ELF...
Marking the AppImage as executable...
Embedding MD5 digest
Success

Please consider submitting your AppImage to AppImageHub, the crowd-sourced
central directory of available AppImages, by opening a pull request
at https://github.com/AppImage/appimage.github.io
📦[Kiaos@fedora-toolbox ~]$ 

[Kiaos]

@Measurity You do realize that what we want will never work on windows. Appimage and flatpak would be what linux needs. You just cant do that in msbuild. You need to offload it to a linux envorioment and build it in a container or something. I would recomend keeping this a linux only issue cause windows doesnt use Appimage or flatpak.

Free using the appimage tool https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/releases/download/continuous/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage is free

Headless compatible & compatible with as many distros as possible

appimage and flatpak is compatible with most if not all modern distros

Things to check
Can the package work for both launcher and server executable? Can Launcher find the server this way?

Yes I tested it today. Works just fine. Server is being used in appimage right now by me.

[OhmV-IR]

@Measurity You do realize that what we want will never work on windows. Appimage and flatpak would be what linux needs. You just cant do that in msbuild. You need to offload it to a linux envorioment and build it in a container or something. I would recomend keeping this a linux only issue cause windows doesnt use Appimage or flatpak.

Free using the appimage tool https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/releases/download/continuous/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage is free

Headless compatible & compatible with as many distros as possible

appimage and flatpak is compatible with most if not all modern distros

Things to check Can the package work for both launcher and server executable? Can Launcher find the server this way?

Yes I tested it today. Works just fine. Server is being used in appimage right now by me.

there is no reason that it can't work on windows. We want to investigate options before we make a decision, please give us time to do that

[Measurity]

You just cant do that in msbuild.

MSBuild allows you to call external executables. It runs on Linux too. This isn't the issue.

I would recomend keeping this a linux only issue cause windows doesnt use Appimage or flatpak.

Of course, but we have Windows devs and they need to be able to release Nitrox without omitting Linux builds. How this will look like (GitHub runner or finding exotic ways to bundle AppImage on Windows), we'll see.

[OhmV-IR]

procon list for our package manager options, think snap is our best bet here

[Kiaos]

So most gamers are gonna use Bazzite or steam os. Those two mostly support discover store flatpak or appimage. The other distros have their own managers for installing or running software. Bazzite and steam os are immutable file system so no yay, yum or dnf. Most average users that use Linux wont be installing via manager that way. NON power users are gonna install stuff through flatpak or appimage.

The snap store only works on debian. So No for fedora = bazzite and no for arch = steam os
Its only one place of many. Snap also has shit tons of bugs. Which is why I don't run ubuntu or debian based distros. I perfer other packagemanagers so i dont use those distros.

steam os does have pacman but no yay. (I have gotten yay to work but It invovles breaking steam os its a pain)

bazzite only has layering with ostree which they don't recommend. Bazzite has Appimage and flatpak. Or runing it in a distrobox container you can use dnf which installs rpm. OStree install is rpm based as well.

Let me clarify Appimage is a like a folder your server and launcher along with all the things in linux-64 are in the bin folder and are accessible by what ever you use to run the app which is the launcher. The launcher has built in console server support. It works just fine as i have tested it.

AND LIKE I SAID the server and launcher work just fine in an app image Since I have tested it.

The app image only points to the launcher and the launcher has access to the server. APP IMAGE is only for average user.

The other zip that you provide is for docker people or power users.

*You are not providing appimage for all users as the only source for linux. Your providing it as an option to use it along side other options for linux. As far as sandboxing goes I would have to make a flatpak of my own and test.

For most releases you would provide all of them. You crossed out the others. But debain is a pretty bad os. Limiting it to only snap is pretty cruel since most of the other distros will never be able to use it.

when people release any software for linux they would provide

.appimage
.flatpak
.rpm
.deb
and the zip you provided in your releases.

They don't just do one type. They have an autobuilder that does it all so they just hit a button and bam they are all made.

[Measurity]

Snap seems to work everywhere but gotta enable it:

• https://snapcraft.io/install/snap-store/fedora
• https://snapcraft.io/install/snap-store/arch
• https://snapcraft.io/snap-store (ubuntu)
• Mint:

sudo rm /etc/apt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref
apt update
apt install snapd

Ideally we package it in everything but as a first task, starting with one would be good.

[Kiaos]

did you not see what i wrote Bazzite and Steam os are immutable so that does not work. APT is only on debian.

Snap can be installed on a open system. But steam os and Bazzite arnt.

You can't just install what ever manager you want and you shouldn't do that.

Garenteed most users arn't installing a open linux system. Because they can break it. Look what linux tech tips's Linus did with his linux.

If your making something for people that don't know what their doing. You make it for all distros if you can. .appimage is clean and works for me right now on Bazzite.

[Kiaos]

did you not hear me Bazzite and Steam os are immutible so that does not work. APT is only on debian.
Snap can be installed on a open system. But steam os and Bazzite arnt.
You can't just install what ever manager you want and you shouldn't do that.
Garenteed most users arn't installing a open linux system. Because they can break it. Look what linux tech tips's Linus did with his linux.
If your making something for people that don't know what your doing. You make it for all managers.

making it for all managers is a lot of work, and many of the managers like flatpak has sandboxing which will likely break our launcher logic. Please refer to the graphic I posted earlier for why snap was my first choice.

when you release software on git hub you make a build manger for it and have it automated.

Devs who use windows only don't need to do all the work, They just hit build and their project goes brrrr. WSL is not hard to get running. If wsl doesn't work on Windows 11 its cause you don't want it to work or are not interested in figuring it out.

WSL is intregrated with Visual studio and VScode. Don't use unbuntu for your wsl image use arch.

If you need to have two separate people build the linux and windows. Cause If using linux is a barrier for windows people. either automate it and get wsl running or have a linux person do it and release all of them. Their are guides on the internet for releasing a project in all those formats.

Saying we are only gonna release it for snap is gonna basicly limit it to those that can use snap on their system. Snap is debain based and even if you can install it on other distros doestn mean you should. There are nightmare videos about it messing up their system. which is why i dont use snap.