I see a lot of posts for apps that I would like to try but they all send me to a Github link - What is the process for getting an executable of these apps? Do I have to compile them myself? OR am I missing the .exe or .zip file option?

I really feel like I’m missing something easy…

  • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
    2·
    1 year ago

    This is going to depend completely on the project, unfortunately.

    GitHub, in the most common case, is going to host the source code for a project. This source code is the blueprint to make the artifact. Artifact in this case can be an executable like a .exe-file, a .apk-file, an ELF-file, a library of some flavour, or perhaps just the verbatim source code to be interpreted by a script interpreter.

    For projects that compile to a .exe-file, check the releases tab for the project, in which the developers may have built the artifact for you to use. If not, check the readme for build instructions. Sometimes there may be recommended steps for installation, such as using a package manager or app store.