Graphical Installer

[riccardobl]

This is a gui installer (and hopefully the solution to #3 and Linux installer for the Alby companion app
bounty. It is made with node js and nodegui (a wrapper of a subset of Qt) everything is then packed as a portable AppImage.

I moved the scripts present in the current master branch of this repo into the cli subfolder, they are not used by this installer, however i thought it would be nice to leave them there for the bash enthusiasts.

You can get the executable built with gh action from here: https://github.com/riccardobl/alby-installer-linux/releases
Or build it yourself using the commands specified here: https://github.com/riccardobl/alby-installer-linux#build

It supports some minimal configuration that can be applied at runtime using env variables (see. https://github.com/riccardobl/alby-installer-linux#configuration). The same env variables can also be forced during build time by exporting them before calling build.sh.

The behavior of ALBY_COMPANION_VERSION and ALBY_COMPANION_FILE differs when used at build time as they will instruct the build script to create a 'fat' installer by embedding the specified copy of the companion that will be used instead of the one fetched at runtime from github. (note: in this case ALBY_COMPANION_FILE has to be specified like this: OS-ARCH.tar.gz . See gh workflow).

The companion is installed in a sub-folder in the browser's user settings, this allows to have different versions of the companion for each browser, the installer shows the installed version and either if it is updated or not for each browser.

The github action script included in this PR builds a fat installer containing the latest companion available on https://github.com/getAlby/alby-companion-rs release page.

[secondl1ght]

Nice work @riccardobl, I just tested and it works. The UI looks nice too! It took less than one second to enable the companion app on the selected browser. Fastest install ever lol.

[riccardobl]

What's the deal with this PR? Despite it being a valid bounty and functioning, it has been ignored for over a year.
Should I consider closing it? @bumi

[bumi]

@riccardobl ohhh. I missed your recent comment here.
This for sure qualified for the bounty and it should have been paid out. is [email protected] correct? If it has not been paid I will make sure it will be done.
This was great and valuable work, even though not fully released.
Currently we're pushing for NWC which will become an alternative to the Tor connection to the extension.

[riccardobl]

Thanks for your kind words.
Indeed, we did have some back-and-forth white i developed this, however, after completing the work and submitting the pull request, the bounty wasn't paid out.

I waited, understanding that reviewing PRs takes time and might not be the top priority.
But it seems at some point we collectively forgot about it.

[email protected]

Yes, you can go ahead and send the reward there.

I'm glad my contribution was appreciated.

[riccardobl]

I've received the reward. Thanks 👍