I beg you, if you are a developer of an open source app or program - add screenshots of your app to the README file. When looking for the perfect app, I had to install dozens of them just to see what the user interface looked like and whether it suits me. This will allow users to decide if the app they choose will suit them… Please, don’t think about it, just do it…
As a user, I completely agree. People often make decisions in a few seconds, and you’ve done all this work developing an app. That little extra step will allow you to make a difference to more people!
As a developer of a Lemmy web UI, I’ve been thinking about adding screenshots to my README for weeks but still haven’t done so 🙈
Get to it, mate! You can do it!
While we’re at it, I love that you let me customize the settings via a config, but for the love of god make the default config the best it can possibly be
I prefer the simple, sane defaults that work for everyone with a heavily commented config file giving detailed information on what each value for each option does, personally. Like MPV’s config file.
I haven’t even touched MPVs config file because I just assumed it would be empty like so much other software I use. Looks like I know what I’m doing tonight.
I think this ties in to the grander idea of: please provide information that is helpful on a nontechnical plane of thinking. It goes a very long way
README is usually a text file. While some platforms can now use markdown, that is nowhere near universal. So it might be better to ask for screenshots to be put on the website / wiki.
GitHub and GitLab both support inserting images into your README.md. Here’s the syntax:
Just like obsidian.md
And Lemmy!
Not just a text file, a markdown file. And markdown has supported images since forever
README.txt will be a text file, README.md can be much more
Also please begin the Github page or whatever with a description of what the app is actually for or what it does. I know that sounds super obvious, but the number of times I’ve seen links that are like “I made this app from scratch for fun, let me know what you think!” and then you click through and the app is called Scrooblarr or something and it has no indication of what it actually does is… more than it should be.
100% agree! I always get so frustrated when there are no screenshots in the README.md or on the site.
No. ReadMe files should be concise, explicit, and text only. UI/UX screenshots can be part of the repo, wiki, or associated website but they shouldn’t be in the ReadMe.
If you don’t understand the software you’re installing from some rando stranger’s git repo then you shouldn’t install it. Period. Take the opportunity to learn more or use another tool.
Git repos are not app stores. The devs don’t owe you anything.
The vast majority of software in publicly accessible git repos are personal projects, hobbies, and one-off experiments.
Your relationship with the software and the devs that create and maintain it is your responsibility. Try talking to the devs, ask them questions, attempt to understand why they constructed their project in whatever specific way they have. You might make some new friends, or learn something really interesting. And if you encounter rudeness, hostility, or incompetence you’re free to move on, such is the nature of our ever-evolving open-source community.
We bring a lot of preconceived notions into the open-source / foss / software development space as we embark on our own journey of personal development. I try to always remember it’s the journey of discovery and the relationships we curate along the way that is the real prize.
Yup, if I don’t see screenshots for a desktop applications, I don’t bother since the developer clearly doesn’t understand what they’re doing. It’s especially baffling when it’s a WM/DE. It’s really trivial effort too. If the devs don’t get this basic point, it’s going to reflect in their poorly designed UX/UI as well.
There’s an awful lot of comments in this post from people complaining that developers aren’t making their projects attractive and user friendly enough, or the READMEs descriptive enough.
Can I just say, as a developer with some open source projects on github, I don’t care; you’re not my intended audience.
I don’t care; you’re not my intended audience.That’s pretty ignorant
That’s quite an accusation. Can you elaborate further on that please.
No. (I don’t care; you’re not my intended audience.)
Anyone know of good Gitlab CI or GitHub actions for auto generating GUI screenshots and links them in the README? I only barely know testing tool and frameworks like OpenQA and Robot for GUI. Even better if we can get AVIF/GIF linked in there to see an app in motion.
Honestly though, documenting is a pain enough, I really don’t want to be doing screenshot walk throughs on anything I’m not paid to do.
Dear open source app user: feel free to improve the README file of the projects you come across by adding a few screenshots you believe are relevant.
Although I understand the OP’s perspective open-source is a community effort and people should have a more proactive attitude and contribute when they feel things aren’t okay. Most open-source developers aren’t focused / don’t have time for how things look (or at least not on the beginning). If you’re a regular user and you can spend an hour taking a bunch of screenshots and improving a readme you’ll be making more for the future the project that you might think.
If the app sucks, few people will add the screenshots. Therefore, most apps without screenshots will suck. So new apps will need the developer to add screenshots, or people will assume it sucks.
And we’re back to square one. The developer has extra responsibility to highlight the features.
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TURE…👍
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Dear Open source devs: Do something I’m too lazy to contribute.
Unironically yes. Asking someone that doesn’t use your project, isn’t part of the development, and quite possibly doesn’t even want anything to do with your project to do work for you project is silly.
I mean, it’s just a suggestion. The utility depends on the goal of the project. Am I being lazy? Don’t care. Do I want maximum user engagement/feedback; well, the suggestion is sound.
