topic Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace? in Nuxeo Forum

Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 08:54:31 GMT

I noticed that some addons don't have install/download buttons on their marketplace page, and some do. For example, the multi-tenant does not have a download button, the JSF UI addon has a button. The download button seems to be not available for addons that "require registration".

However, I don't understand the logic, benefit or added value here. If you can download the i.e. multi-tenant addons from a registered Nuxeo instance and get the zip from there and deploy it to an unregistered instance, or build it from the github repo and deploy it to an unregistered Nuxeo instance, what's the point of not offering a download button on the marketplace in the first place, or what is the idea behind the registration here for such addons?

It make sense that commercial addons would not have a download button (obviously), but why do some free (=LGPL, not paid) addons not have it either? And why would a registration (not subscription) be necessary for the multi-tenant module for example, if it's free (=LGPL, not paid) anyway?

Another question that I have is in this regard: does the requirement for an addon for a "registered account" mean the same as "suscription required", or is the account registration and using it after the trial still free?

This post is of 2014, and I am not sure if it's still valid or not: https://answers.nuxeo.com/general/q/9d511372fddb481aa1fb7d54e14b8e48/Is-it-not-possible-to-run-all-updates-without-a-nuxeo-connect-account

Florent Guillaume: "Nuxeo LTS (Long Term Support) hotfixes via Nuxeo Connect is a service we provide that gives registered users very simple updates to the latest hotfix version of Nuxeo. That takes time and resources on our part. We don't think that registering through Nuxeo Connect to get this service is that much of a hurdle (it's free)."

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

Julien_Carsique — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 11:21:30 GMT

There are three levels of package availability: public, restricted, private. The private level is for packages with very limited ownership and visibility (specific customer, Nuxeo internal, etc.) The restricted level is for packages requiring a "registered account", which means the same as a "paid subscription" or a "trial".

You are confusing free and open: an addon can be open source (ie freely installable by hand) while its package not being freely downloadable (ie the additional service provided by Nuxeo). The quoted sentence from Florent Guillaume is still valid. Wether a package is public or restricted depends on the commercial strategy, the addon importance (JSF UI is public because required in many cases), the related technology (is it itself free or not), etc.

Using a registered instance to download a package, then installing that package on an unregistered instance (ie bypass the system rules) is not fair and I highly discourage such a practice: at one time, you will get in troubles. Being it with updates, hotfixes and legal issues.

Building by hand is fair and perfectly acceptable. When doing so, you know that you are in the rails, only not getting benefits from a paying service.

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

Florent_Guillau — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 11:33:49 GMT

Note that in the quoted message from me, I specifically talk about hotfixes. Pre-packaged hotfixed that are easily applied are provided exclusively through the Nuxeo Online Services subscription for Nuxeo customers.

People are of course always free to download and compile the code themselves.

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 12:58:16 GMT

Is it correct that in order to just get hotfixes for the multi-tenant addon (assume that's the only additional addon the client needs), and if the client would not need any other restricted/commercial addon or technical service, it would cost 47,000 EUR / year, or what would be the cost?(http

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 13:28:53 GMT

[Florent Guillaume](https

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

Florent_Guillau — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 13:45:39 GMT

You may want to re-read https

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 13:50:22 GMT

Ok, thanks for clarification! (Not clear about the download button though. Obviously manual installation does not provide hotfixes, but this goes for JSF UI addon as well as for the multi-tenant addon. If it's not recommended to do this for the multi-tenant addon, it should also not be recommended for the JSF UI addon.)

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 13:52:05 GMT

[Julien Carsique](https

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

Julien_Carsique — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 14:59:24 GMT

I'm not the right person to explain those considerations in details but yes, it's all about a balance between the cost of DIY and the subscription fees. Nuxeo offers its services as whole packages including hotfixes, Studio, consulting, support, etc. There are various degrees but no small offer focused on a unique addon.

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

Julien_Carsique — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 15:10:19 GMT

What is not recommended is to use an instance to do some install and transfer the files to an another instance.

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 15:27:00 GMT

Yes, sure, not via the marketplace methods mp-install, since marketplace functionality should not be available if unregistered. I meant, just taking the package (the one under /opt/nuxeo/server/tmp/ after a download, or when building it from the git repo - if that actually builds a package and not just a 'plain' jar, not tested that) and uploading it via the regular Nuxeos Admin section manually. That works fine, i.e. for the multi-tenant package.

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 15:27:57 GMT

Ok, thanks for the info.

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

Julien_Carsique — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 11:24:16 GMT

Yes of course, there is no trap

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 11:56:37 GMT

Right. The original questions of this post remains though. Why do only some addons have a download button? This makes it unnecessary difficult for users to get and install it, if they can do it in the above mentioned way anyway. I was thinking of putting up a github repo as a mirror to put the public packages (binaries) there, cause then you could do an easy wget and get them directly, otherwise it's a bit inconvenient. Ok, basic auth seems to work as well, so that should do it, even for automation processes, just need to put some credentials somewhere (still, there is no benefit for a registration if a user is not a subscriber anyway).

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

Florent_Guillau — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 12:51:11 GMT

This wouldn’t be very welcome at all as it conflict with our commercial strategy (which enable us to write the software). We like open source for the collaboration it enables, not for free riders. In addition third-party repositories like this would have no assurance of quality or even legitimacy for a third-party user.

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

mathias_lin — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 13:40:17 GMT

This doesn't make much sense. It's like obfuscatiing or just not providing information in order to make users subscribe who don't really need a subscription - hiding LGPL addons behind a registration wall, where the download instructions (using mp-install wouldn't even work), even though the addon is free itself. So the main purposes of the required registration even for LGPL addons is to get the email addresses in order to follow-up with sales processes? Understandable, but on the other hand, who doesn't want leads? It has nothing to do with free riders (there is not even an option to purchase a single addon - except for going for a $88k subscription). So anybody with a commercial interested would get a bunch of LGPL addons (I mean, the license says it already, https

Re: Why do not all (free / open source / LGPL) addons have install/download buttons on the marketplace?

Florent_Guillau — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 13:50:22 GMT

I'm sorry but mvn package is not obfuscation.