Worst part is that this used to be a separate tab in the repo navigation. I still cannot conceive of a reason why they would move it from there to some random heading in the middle of the screen, except maybe so they can sell more GitHub trainings.
Comment on Hey, I'm new to GitHub!
savvywolf@pawb.social 2 months ago
TBF, they could probably make the “releases” page more prominent rather than having it buried in all the “code” stuff.
Ephera@lemmy.ml 2 months ago
Anamana@feddit.de 2 months ago
I think you’re on to something haha
epyon22@programming.dev 2 months ago
This is really bad on mobile too. I usually flip to desktop mode to get to releases page quickly.
bappity@lemmy.world 2 months ago
TRUE. the first time I used GitHub, the releases tab being all the way at the bottom in the mobile view confused me for a good while
WaterSword@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
I agree. Whenever I link someone I try to make sure to link directly to the release page.
Crow@lemmy.world 2 months ago
After downloading code from GitHub for years I can still take over a minute finding the file I want to download at times. Now that’s not long, but it’s why I’m there 90% of the time.
MiltownClowns@lemmy.world 2 months ago
If there isnt a link in the readme.md I could be lost for days.
Artyom@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Honestly, releases and the readme could be the first page on their own, you can push the code to another tab as long as the clone button is there. There’s at most a 5% chance I’m just gonna raw dog the code straight from the browser anyways.
joyjoy@lemm.ee 2 months ago
On mobile, they hide the code by default. Though the releases are still hidden underneath the readme.
Anamana@feddit.de 2 months ago
GitHub has bad UX for people who just wanna download and use the programs
r00ty@kbin.life 2 months ago
I'd agree, but the caveat is that github is primarily about an interface for source control and collaboration between developers for projects. The release page is really just an also-ran in terms of importance.
Anamana@feddit.de 2 months ago
Imo they aren’t even trying, because it’s not that hard to make it better. Doesn’t even have to be a compromise.
Rodeo@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
There is, it’s literally right there on the home page of the project. You can either copy a URL and download it by cloning the git repo, or you can download the whole project as a zip file. Then you just have to compile it!
GitHub is for developers, not end users.
chevy9294@monero.town 2 months ago
Imagine how many download buttons would be if Github had ads.
originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Excel has a bad UX for people who want to use it to make art
Anamana@feddit.de 2 months ago
Do most people who use Excel also make art with it? Because… devs also download exe files on GitHub :D
hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
GitHub, Inc. (/ˈɡɪthʌb/[a]) is a developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage and share their code
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GitHub
Yes it has other functions too, but it’s primarily for code.
originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Do MOST people who use GitHub download .exes? In my experience the VAST majority of people are using it for source and version control, not external releases. The overwhelming majority. FOSS and OSS is a small portion of the overall GitHub user base compared to, say, enterprise companies.
Malix@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
not only the ux, some devs make it absurdly confusing to find a binary.
I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus, but there’s this one niche app.
their github releases at one point were YEARS out of date, they only linked to the current version in seemingly random issue reports’ comments. And the current versions were some daily build artefacts you could find in a navigation tree many clicks deep in some unrelated website. And you’d better be savvy enough to download a successfully built artefact too. And even then the downloaded .zip contained all kinds of fluff unnescessary for using the app.
The app worked fine, sure, but actually obtaining it was fairly tricky, tbh.
Cow2@lemm.ee 2 months ago
These build artefacts probably weren’t meant for end users, that’s why they contained the “unnecessary fluff”.
Malix@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
absolutely, but they were in general (IIRC) suggesting them for the main downloads, but just not telling anyone outside the comments, which was the weird part
DudeDudenson@lemmings.world 2 months ago
GitHub has bad UX for a lot of things
infinitepcg@lemmy.world 2 months ago
The Github UX is amazing if you ever had to use gitlab or bitbucket
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 2 months ago
It’s not black and white. I actually liked a few things better about bit buckets UI. It’s been too long to remember specifics though I think it was concerning PRs and diffs. I still think GitHubs review UI is too complicated. It took me literally years to fully understand it.
fury@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I’m not so sure. I seem to be able to find my way around a GitLab project in much fewer moves than a GitHub project. But maybe I’m biased because I use it all the time at work. I know they change the sidebar a lot, though.
OofShoot@beehaw.org 2 months ago
I’ve bounced off GitHub more than once trying to figure out how to download the .exe file that I assumed must be somewhere. Honestly I still don’t understand the interface and I’ve submitted bug reports for Jeroba on there. I might have even used GitHub for a project once? Every time I look at it it’s overwhelming and confusing and none of it is self-explanatory. But, that’s fairly true for a lot of stuff in programming.
JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
If there is an exe, it’s under the releases link. On desktop it’s on the right sidebar below “About”. On mobile it’s at the bottom after the readme blurb.
It’s not obvious because the code is the main focus, GitHub would much rather people host their releases somewhere else.
BatmanAoD@programming.dev 2 months ago
And even if releases are hosted on github, there should ideally be a download links page somewhere that presents the different binaries or installation files in an easier to understand format, especially if the software is designed for non-developers.
smeg@feddit.uk 2 months ago
That’s where it is? I’ve been sneaking my way in by clicking
tagsand then thereleasestoggle!peter@feddit.uk 2 months ago
That’s not really what it’s designed for though
Anamana@feddit.de 2 months ago
It doesn’t have to be a compromise imo. Most people just need a visible download button on the front pages. Wouldn’t hurt devs at all. I mean, even devs sometimes struggle with this lol.
BetterDev@programming.dev 2 months ago
You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.
Any change to appease you would be a compromise, you understand this, yes?
MonkCanatella@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
I fixed it for them
Image