2.9.5 should not be available to download due to it being broken.

unknown wrote:

Most people expect to be able to install packages just usually apt or apt-get, as far as I know github doesn't provide the resources to host a git repo.

no but a script could copy new versions from git releases to the existing LinuxCNC Deb repository

GitHub can't provide a true browsable website directory like you can acheive with NGINX, for example (such as linuxcnc.org/iso or www3.langdonstaab.ca).

Therefore, GitHub cannot supply the DEB repo for APT.

GitHub also can't store the ISO files because they are way too big.

We do need an actual server for those 2 things (and the forum, of course, but that's separate).

However, literally everything else is possible without any real server at all.

Github can (and should) be the provider of all release debs on the website.

While we need the debs on our server too for stupid apt, all the DEB download links on linuxcnc.org should be GitHub links (why would we consume our server resouces and bandwidth when GitHub can provide the same for free).

I not too sure what you mean, Linuxcnc does provide a server with ISO downloads and repos. It has done for many many years.

Actually apt is not stupid, if you ever used a RedHat distro in the 1990's or ealry 2000's you would know that dependencies had to be manually searched and installed. Slackware had the same issue as well, tho it did not have quite the software support a lot of packages had to be built by hand.

debs are a godsend, all dependencies are with the file it self (99.9999% of the time), everything is done automagically.

And honestly to not be able to install the latest packages via apt is really breaking the package system. A machinist may not want to download a script and then run it to install an update, they would prefer a simple way of doing it, apt & apt-get provide that method. And it is insurance from users trying to install packages they shouldn't, apt provides that.

Theres a lot of "behind the scenes" things that are involved in adding a deb package to a repo, it's not just about copying a file. Even when using a proxy to cache debs more things happen than just storing the file.

So before one goes shooting their mouth off, try setup reprepro on a server to provide a repo and have a look at what's involved. Or apt-cacher-ng and see if the files can link to external files.

I don't get why you have such an interest in thing being free. It's a little creepy.