Extras

Extras is the primary repository for Maemo applications where most community software can be found. There are many excellent software projects distributed through Extras including Canola, Maemo Mapper, OMWeather, and others.

Contents

Using Extras

To enable Extras repository, just open this link on your tablet.

Or you can enable it by hand:

  • Go into the Application manager.
  • Tap the menu -> Tools -> Application catalog...
  • Double-tap maemo Extras.
  • Uncheck Disabled.

About Extras

Extras is split into two areas:

  • free applications are Open Source have been through the Maemo Extras vetting process
  • non-free applications are usually closed, binary only and their quality and security must be taken on trust

Anyone interested in contributing to Extras should look at the Extras repository process definition.

Extras-devel

Extras has a development repository called "Extras-devel", where not-yet-ready-for-prime-time package testing goes on and where new alpha and beta versions of software are frequently made available before they're pushed to Extras proper. This repository is not recommended for regular usage unless you are interested in testing software that may potentially break your system, or need a specific package out of this repository. You can add Extra-devel to your repository list by opening this .install on your tablet.

Extras-testing

Extras testing is a new repository that holds applications waiting to be tested. It is a place where powerusers can download the latest developer releases and test them out and give feedback on what works and what doesn't. It may damage other software on your tablet, so it is wise not to download anything from this repository without first backing up all your data. It would also be good if you knew how to re-flash your tablet in case things get sticky.

More information on Extras-testing here.

For developers

Uploading to Extras

Main article: Uploading to Extras

Anyone with a Garage account can upload packages to Extras, and so make them available to the widest possible user base. It is important to note that the uploader needs a Garage account: the package itself does not need to be hosted in the Garage.

Policy

Main article: Task:Consolidation of Extras

The Extras policies are still in the process of being defined and refined. See Extras repository process definition and Diablo Extras repository proposal for details and discussion.

See also the Extras/3rd Party Package Policy being tested in Fremantle.

Downloads

Main article: Providing changes since last version of a package

You can create an entry for your application in the maemo.org downloads section. If the unixname of your entry is the same as your debian package in Extras, the version information will be automatically updated when you upload a new package.

There is a discussion going on about how to provide changes since last version of a package. At the moment there isn't a conclusion to this discussion yet.