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GitHub has one of the better implementations of a separate mobile website. - it's optimized for the smaller screen / touch interface - it's provided for the ma

GitHub has one of the better implementations of a separate mobile website. - it's optimized for the smaller screen / touch interface - it's provided for the majority of github's features - it allows easily getting to the "full" desktop site I'll probably continue to the website unless they stop development in favor of the app. What features do you really need an app for here? Or will this allow me to browse my repo offline?

Semaphor 7y ago
I hate the GitHub mobile site. When I land there, I usually follow a link. What I see is part of the readme, and none of the links I’m used to (and want) from the desktop site. There is an option to always choose the desktop site, but guess where I’m logged in: On the desktop.
- giancarlostoro 7y ago
  I absolutely abhor it. Instead of having responsive CSS to restyle everything, I have to go out of my way to request the desktop version where I can see everything, every single time. The worst part is sometimes it doesn't render the full README. Some README's aren't useful till halfway through.
  - tenryuu 7y ago
    Even worse is when the they have been pages adaptive. There are features missing from pages solely based on your viewport width. This is completely different from the mobile site, so if you leave the mobile site and land on one of these pages, there's just not much you can do but complain
- james_s_tayler 7y ago
  Yup. And then it also missing the feature I want. Why not include everything? I don't get it. I'm always disappointed somehow when I _try_ to use their mobile site.
ocdtrekkie 7y ago
Indeed. And as someone that currently carries Windows Mobile and soon will hopefully be carrying a Linux phone, I'd really prefer if we have good web-based mobile experiences, focus sticks on those. Relying on mobile apps made for specific platforms will always be arbitrarily limiting and enforce the duopoly.
fragmede 7y ago
As good as their mobile website is, it's still no replacement for an app with a local copy of the data, which is relatively easy for a git repos. Even if there isn't an offline mode, just having the whole repo cloned locally (bare or shallow) makes it a lot nicer to interact with the repo, simply from a UI latency perspective. While editing code on my phone does not sound like fun, small things like being able to make branches, fix typos, submit to CI system will get used, for sure. Mind you, there are git apps for iOS and Android, so there are other people out there that want access to their git repos via smartphone app.
- cglong 7y ago
  No reason that couldn't be done with a web app :)
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    I believe emulating a full set of POSIX tools is much faster and nicer when done natively ;)
smoser 7y ago
They need an iOS app for push notifications.
- aryamaan 7y ago
  Seems like an opportunity to make an platform with an app for notifications as service.
tobr 7y ago
I couldn’t disagree more. The mobile version is absolutely terrible, because so much of what you are used to being able to do in a repo just doesn’t exist. You can’t even search issues. It’s as if they see it as a separate product that they always deprioritize.
franga2000 7y ago
I like the mobile site as well, but it covers only maybe 20% of what you can do with GitHub. Where is the releases page??? The second most important page on most projects!! And there's many others missing. It's not like that part is just non-optimized - there's no link to it at all. Why do I still have to edit the URL to i.e. download an update for an app? What's there is good, but most of it simply isn't there.
jb_s 7y ago
I didn't even know they had a mobile site. Every time I view a link I apparently get the desktop site, which is the worst thing I've ever tried to use on my phone in my life (text in readmes cuts off and doesnt wrap etc)

Semaphor 7y ago

I hate the GitHub mobile site. When I land there, I usually follow a link. What I see is part of the readme, and none of the links I’m used to (and want) from the desktop site. There is an option to always choose the desktop site, but guess where I’m logged in: On the desktop.

giancarlostoro 7y ago
I absolutely abhor it. Instead of having responsive CSS to restyle everything, I have to go out of my way to request the desktop version where I can see everything, every single time. The worst part is sometimes it doesn't render the full README. Some README's aren't useful till halfway through.
- tenryuu 7y ago
  Even worse is when the they have been pages adaptive. There are features missing from pages solely based on your viewport width. This is completely different from the mobile site, so if you leave the mobile site and land on one of these pages, there's just not much you can do but complain
james_s_tayler 7y ago
Yup. And then it also missing the feature I want. Why not include everything? I don't get it. I'm always disappointed somehow when I _try_ to use their mobile site.

ocdtrekkie 7y ago

Indeed. And as someone that currently carries Windows Mobile and soon will hopefully be carrying a Linux phone, I'd really prefer if we have good web-based mobile experiences, focus sticks on those. Relying on mobile apps made for specific platforms will always be arbitrarily limiting and enforce the duopoly.

fragmede 7y ago

As good as their mobile website is, it's still no replacement for an app with a local copy of the data, which is relatively easy for a git repos. Even if there isn't an offline mode, just having the whole repo cloned locally (bare or shallow) makes it a lot nicer to interact with the repo, simply from a UI latency perspective. While editing code on my phone does not sound like fun, small things like being able to make branches, fix typos, submit to CI system will get used, for sure. Mind you, there are git apps for iOS and Android, so there are other people out there that want access to their git repos via smartphone app.

cglong 7y ago
No reason that couldn't be done with a web app :)
- saagarjha 7y ago
  I believe emulating a full set of POSIX tools is much faster and nicer when done natively ;)

smoser 7y ago

They need an iOS app for push notifications.

aryamaan 7y ago
Seems like an opportunity to make an platform with an app for notifications as service.

tobr 7y ago

I couldn’t disagree more. The mobile version is absolutely terrible, because so much of what you are used to being able to do in a repo just doesn’t exist. You can’t even search issues. It’s as if they see it as a separate product that they always deprioritize.

franga2000 7y ago

I like the mobile site as well, but it covers only maybe 20% of what you can do with GitHub. Where is the releases page??? The second most important page on most projects!! And there's many others missing. It's not like that part is just non-optimized - there's no link to it at all. Why do I still have to edit the URL to i.e. download an update for an app? What's there is good, but most of it simply isn't there.

jb_s 7y ago

I didn't even know they had a mobile site. Every time I view a link I apparently get the desktop site, which is the worst thing I've ever tried to use on my phone in my life (text in readmes cuts off and doesnt wrap etc)