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I've asked about installing server apps for non-technical users before on Hacker News - each time hoping there might be some progress on this problem, but unfor

I've asked about installing server apps for non-technical users before on Hacker News - each time hoping there might be some progress on this problem, but unfortunately not. There are solutions like Bitnami which provide one-click installs for popular apps like WordPress. As you've found out, for a VPS you still need to set-up the VPS first before you can do the 'one-click' install (so not really a 'one-click' solution after all). The choice of server language also affects the ease of deployment. PHP is the easiest among dynamic languages. For some hosting providers, installation of a server app can be as "simple" as uploading scripts to a folder on a server (for example, using a secure FTP client). Imagine if installing a web server app was as easy as installing a desktop app. It would unlock countless opportunities for developers. My impression is that developers think it's a non-issue or have simply never thought about it. If I wanted to be really cynical, I might even suggest that some developers prefer things remain complicated because it makes SaaS solutions much more attractive to customers when the self-hosted alternative is so much more complicated. Unfair? Some previous Ask HNs: How do you handle server install of a web app for customers? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13514025 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13514025 Let customers self-install your server product. Why it so difficult? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14781420 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14781420

XCSme 6y ago
I think it's a bit more complicated because we want to be able to install any app on any hosting. This means that there should be a common one-click-app ecosystem agreed upon by all hosting providers. Currently each one has its own marketplace (DigitalOcean marketplace, AWS marketplace, etc). A partial solution could be containers, such as Docker, but there still has to be a way to purchase a docker image/container and publish it on any server (currently the Docker container is only public, which makes it harder to deploy private apps). I think the solution would be to decide on an OS (Ubuntu probably) and create a public container image that could be provided by all hosting provider, which installs: 1) The OS 2) A web-app with a GUI that contains a (public) marketplace and the user can then browse through all the apps on the marketplace and install them in one click on that specific machine. So, you would go to, let's say, DigitalOcean, you select "New App Server", it provisions a new Ubuntu machine and then you can access the machine in the browser machine-1.myuser.do.com where you see a list of applications that can be installed (which are not DigitalOcean specific, but from a public repository). > I might even suggest that some developers prefer things remain complicated I think this is true in many cases, I've seen a lot of "free software" that you can host yourself, but it is way too complicated to set it up yourself, so you end up using their SaaS. I am trying to find better ways to make my application easier to host, but I keep stumpling upon different problems.

XCSme 6y ago

I think it's a bit more complicated because we want to be able to install any app on any hosting. This means that there should be a common one-click-app ecosystem agreed upon by all hosting providers. Currently each one has its own marketplace (DigitalOcean marketplace, AWS marketplace, etc). A partial solution could be containers, such as Docker, but there still has to be a way to purchase a docker image/container and publish it on any server (currently the Docker container is only public, which makes it harder to deploy private apps). I think the solution would be to decide on an OS (Ubuntu probably) and create a public container image that could be provided by all hosting provider, which installs: 1) The OS 2) A web-app with a GUI that contains a (public) marketplace and the user can then browse through all the apps on the marketplace and install them in one click on that specific machine. So, you would go to, let's say, DigitalOcean, you select "New App Server", it provisions a new Ubuntu machine and then you can access the machine in the browser machine-1.myuser.do.com where you see a list of applications that can be installed (which are not DigitalOcean specific, but from a public repository). > I might even suggest that some developers prefer things remain complicated I think this is true in many cases, I've seen a lot of "free software" that you can host yourself, but it is way too complicated to set it up yourself, so you end up using their SaaS. I am trying to find better ways to make my application easier to host, but I keep stumpling upon different problems.