I feel super dumb asking this. But what actually is and how does github (or similar sites) work? Are they all just source files one needs to manually compile? I am always confused when I look at a github page. I know some have directions but they still go way over my head sometimes. Im not a total noob but some of this stuff seems like you need to be in programming and have an IDE just to run a program.

  • BakedCatboy@lemmy.mlEnglish
    13·
    1 month ago

    It completely depends on the project and the maintainer. Lots of repos are just source files, some include instructions on how to compile, some have no instructions. Some post releases with a pre compiled executable that you can download and run, others post releases that just have a zip of the source code. Some projects use GitHub pages to host detailed manuals, tutorials, etc.

    If you share a link to a specific project, people may be able to help you get it running. Whether or not you need a bunch of tools like an IDE just depends on the project.

  • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
    4·
    1 month ago

    GitHub is a site that hosts git repos. Git is primarily for source code, but you can put just about any kind of project in it.

    Most of them will have precompiled releases.

  • plantsmakemehappy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    1 month ago

    The most basic level is GitHub, Gitlab, etc are used to store version controlled files which can be anything from like a wiki, an apps source files, your random collection of scripts, etc.

    They have added features like the ability to offer artifacts which could be an already compiled exe or rpm, or just the source code for you to self compile. Which option they give is dependent on which repo and usually that repo maintainer will have directions for how you install their thing.

  • double_quack@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    Just came to say don’t feel embarrassed, that’s actually an interesting question!

  • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    If you do come across something you really want to try on github, and it doesn’t have a pre-compiled version. It’s actually not that scary to compile it yourself. If they don’t give any instructions for compiling it, that generally means you can leave everything as default on the compiler. You can change any optional settings to tailor it to your use case. Generally just looking at the options and reading the helpful hints, it all ends up being pretty self-explanatory. But of course, if anything gives you trouble, there are plenty of places to get help too.