The package server
This section is for administrators, developers and hosting companies who want to know where the setup wizard,
the kickstarter and exp:install get their site packages from. It answers: what the package server is, what is on
it, how a package gets there, which settings point an installation at it, and what to do without it.
Tip
Built a site package that others could use? 7x and the Exponential Foundation strongly encourage you to submit it by pull request to the repository behind the package server: Contribute your site package.
Contents
- In short
- The pages of this section
- Which page for which question
- The addresses at a glance
- Related pages
In short
- The package server is a static HTTPS web site: exponential.packages.exponential.earth. Nothing on it runs code; it serves files.
- It has one folder per Exponential release,
exponential/6.0/<version>/, each with anindex.xml, the.ezpkgarchives and athumbnails/folder. - An installation reads
<RemotePackagesIndexURL>/index.xml, set insettings/package.ini [RepositorySettings]. For 6.0.15 that ishttps://exponential.packages.exponential.earth/exponential/6.0/6.0.15. - The site is published by GitHub Pages from the repository se7enxweb/exponential.packages.exponential.earth; a GitHub Actions workflow adds the directory listing pages.
- The packages are built from source repositories such as se7enxweb/sevenx-ezpackage and se7enxweb/cjw_multisite-ezpackage.
- The 6.0.15 folder holds 44 packages, twelve of them site packages.
- Without the server, an installation can use a local
index.xmland packages already imported, or a mirror of your own.
The pages of this section
| Page | What it answers |
|---|---|
| What the package server is | Its job, what it is not, and how an installation talks to it |
| History of the package server | From the 2014 mirror to the Exponential 6.0 release folders, from the Git history |
| What is on the package server | Every release folder, and every package of 6.0.15 with its type and size |
| The index.xml format | The elements and attributes of the package index, and which of them the code reads |
| Browsing the package server in a browser | The directory listing pages, and what each column means |
| The package server on GitHub | The repository, the Pages workflow, the directory listing action, CNAME and FUNDING.yml |
| The source repositories | Where each package's unpacked source lives |
| How a release reaches the package server | From a commit in a source repository to a file on the server |
| Package server settings | Every key of [RepositorySettings], with its default |
| Downloading a package by hand | curl, tar -tzf, checking a file, importing it |
| Offline installs and mirrors | Installing without internet access, and copying a release folder |
| When the package server cannot be reached | Retries, error messages, and what to do |
Which page for which question
| You want to ... | Read |
|---|---|
| see which packages an installation can choose from | What is on the package server |
| look at the files yourself | Browsing the package server in a browser |
| check a package before you trust it | Downloading a package by hand |
| install on a server without internet access | Offline installs and mirrors |
| understand an error in the Site package step | When the package server cannot be reached |
| point an installation at another server | Package server settings, then Pointing a site at your package server |
| run a package server of your own | Running your own package server |
| get your package onto the shared server | Contribute your site package |
The addresses at a glance
| What | Address |
|---|---|
| The package server | https://exponential.packages.exponential.earth/ |
| All release folders of 6.0 | https://exponential.packages.exponential.earth/exponential/6.0/ |
| The 6.0.15 release folder | https://exponential.packages.exponential.earth/exponential/6.0/6.0.15/ |
| The 6.0.15 package index | https://exponential.packages.exponential.earth/exponential/6.0/6.0.15/index.xml |
| The repository behind it | https://github.com/se7enxweb/exponential.packages.exponential.earth |
| The setting that names it | settings/package.ini [RepositorySettings] RemotePackagesIndexURL |
| Where downloaded packages land | var/storage/packages/7x/<name>/ |
Related pages
- Site packages: start here
- Site package basics
- Making your own site package
- Contribute your site package
- Glossary
- Choosing an install method, 4.3 Site packages
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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