Feature request: Precompiled binary

[mholt]

I might be interested in using this in our research lab. But our systems are pretty delicately configured; to avoid risking any problems (among other reasons), I am not inclined to install Node/npm. But I would happily run a binary. Would you consider packaging up some Linux binaries for each release? Or is there a typical way of compiling JS apps to binary form for distribution?

[aksakalli]

hi @mholt ,

maybe we can use something like pkg to create binary builds.

Also there already exists a snap package for gtop:

sudo snap install --edge gtop 

[mholt]

Sounds good to me, thanks! Does the snap install npm and stuff locally or does it just plop the binary in the PATH?

[aksakalli]

Snap packages or their dependencies do not affect your system:

from https://snapcraft.io/docs/snaps/intro

What is a snap?

A snap :

• is a squashFS filesystem containing your app code and a snap.yaml file containing specific metadata. It has a read-only file-system and, once installed, a writable area.
• is self-contained. It bundles most of the libraries and runtimes it needs and can be updated and reverted without affecting the rest of the system.
• is confined from the OS and other apps through security mechanisms, but can exchange content and functions with other snaps according to fine-grained policies controlled by the user and the OS defaults.

[mholt]

Ah, thanks!