---
title: "This month in Co-op Cloud November 2021"
date: 2021-12-21T13:11:32+01:00
draft: false
image: "/img/computeringarden.jpg"
imageCredit: "A person sitting on the ground using an 80's PC, from the Internet Gardening Collection by Trav Fryer (are.na/trav-fryer)"
description: "Our monthly updates for November 2021"
---

Happy `$season`! Here's what's been going on in the Co-op Clouds this November.

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### Community contributions

A long overdue announcement that `@yusf` set up a Matrix bot for making app packaging requests -- drop into the (noisy) [#coopcloud-dev:autonomic.zone](https://matrix.to/#/#coopcloud-dev:autonomic.zone) room to interact with it.

`@Lioh` wrote a lovely article in German about Co-op Cloud [gnulinux.ch/selfhosting-mit-co-op-cloud-und-abra](https://gnulinux.ch/selfhosting-mit-co-op-cloud-und-abra) -- find them on Matrix if you can help with translations into other languages, or let us know if you've written your own post!

We had a great chat at this month's Kite-Flying about Co-op Cloud "The Organisation" -- [there are some rough notes](https://pad.autonomic.zone/yzFdVrY3S_KJDC44GS1yew#), which we're planning on turning into a proposal to take to the community in time for the beta launch.

## New app packages

- [Snikket](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/snikket/), chat that is simple, secure, and private (an XMPP/Jabber server distribution that comes with its own nice client) by `@decentral1se` and `@3wc.`
- [Outline](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/outline), Notion-style team knowledge base and wiki, by `@travvy` and `@3wc`
- [n8n](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/n8n/), easily automate tasks across different services, by `@roxxers`
- [Jupyter-lab](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/jupyter-lab), extensible environment for interactive and reproducible computing, by `@3wc`
- [Element-Web](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/element-web) by `@decentral1se`. We've got a proof-of-concept of Matrix synapse <-> keycloak <-> Element-web integration  set up for our comrades at ruangrupa, who're doing ongoing testing.

### Recipe catalogue: redesign and update

Autonomic deisgners `@analuisa` and `@hazelnot` have kicked off a redesign of the [recipe catalog](https://recipes.coopcloud.tech/), starting with the review of the way that apps are categorised, and the information that's included.

Meanwhile, `@3wc` has been teaching `abra` to read metadata about packaging status and supported features from each recipe's `README.md` file to make sure we have the data to be able to display it.

### Hosted by Co-op Cloud

Some new Co-op Cloud-hosted infrastructure that's come up recently:

- [Vermont Chicory Week](https://vermontchicoryweek.com/)
- [Jeanine Heath-McGlinn](https://heathmcglinn.com/)
- [Shaping Our Lives](https://shapingourlives.org.uk/)
- [WASHNote](https://washnote.com)

### Into the Jabbiverse

Co-op Cloud is partying like it's 1999! Thanks to our new Snikket recipe, we've got an XMPP/Jabber server running, and we now have a (temporary) room to talk about all things Co-op Cloud:

> [coop-cloud@groups.snikket.demo.coopcloud.tech](xmpp://coop-cloud@groups.snikket.demo.coopcloud.tech)

(More permananent room Coming Soon™)

This is a really interesting alternative to other communications platforms we already have packaged like Matrix, Rocketchat and  email. XMPP servers are famously low on resource usage, and there's a really nice wide range of client apps for different platforms.

Medium-term, we're curious about the prospects of bridging different systems: making it easier to run chat servers and bridges could help public interest projects meet people where they're at.

### `abra` 0.3.x-alpha is out

The alpha testing is still going on in the usual chaotic manner, we're hoping to stabilise `abra` in this ~~0.3.x~~ 0.4.x series and hopefully do some sort of "code freeze" on new features and focus on squashing bugs, writing documentation and testing, testing, testing. Thanks to everyone who contributed to get this far :heart:

`abra app restart <app>` is back! You no longer have to ssh to your remote machines to fix happy accidents.

You can upgrade to the latest `abra` release candidate, or install it, by running:

`curl https://install.abra.autonomic.zone | bash -s -- --rc`

If you already have `abra` installed, you can run:

`abra upgrade --rc`

Happy Hacking!
