"This month in August"

content/blog/this-month-in-coop-cloud-august.md

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+---
+title: "This month in Co-op Cloud August 2021"
+date: 2021-09-03T11:32:59+02:00
+draft: false
+image: "/img/growingdesk.jpg"
+imageCredit: "Computers with plants growing out of them, from the Internet Gardening collection by Trav Fryer (are.na/trav-fryer)."
+description: "Our monthly updates for August 2021"
+---
+
+Happy September folks! Time for another recap of what we've been up to.
+
+<!--more-->
+
+### Go, Abra! (`go-abra`)
+
+Our rewrite of `abra`, the Co-op Cloud command-line tool, continues apace: the `server`/`recipe` commands are completed, progress can be see on [TODO.md](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/go-abra/src/branch/main/TODO.md). We're working on design and usability as we go. The new command-line seems to remove the need to install Docker locally which is a huge win for portability :partly_sunny:
+
+`@roxxers` has set up our own Golang package repositories in [coop-cloud/coopcloud.tech#20](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/coopcloud.tech/issues/20#issuecomment-8201), so we can now do things like `go get coopcloud.tech/abra` for package installations.
+
+`@roxxers` also put together [`abra-git`](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/abra-git/), an Arch AUR package :rainbow:
+
+`@decentral1se` published a Golang library which helps make decisions about the semantic versions of Docker tags. Feel free to check it out over in [`tagcmp`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/tagcmp), we're using it for `abra`.
+
+## Windows documentation
+
+`@timewarp` has been working on Windows documentation in [`coop-cloud-win-deploy`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/timewarp/coop-cloud-win-deploy)! There is an official release [over here](https://git.coopcloud.tech/timewarp/coop-cloud-win-deploy/releases/tag/0.1).
+
+## Versioning
+
+The machine-readable app index on [apps.coopcloud.tech](https://apps.coopcloud.tech) was down, but now it is back with all the new apps 💪
+
+Meanwhile, [dev.apps.coopcloud.tech](https://dev.apps.coopcloud.tech) got some shiny new updates, including being able to filter the app list by score and name. Adding filtering has highlighted the amazing performance of [Elm](https://elm-lang.org) apps, giving near-instant feedback in a way that seems strange and refreshing in this age of every-button-click-usually-fires-off-20-HTTP-requests-and-1,000-DOM-changes, although it still remains to be seen if it's a good long-term choice.
+
+## New apps
+
+- [`ghost`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/ghost), blogging/website platform, by `@3wc`
+- [`mumble`](http://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/mumble) voice chat, by `@3wc`
+- [`botamusique`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/botamusique), Mumble music bot, by `@3wc`
+- [`calendso`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/calendso), appointment bookings service, by `@3wc`
+- [`firefly-iii`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/firefly-iii), personal finance manager, by `@knoflook`
+- [`mobilizon`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/mobilizon), decentralised events platform, by `@3wc`
+- [`laplace`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/laplace), WebRTC screensharing, by `@3wc`
+
+If you've got ideas for other apps you'd like to see packaged, feel free to add them straight to the [app packaging request list on git.coopcloud.tech](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/apps/projects/6) (remember, you can log in directly with either Gitlab or Github).
+
+## Community contributions
+
+As well as the bits already mentioned, amazing contributions from individuals are still rolling in, including:
+
+- [`abra app remove`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/go-abra/pulls/43) and [`abra app volume ls/rm`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/go-abra/pulls/51) by `@knoflook`
+- [Prometheus monitoring support in `coop-cloud/traefik`](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/traefik/pulls/28) by `@mirsal`
+
+## Co-op Cloud in the wild
+
+Wiki.cafe, a new project to explore a coöperatively-run [Federated Wiki](http://federated.wiki/view/welcome-visitors) hosting and training collective, is running all its infrastructure, including Discourse, Nextcloud, Keycloak, and Federated Wiki itself, using Co-op Cloud. Watch this space!
+
+We've been talking to our comrades at [Social.coop](https://social.coop), who are hosting [our Co-op Cloud fediverse presence](https://social.coop/@coopcloud), about helping simplify their infrastructure with Co-op Cloud as well: they're running a lot and doing awesome work with a small, volunteer team – exactly the kind of folks we want to support.
+
+We've spoken to the developers of Penpot via their Gitter chat (also on Matrix 🤯); it's great to be building links with more of the upstream projects we're packaging.
+
+[Threndol Tutoring](https://threndoltutoring.com), academic support in South Africa for "students who have learning obstacles such as ADHD, dyslexia, executive function deficits and confidence struggles", is using an instance of [the Co-op Cloud Calendso package](https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/calendso) to manage student bookings. As well as helping test Calendso, which could turn out to be a useful tool to recommend to a lot of organisations, it's great to be helping save funds which would otherwise be going to the $3B revenue, [venture-capital-funded Calendly](https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/26/how-atlantas-calendly-turned-a-scheduling-nightmare-into-a-3b-startup/). $8/month for Software as a Service is a lot in a place where the minimum wage is $1.50/hour...
+
+Lastly, we've got a new [Co-op Cloud Community Organising](https://matrix.to/#/#coopcloud-comm-org:autonomic.zone) Matrix channel to discuss alliances, collaborations, and links with other groups. We joined the #selfhosted room on Matrix alreadt, to keep another ear on the ground with the self-hosting landscape; swing by and let us know if there are any other communities you think we should be talking to 🙏
+
+---
+
+If any of this sounds interesting, please drop by [our Matrix space](https://app.element.io/#/room/!xSMwGbdVehScXcIFwS:autonomic.zone?via=autonomic.zone) and say hello :wave:. We'd love to hear from you and to have a chat about what you think of the project and how it might be useful for you :heartpulse: You can also follow the project on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Coop_Cloud) and/or [the Fediverse](https://social.coop/@coopcloud).