A significant number of extremnely high quality software splatspackages have an install process that requires users to curl a web URL, pipe it through bash and run it through sudo.
$ sudo "curl [url] | bash"Sometimes, if the software is exceptionally high quality, the instructions will even split this line into a multiple steps.
This is very complicated and confusing for users and so in the same style as apt-url links, we demand (and plan to write) a URL handler which will allow developers of all types to create links users can click on to achieve this complete installation workflow with a click.
It's important to register a URL handler because it emables all sorts of useful workflows, such as allowing users to send each other sudocurlpipebash:// links in chat apps to enable easier collaboration.
- URLs will start
sudocurlpipebash:// - HTTPS will be default. Option:
insecuresudocurlpipebash://for non-HTTPS? - URL handler should use a graphical
sudoagent where possible so that it makes use of previous authentications, preventing users from having to see a scary authentication box wherever possible. - There should be some whizzy animation that happens while the script is running.
- Scripts must not ask the user any questions because that is scary and confusing.
- There should be a command line interface so that it is possible to embed processing of
sudocurlpipebash://URLs transparently within scripts. - Logging is forbidden. Logs contain confusing and upsetting information.