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0 pointsGordonS6y ago0 comments

I think most power users switched to scoop, because chocolately is... not great. Scoop is much better, but has a much smaller list of apps.

I don't want to hate on chocolately too much, because it has filled a very obvious gap in the Windows landscape for so long, but I really don't like it.

The biggest problem is that there are invariably 5 different packages for anything you want to install, with no reliable way of deciding which is the real/main one.

Another problem is packages constantly breaking. This can happen because packages actually pull files from remote, primary sources, and those files disappear or the site goes down, but also for a myriad of other reasons.

Yet another problem is the reliability of the chocolately site - it seems to go down or be slow as hell quite frequently.

Another gripe is that AFAIK, chocolately doesn't support 3rd party repos.

And finally (and this one is totally subjective) the website is ugly.

So as glad as I am that chocolately filled a void, I'll also be glad for Microsoft to provide an official, reliable replacement that also supports 3rd party repos.

0 comments

8 comments · 4 top-level

neves6y ago· 3 in thread

My gripe with Chocolatey is just that I can't set a non default dir. Everything is installed in my small SSD.

lostmsu6y ago

You can probably work around it using reparse points https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS_reparse_point

E.g. just move all the files where you want them, and create a directory junction/symbolic link.

neves6y ago

sure, but I have to do it manually for each one. Who has time for this?

1 more reply

kasabali6y ago

You can change the installation directory, but you need pay for it

https://chocolatey.org/docs/features-install-directory-overr...

jedieaston6y ago· 1 in thread

scoop and scoop extras (https://github.com/lukesampson/scoop-extras) covers pretty much everything I use on Windows. I didn't realize the other repos existed for a while, but once I did, I got rid of choco entirely.

GordonSOP6y ago

I wasn't aware of scoop extras until you mentioned it, so thanks!

lostmsu6y ago

> The biggest problem is that there are invariably 5 different packages for anything you want to install, with no reliable way of deciding which is the real/main one.

> Another problem is packages constantly breaking. This can happen because packages actually pull files from remote, primary sources, and those files disappear or the site goes down, but also for a myriad of other reasons.

How are these different on Scoop? The first one seems to only be related to the actual amount of packages. E.g. if Scoop ever grows to the same size, it will get it too.

The second one is also unclear. Does Scoop test all the packages it provides? Somehow I think it is unlikely.

mavhc6y ago

Not tried scoop, but not had many problems with choco, installing stuff on 100 machines at work, made a smb share to store the package files, wrote a script to grab xml files based on machine names of lists of things to install.

The search does seem to break sometimes, but not had much problem with the packages themselves, a few end up installing in a user context, which isn't helpful when the user is SYSTEM.

Easier than constantly repackaging things as MSI/writing install scripts

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

8 comments · 4 top-level

neves6y ago· 3 in thread

My gripe with Chocolatey is just that I can't set a non default dir. Everything is installed in my small SSD.

lostmsu6y ago

You can probably work around it using reparse points https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS_reparse_point

E.g. just move all the files where you want them, and create a directory junction/symbolic link.

neves6y ago

sure, but I have to do it manually for each one. Who has time for this?

1 more reply

kasabali6y ago

You can change the installation directory, but you need pay for it

https://chocolatey.org/docs/features-install-directory-overr...

jedieaston6y ago· 1 in thread

GordonSOP6y ago

I wasn't aware of scoop extras until you mentioned it, so thanks!

lostmsu6y ago

> The biggest problem is that there are invariably 5 different packages for anything you want to install, with no reliable way of deciding which is the real/main one.

How are these different on Scoop? The first one seems to only be related to the actual amount of packages. E.g. if Scoop ever grows to the same size, it will get it too.

The second one is also unclear. Does Scoop test all the packages it provides? Somehow I think it is unlikely.

mavhc6y ago

The search does seem to break sometimes, but not had much problem with the packages themselves, a few end up installing in a user context, which isn't helpful when the user is SYSTEM.

Easier than constantly repackaging things as MSI/writing install scripts

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse