WebCatalog on HackerShow

Dev tools

desktop app wrapper

SHOW HN2020

turn websites into desktop apps

Shown by quanglam2807 on Oct 15, 2020. Click the card to turn it over.

64points

38comments

#926of 3,028 in 2020

Top 31%of 2020 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

2 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 10 critical, out of 21 comments about the project. Thread score -0.21.

Idea: 0 for, 7 againstPricing: 1 for, 2 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

Browsers already offer install-as-app for free
From 3 comments
- This is trying to sell the concept of a chrome-less browser-window ("install as app"), a feature your browser already has.
  arghwhat on HN
- Asking as a noob. How is this any different from the `install as an app` option already present in Edge?
  Flex247A on HN
- You do not need service workers to do what Web catalog/electron wrappers are doing: google-chrome --app=https://example.com firefox --ssb https://example.com (sadly requires…
  arghwhat on HN
Electron-based app is large and heavy
From 1 comment
- 84.4MB AppImage, probably yet another electron wrapper. At least this one provides single runtime image for all apps.
  butz on HN
Paid for features browsers provide free
From 2 comments
- So they're like PWAs, but unlike PWAs you need to pay for them? :D
  pkstn on HN
- I personally use Rambox (https://rambox.pro/) instead of Franz these days, or just click the "install as app" button in my browser. Really, I see little value over these browsers…
  jeroenhd on HN
Possible legal issues wrapping third-party sites
From 1 comment
- Looking at the size of your catalog I'm going to guess that you didn't work with all those sites to distribute their apps through your site. Maybe I'm not understanding how this…
  enumjorge on HN

Show workspace names in the workspace switcher
From 1 comment
- This is amazing! I have said for a while that if someone built a tool that would let me be signed into multiple AWS accounts, and switch as needed at the same time, I would buy…
  tekromancr on HN

How does this differ from browser install-as-app or --app flags
From 2 comments
- How does this compare to the below? google-chrome --app=https://example.com firefox --ssb=https://example.com
  makethetick on HN
- Asking as a noob. How is this any different from the `install as an app` option already present in Edge?
  Flex247A on HN
Does it support Alt+Tab switching between windows on Mac
From 1 comment
- Is there a way to do this on Mac where you can open several app windows and use ALT+tab to switch between them? I know you can use CMD+` to swap between Chrome windows but this…
  seanwilson on HN

Browser install-as-app or chrome --app flag
From 2 comments
- How does this compare to the below? google-chrome --app=https://example.com firefox --ssb=https://example.com
  makethetick on HN
- 1. Open any site. 2. Click on menu option at the top right of your browser. 3. Add to home screen (select open as window)
  ffpip on HN
Nativefier
From 1 comment
- Just mentioning two related programs in my mind: Franz (https://meetfranz.com/) and nativefier (https://github.com/jiahaog/nativefier).
  abcdabcd987 on HN
Franz and Rambox
From 2 comments
- Just mentioning two related programs in my mind: Franz (https://meetfranz.com/) and nativefier (https://github.com/jiahaog/nativefier).
  abcdabcd987 on HN
- I personally use Rambox (https://rambox.pro/) instead of Franz these days, or just click the "install as app" button in my browser. Really, I see little value over these browsers…
  jeroenhd on HN
Fluid and Mozilla Prism
From 2 comments
- Seems similar to Fluid (https://fluidapp.com/) which i found useful many years ago, albeit Mac only and likely much lighter/simpler
  xeno42 on HN
- reminds me of discontinued mozilla prism
  ecef9-8c0f-4374 on HN