Termux:API - no new update with certain fixes

  • Device OS and version: Android 10
  • Device model/manufacturer: Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  • F-Droid version (in the About screen): 1.16-alpha0 (I did not ask for an alpha, and am surprised myself, since this seems to have happened automatically. I expected “unstable updates” to only be for the packages themselves, not for F-Droid, due to the obvious risks.)
  • F-Droid privileged extension version (if installed): No

Context / Initial problem summary

  1. Termux:API is in F-Droid, but it’s badly broken, since exporting the call log does not work. This has been the case for a long time now.
  2. This has been fixed for an almost as long time by Termux now.
  3. Yet, the new version is still not available in F-Droid.
  4. There is no way to contact whoever actually maintains the package for F-Droid. Because according to Termux, this is not them.

What did you do? (clear steps if possible)

  1. (I had Termux and Termux:API already installed for several years.)
  2. Go into F-Droid.
  3. Pull down on the overview screen to trigger an index update.
  4. Wait for the index update to finish.
  5. Look in the available updates for Termux:API.
  6. Compare the version mentioned there with the latest upstream version.
  7. Repeat this step at least for several months now.

What did you expect to see?

The fixed updated version of Termux:API should be available and installable, at most 24h after it became available upstream, due to this being an automated process in any sane reality.

What did you see instead?

Nothing. The version is still the old and broken one, where listing the call log fails with some Java errors due to a changed API.

Note that the problems with this specific package are not the issue here. The fact that something like this is possible, is my issue.

Additional expectations

  • The maintainer for each package should be contactable from the package details in F-Droid.
  • Ideally, this should happen via (sub-sections of) this bug/issue tracker. Which, right now, seems to be only for development of the F-Droid app itself. In any case, there should be a way, tracker, and it should also be easier to reach than via a tiny link inside F-Droid‘s “About …” in the settings.
  • How is this even a manual process in the first place? After initial creation of metadata, the new versions should be picked up automatically, when the original creator pushes an update to the official location.
  • If all else fails, it should be easy for me to take control, and manually insert a newer version via F-Droid, so F-Droid doesn’t fall over its own feet due to “… installed by somebody else 😭”, and it will keep updating to even newer versions once the package’s maintainer emerges from hibernation or its corpse is pushed aside by a new maintainer. ;) In this case, the clearly eager, caring user should be asked if he wants to become the new maintainer, or suggest a better maintainer, with a list of what is to be expected of him if he does. (Like a time limit on adding updates iff they are done manually.)

In short:

  • In the short term, of course I want the new version to make its way into F-Droid.
  • But in the long term, I want this to not happen ever again, and am prepared to contribute so this happens, provided I am enabled to do so. (E.g. maintaining the script that pulls new versions from upstream.)