IC Pack - the Apps Package Manager For ICP Blockchain

IC Pack is an apps package manager for the Internet Computer (ICP) blockchain. It allows developers to easily manage and deploy their applications on the ICP network. Don't confuse IC Pack with MOPS, the libs package manager for Motoko programming.

IC Pack is the package manager and app store(s) that installs packages (apps) into the Internet Computer (ICP) blockchain and ensures that nobody except of the sovereign user can remove or update his/her app.

We have released an MVP/beta preview of IC Pack for developers. This is similar to Google Play or Apple App Store, but for online apps.

For Developers And Testers

Past-MVP beta online.

Source (Your contributions will be valuable.)

How to Create an App for IC Pack Package Manager

API docs

For how to create a package, see examples in scripts/prepare-work.ts and scripts/prepare-test.ts (TypeScript source files that create a repository (app store) with several packages). To upload a package, you may create your own repository (app store), but in the future some repositories are expected to be under control of SNS DAOs.

• You first create the repository (and optionally set its properties such as name).
• Then you upload WASM files of your app.
• Then you create a package, that can be installed using IC Pack from your repository (app store).

To make your finished application xyz available to users, create a link with JSON like:

https://app.package-manager.com?additionalPackages=[{"packageName":"xyz","version":"1.0.0","repo":"XXX","installCost":"2000000000000"}] Here XXX is the principal of your repository, as created above. installCost will be shown to you (in trillions of cycles), when you test-install your app. (You an add more than one app in the JSON array.)

Your app can be freeware or paid (you can also specify that upgrades are paid). (In the future, there is to be introduced tECDSA signing of apps, to make it more difficult for a pirate to redistribute your app. This feature will be optional.)

You are able to bootstrap your own copy of package manager after sending 13T cycles or more (You want to send more, if you like to actually install something.) to the account shown in our bootstrapping app. To bootstrap means to install the package manager itself and make it (icpack) one of the installed packages. A big part of the 13T (or more) cycles will be transferred to the battery module (your own canister) of icpack package and you can withdraw cycles from them back.