XF 2.3 Would You Support a Community-Driven XenForo Add-on Hub?

Ap Yazılım

Ap Yazılım

Active member
Licensed customer
Hello, fellow XenForo users!

I have an idea for a community-driven XenForo Add-on Hub, something I feel is currently missing from the ecosystem. However, I want to make sure it respects XenForo's official guidelines and ethical standards, without relying on unauthorized scraping. For this, the support and cooperation of add-on developers would be essential.

My idea is to develop two add-ons: one for developers and another for users. Developers could voluntarily contribute their add-ons to a shared repository, making them easier for users to discover and access.

I believe this could improve community engagement, increase the visibility of developers' work, and make finding XenForo add-ons much easier.

Dear developers, what do you think about this idea? Would you be interested in contributing to a community-driven project like this? I'd love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and concerns!

@mysimsek @DragonByte Tech @Xon @Veer @Sim @XFA @Painbaker @Matt C. @Osman @D.C Style @AddonsLab @DohTheme @AndyB @Siropu @XenSoluce @XenConcept

I've tagged the developers who came to mind. If I missed anyone or forgot to include someone, I sincerely apologize. No offense intended!
 
Xenforo's XFRM has always seemed to be enough for me. Could it be improved? Sure, everything can. But I have a level of trust with it that I would not have with this proposed project. Is there going to be clear rules and standards with swift removal of any add-ons that fail to meet the standards or have security concerns? How do I know that the devs you attract are trustworthy (vs. here where I interact with them on the forums and know which ones have a track record)? IOW, it's not just a matter of making it easier to find add-ons, there also needs to be mechanisms to establish trust or I won't touch them with a 10' pole.
 
Osman said:
While the voluntary hub idea is nice in theory, most established developers prefer their own sites or the official XFRM, so getting enough quality content could be a real challenge.
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Mendalla said:
Xenforo's XFRM has always seemed to be enough for me. Could it be improved? Sure, everything can. But I have a level of trust with it that I would not have with this proposed project. Is there going to be clear rules and standards with swift removal of any add-ons that fail to meet the standards or have security concerns? How do I know that the devs you attract are trustworthy (vs. here where I interact with them on the forums and know which ones have a track record)? IOW, it's not just a matter of making it easier to find add-ons, there also needs to be mechanisms to establish trust or I won't touch them with a 10' pole.
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You are both absolutely right, and I appreciate you sharing your concerns.

Let me briefly explain how I envision this project working.

First and foremost, protecting developers and ensuring the security of the platform will be our top priorities.

We plan to implement a strict developer verification system. Developer names and identities will not be usable on the platform until they have been verified. Access to the developer-side add-on will only be granted after completing identity verification, and each verified developer will have a unique API key to ensure that only they can access their own account and submit add-ons under their verified identity.

These measures are intended to prevent malicious third parties from impersonating legitimate developers or injecting infected or malicious add-ons into the repository. Developers who operate their own websites will also be required to verify their website ownership.

On the user side, there will be a clear verification indicator showing which developers have been verified, allowing users to make more informed decisions about the add-ons they choose to install.

Of course, verification alone is not enough. We understand the importance of maintaining high security standards, enforcing clear rules, and responding quickly to potential security issues.

Our primary goal is to protect developers, build trust within the community, and prevent malicious individuals from abusing the platform. We want to create an environment where both developers and users can feel confident participating in the project.

We know that earning the community's trust will take time, and we intend to take that responsibility seriously.
 
Will there be protocols around flagging or removing unmaintained apps? How would you define that? After all an app that is not getting updates inevitably becomes a security risk in this day and age.
 
Mendalla said:
Will there be protocols around flagging or removing unmaintained apps? How would you define that? After all an app that is not getting updates inevitably becomes a security risk in this day and age.
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Absolutely. Add-on maintenance status and compatibility will be important parts of the platform.

Add-ons that have not received updates for a certain period will be clearly marked, so users can see when an add-on may no longer be actively maintained. Developers will also be able to specify which XenForo versions their add-ons are compatible with, helping users make informed decisions before installing anything.

To explain the workflow more clearly, when a developer creates a resource, there will be an option to submit it to the Add-on Hub. Once submitted, the system will retrieve the resource information and make the relevant details available to users, including compatibility information and maintenance status. Our goal is to make the process as straightforward as possible and avoid confusing users.

We also recognize that an outdated add-on is not automatically insecure, but a lack of maintenance can introduce potential security and compatibility risks. We want to communicate those risks clearly rather than leave users guessing.

Finally, this project is being developed for the community, so we will actively seek feedback from you and other experienced developers throughout the development process. Your suggestions will help us establish practical policies for identifying unmaintained add-ons, flagging potential security concerns, and determining when a resource should be reviewed or removed.

We want to build this together with the community, not simply create another platform and expect everyone to adopt it.
 
The top developers you listed do not really see any benefit from adopting your system, even if they did it purely for the community as this premise is basically dependent on them adopting it.

Smaller developers may see some benefit, but again are reliant on larger developers adopting first to attract users.

New developers and vibe coders will see the most benefit, but the majority of vibe coded add-ons would likely be below code standards if you are enforcing any... And if you are not there is not much point to the platform.

Much of the benefits you list of the platform as a whole are things already offered by XFRM, and are much more difficult for you to enforce or act upon in comparison. Furthermore it requires additional work from developers or giving access to their work, which makes your platform an attack vector for pirates.

Are you going to just be a link directory, similar to what XFRM is now, or is this planned more like a marketplace. If it is the first the benefit to most developers is low, and if it is the later than the question into longevity and management is called into question.

If this had been worked on ~12 years ago, it may have gotten adoption as there were more developers and more of a community, however I do not think the XF market is large enough to warrant an external platform anymore (whether it is add-on based or not). A lot of the issues that there were before are either not as relevant (piracy, scam developers) or the new issues (vibe coded add-ons) will create such a large overhead that it is difficult to imagine an investment being worthwhile.
 
Forsaken said:
The top developers you listed do not really see any benefit from adopting your system, even if they did it purely for the community as this premise is basically dependent on them adopting it.

Smaller developers may see some benefit, but again are reliant on larger developers adopting first to attract users.

New developers and vibe coders will see the most benefit, but the majority of vibe coded add-ons would likely be below code standards if you are enforcing any... And if you are not there is not much point to the platform.

Much of the benefits you list of the platform as a whole are things already offered by XFRM, and are much more difficult for you to enforce or act upon in comparison. Furthermore it requires additional work from developers or giving access to their work, which makes your platform an attack vector for pirates.

Are you going to just be a link directory, similar to what XFRM is now, or is this planned more like a marketplace. If it is the first the benefit to most developers is low, and if it is the later than the question into longevity and management is called into question.

If this had been worked on ~12 years ago, it may have gotten adoption as there were more developers and more of a community, however I do not think the XF market is large enough to warrant an external platform anymore (whether it is add-on based or not). A lot of the issues that there were before are either not as relevant (piracy, scam developers) or the new issues (vibe coded add-ons) will create such a large overhead that it is difficult to imagine an investment being worthwhile.
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I think you may be right. A project like this could certainly be built with enough time and effort, but the work involved might not be justified by the benefits it would ultimately provide.

My original idea was to create something similar to the WordPress plugin directory, bringing XenForo add-ons together in one place to make them easier to discover. For paid add-ons, users would simply be redirected to the developers' websites or purchase pages rather than having the add-ons hosted directly on the platform.

However, as you pointed out, established developers may have little reason to adopt another platform when they already have their own websites and the official XFRM. Without their participation, attracting both developers and users would be much more difficult.

I appreciate your honest feedback. It has given me a different perspective on the idea, and I need to carefully reconsider whether the potential benefits would justify the time and effort required to make it work.
 
I think for such a thing to work it would have to deliver real benefit over the existing solution via resource manager for both, devs and customers. In practice there are four points that I see that could be tackled and two, where it could be better than the actual solution:

• avoid the cumbersome process of having to upload add ons into XF. So a marketplace integrated in the XF installation where you can install the add ons directly would ease up use
• avoid having to register in the forums of each developer to buy and download their add ons (and having to maintain dozens of login credentials and URLs. This would need basically an App Store where you could buy add ons in a simple, consistent process. This could rise sales of devs
(• getting instant update notifications: This is something that is already tackled by AUN and will be integrated into 2.4)

These two could be an USP that could make a difference. However: As others have lined out it would to a degree mean loosing the direct feedback channel to and discussion with the developers that we currently have. Such a marketplace would only make sense if it was pretty comprehensive in regard of developers which seems somewhat unprobable. The existing issues of trust in the quality and long term maintenance of add ons would not be solved and possibly be even worse than currently. Plus, being implemented by a 3rd party instead of XF themselves, one had the same trust issues in the add on platform itself, which does not make it better.

So I am in the same boat as the others: Under certain conditions it could be a nice idea, however, I doubt that these conditions could be met. A plain link platform would not bring relevant benefits in my opinion.
 
smallwheels said:
I think for such a thing to work it would have to deliver real benefit over the existing solution via resource manager for both, devs and customers. In practice there are four points that I see that could be tackled and two, where it could be better than the actual solution:

• avoid the cumbersome process of having to upload add ons into XF. So a marketplace integrated in the XF installation where you can install the add ons directly would ease up use
• avoid having to register in the forums of each developer to buy and download their add ons (and having to maintain dozens of login credentials and URLs. This would need basically an App Store where you could buy add ons in a simple, consistent process. This could rise sales of devs
(• getting instant update notifications: This is something that is already tackled by AUN and will be integrated into 2.4)

These two could be an USP that could make a difference. However: As others have lined out it would to a degree mean loosing the direct feedback channel to and discussion with the developers that we currently have. Such a marketplace would only make sense if it was pretty comprehensive in regard of developers which seems somewhat unprobable. The existing issues of trust in the quality and long term maintenance of add ons would not be solved and possibly be even worse than currently. Plus, being implemented by a 3rd party instead of XF themselves, one had the same trust issues in the add on platform itself, which does not make it better.

So I am in the same boat as the others: Under certain conditions it could be a nice idea, however, I doubt that these conditions could be met. A plain link platform would not bring relevant benefits in my opinion.
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Actually, I've already developed a similar system for my own customers, and I'm planning to announce its new version soon.

What I had in mind was a much more advanced version of that system, designed to bring the entire XenForo add-on ecosystem together in one place. Even though it would take a considerable amount of time and effort, I would be willing to invest in it.

However, as you have all pointed out, such a project comes with significant responsibilities. As the platform owner, I would be responsible for protecting both developers and users, maintaining security standards, ensuring add-on quality, and building trust within the community. That's not something I would take lightly.

Perhaps, for now, this idea will remain just an idea. Alternatively, this discussion might serve as valuable feedback for the XenForo development team, encouraging them to consider building such a system officially.

Another possibility is that I may revisit the project in the future and develop it myself, with a much stronger security framework and carefully designed verification and moderation processes.

For now, I'm glad I shared the idea and received such honest and constructive feedback from the community.

Here's the link to my existing add-on:
[Ap Yazılım] Core Library Ap Yazılım

[Ap Yazılım] Core Library

[Ap Yazılım] Core Library allows you to manage your add-ons and licenses from a single panel.
 
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