initial draft: blogpost about xstore@testrun.org

_posts/2023-08-10-xstore.md

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+---
+title: A place where you can get Private Apps - xstore is ready!
+author: missytake
+image: ../assets/blog/2023-08-xstore-applist.png
+---
+
+<img src="../assets/blog/gordon_superapp.jpg" width="340" style="float:right; margin-left:1em;" />  
+As [Gordon Brander](https://mastodon.social/@gordon) already stated -
+with [Private Apps](help#webxdc),
+Delta Chat is more than a messenger.
+You can share Private Apps with any other Delta Chat user
+and use them collaboratively;
+for example to play chess
+or to edit your household's shopping list.
+
+<!-- toot: make fun of Musk's X-thing: while some billionaires are talking about everything-apps, we are delivering it: [xstore@testrun.org](mailto:xstore@testrun.org) -->
+
+Now there is also an easy place to get private apps.
+We just launched [xstore@testrun.org](mailto:xstore@testrun.org),
+an appstore after the example
+of the popular Open Source [F-Droid store](https://f-droid.org/).
+
+## How can I download apps from xstore?
+
+You can **scan this QR code with Delta Chat**
+([*do you need a test account?*](#tryout))
+to message [xstore@testrun.org](mailto:xstore@testrun.org)
+and try out the store:
+
+[![A QR code, opening a chat with xstore@testrun.org](../assets/blog/xstore-testrun.org-verification.jpg)](OPENPGP4FPR::loremipsum)
+
+After scanning the QR code,
+a chat with [xstore@testrun.org](mailto:xstore@testrun.org) will open.
+It's the chat bot
+which manages the store:
+
+![In the chat with xstore@testrun.org, you can press start to open the store.](../assets/blog/2023-08-xstore-start.png)
+
+The bot will send you the store.xdc,
+the private app for the store.
+**Just click on "Start..."**
+to see a list of private apps you can download:
+
+![In the store app, you can see a list of private apps.](../assets/blog/2023-08-xstore-applist.png)
+
+With one tap you can download them,
+and with another tap,
+share them to any chat.
+If you want to use it on your own,
+just share it to your "Saved Messages" chat.
+
+### I don't have a Delta Chat account yet, how can I play with this?  {#tryout}
+
+To try out xstore,
+you need a configured Delta Chat app.
+After installing Delta Chat,
+just scan this invitation code
+during setup
+to obtain a limited test e-mail account
+and start to play:
+
+[![A QR invite code to get a limited e-mail account at try.webxdc.org.](../assets/blog/try-webxdc-token.png)](DCACCOUNT:https://mailadm.try.webxdc.org/?t=90d_f7v5c5xrtntpkqe&n=try90d)
+
+## How does xstore work?
+
+Usually,
+private apps can not access the Internet.
+That's what makes them private.
+So if you share the store.xdc to another chat,
+it will not work there.
+Only because
+[xstore@testrun.org](mailto:xstore@testrun.org)
+is a chat bot which gets told by the store.xdc
+which app you want to download,
+it can download the app from the Internet
+and send it to you in the chat.
+
+If you deleted the store or
+chose "clear chat" to clean up,
+you can at any point in time just send "hi"
+to [xstore@testrun.org](mailto:xstore@testrun.org) again,
+and it will re-send the store to the chat.
+
+**Note:**
+if your version of Delta Chat is older than 1.38,
+the store.xdc will not work properly;
+you can not share downloaded private apps to a chat then.
+[Just upgrade your Delta Chat app](download)
+to make it work.
+
+**And another note:**
+if you use the XMPP messenger cheogram,
+xstore will not work for you yet;
+but with upcoming support for webxdc in XMPP/e-mail bridges
+you might be able to message [xstore@testrun.org](mailto:xstore@testrun.org)
+and download apps from there.
+
+## Do I have to use the official xstore?
+
+Of course not.
+You can always share a private app from one chat to another;
+without copyright protection,
+without DRM,
+without barriers.
+Any private app is just a .xdc file
+saved as an e-mail attachment.
+
+Additionally to that,
+you can also self-host the bot
+we use to offer xstore.
+You can find installation instructions
+[in the bot's codeberg repository](https://codeberg.org/webxdc/store/#setting-up-the-bot).
+It works best together with [xdcget](https://codeberg.org/webxdc/xdcget/),
+a command line tool
+which downloads private apps
+from git repositories.
+
+## How can I submit my own private app to xstore?
+
+So far,
+we already have more than 20 private apps in xstore.
+The number is growing fast,
+because it's so easy to adjust any web app
+so it works as a private app in Delta Chat.
+
+To get started with development,
+you can learn more about webxdc apps on [webxdc.org](https://webxdc.org)
+(`webxdc` is the technical term for Private Apps).
+You can also take other private apps as an example;
+in xstore you can find links to any app's source code
+by clicking on "More":
+
+![Details of the checklist app, it shows a description, date, file size, and link to source code.](../assets/blog/2023-08-xstore-more.png)
+
+If you want to make your own private app available,
+just go on [codeberg.org](https://codeberg.org/webxdc/xdcget)
+(a github alternative)
+And open a pull request to our xdcget config file,
+like [in this example](https://codeberg.org/webxdc/xdcget/pulls/50).
+It's works basically like in F-Droid,
+just with much less complexity.
+
+We are looking forward to your contributions,
+and hope you have fun with private apps in Delta Chat!
+