There are some great extensions, and I genuinely value the community, and its support (in resolving issues, releasing extensions etc etc).
But for all the current, up to date extensions there are lots that are single issue fixes, not maintained, no longer compatible with current Wappler versions, relying on outdated dependencies etc.
As an example..this is seems likely to break a lot of extensions:
...maybe not instantly but as new hosting is set up for new projects on newer node versions, or existing hosting gets updated. Some extensions will be updated, some won't...how will we know which still work? Avoiding a 'hit and hope' position would surely benefit everyone... wappler, it's users and the people developing extensions.
I'd also suggest there are also a lot of extensions developed by people that they don't publish publicly as there's an immediate expectation of support, and no real way to compensate for this. The bigger the extension, the greater the risk.
My view is an extensions marketplace wouldn't need to detract from the communites input, and could work to better support it. But it could also open the door to some genuinely game changing features being available within wappler on a consistent and ongoing basis. With marketplace functionality like:
- Version control..direct visibility of compatible Wappler version/s (removing the fear of 'will this extension break if I update wappler', or vice versa)
- Free/Freemium options
- Support plans (or clarity around support expectations)
- Package pricing (all extensions from a dev for example)
- Better search/extension visibility...it's often hard to find extensions either via the forum or the installer
- Feedback/reviews alongside the actual extension at the time you are considering whether to install