Market #

With the Market app, admins install, update, and remove apps in the web interface. The apps come from the Marketplace at https://marketplace.owncloud.online. For servers without internet access, you can set up a catalog in the file system instead. The app also provides the occ commands market:*.

Requirements #

Installation #

Nothing to do: the app is part of the server. If it was disabled:

sudo -u www-data php8.4 occ app:enable market

While the app is disabled, the Market entry in the app menu and all occ market:* commands are missing.

Install and update apps #

Admins open the Market from the app menu in the top left corner. Other accounts do not see the entry.

The Discover view: search, categories, and settings on the left, the apps from the Marketplace on the right.

To install an app:

1. Find the app under Discover or through the search, and open Details.
2. Click Install.

The Market downloads the package, extracts it into the writable app directory, and enables the app. If the catalog provides a SHA-256 checksum (the Marketplace does), the Market checks the package against it first. If enabling fails, it deletes the extracted directory again.

New versions are listed under Updates. Update installs them.

The same steps on the command line:

All commands run as the web server user, for example sudo -u www-data php8.4 occ market:list. What happens to the data of a removed app is described in Apps and Marketplace.

Enter an API key #

The Marketplace shows some apps only with an API key. Their pages in this documentation start with the box "API key required". Without a key, these apps are missing from the catalog, and occ market:install reports "Unknown app (…)".

1. Request the key from BW-Tech GmbH.
2. In the Market sidebar, click Add API Key under Settings.
3. Paste the key into the Your personal API Key field and click Save.

"Add API Key" opens this dialog. You get the key from BW-Tech GmbH.

The Market checks the key with the Marketplace and then reloads the catalog. Once the key is accepted, the sidebar entry reads Edit API Key, and the additional apps appear under Discover. If the entry still reads Add API Key, the Marketplace rejected the key and the Market did not save it.

On the command line:

sudo -u www-data php8.4 occ config:app:set market key --value '<API-KEY>'

Then select Clear cache in the Market. Otherwise, the web interface and occ market:install keep using the cached catalog without the additional apps for up to 30 minutes.

If the key is set as 'marketplace.key' => '<API-KEY>', in config/config.php, that entry takes precedence. The Market then hides Add API Key, and the key can only be changed in config.php.

Settings in config.php #

If the server reaches the internet through a proxy, the Market uses the proxy and proxyuserpwd entries from the same file.

Update notifications #

A background job checks once a day for newer versions of the installed apps. It only reports versions that match the running server version. Each member of the admin group then gets a notification: "Update for … to version … is available." For this, background jobs must run (see Background jobs) and the Notifications app must be enabled.

To notify other or additional groups, set a JSON list:

sudo -u www-data php8.4 occ config:app:set market notify_groups --value '["admin","it-ops"]'

Without internet access #

Install single packages directly from the file system, then enable the app:

sudo -u www-data php8.4 occ market:install --local /srv/packages/configreport-0.4.5.tar.gz
sudo -u www-data php8.4 occ app:enable configreport

For your own catalog, create a directory with the files apps.json, categories.json, and bundles.json, copy the packages into it, and point appstoreurl to the directory:

sudo -u www-data php8.4 occ config:system:set appstoreurl --value 'file:///srv/app-catalog'

An entry in apps.json:

[
  {
    "id": "configreport",
    "name": "Admin Config Report",
    "categories": ["tools"],
    "downloadable": true,
    "releases": [
      {
        "version": "0.4.5",
        "platformMin": "11",
        "platformMax": "11.99",
        "license": "AGPL-3.0",
        "download": "configreport-0.4.5.tar.gz",
        "checksum": "sha256:<checksum>"
      }
    ]
  }
]

• Every category in categories must exist in categories.json, for example [{"id": "tools", "translations": {"en": {"name": "Tools"}, "de": {"name": "Werkzeuge"}}}].
• bundles.json contains [] if you do not need bundles.
• download is a path relative to the catalog directory or an HTTPS address. The Market rejects paths outside the catalog directory ("Local app archive … is not inside the catalog directory.").
• With checksum, the Market verifies each package after the download. Get the value with sha256sum <package> and copy only the 64 characters before the file name.
• The directory and the packages must be readable by the web server user.
• The Market reads the three files again on every request.

The file marketplace/README.md in the app directory describes the full format. With appstoreurl set to local, the Market shows the catalog from that directory. It contains a single sample entry and serves as a template.

Limits and notes #

• Only admins see the Market.
• The app cannot remove itself ("Market app can not uninstall itself."). Shipped apps can only be disabled.
• The catalog stays cached for up to 30 minutes. Clear cache reloads it right away.
• The Market never installs older versions. It only offers versions that are newer than the installed one and match the server version.
• If the app directory is not writable or operation.mode is set to clustered-instance, the Market installs nothing. Installing a package by hand is described in Apps and Marketplace.
• occ market:uninstall never deletes an app directory that contains .git.

Troubleshooting #

Test the connection from the server:

curl -sS -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' https://marketplace.owncloud.online/api/v1/categories.json

If the command prints 200, name resolution, firewall, and certificate are fine. Behind a proxy, add -x http://<proxy>:<port>.