How to compile a Slimefun addon on GitHub

compile-slimefun-addon-online.md

This guide introduces how you compile a Slimefun addon on GitHub, without the need to install anything extra on your computer.

You will need to have:

• A modern browser.
• A good internet connection.
• A GitHub account (click here to sign up if you don't have one yet)
• Reading comprehension.

Introduction

Most open-source Slimefun addons are hosted on GitHub.
With GitHub Actions, you can compile the addon online and download the build artifacts, without setting up the environment on your pc.

In this guide, we will use SlimeTinker as example.

Step 1. Find and fork the repository

1. Find the addon repository.
   In the official wiki's addon list (link), you can find the "Source code" column.
   Find the addon you want to compile, and click on the corresponding "Source code" to open the addon's github repository.

Tip

If you are trying to compile a fork repository, open the fork repository instead.

For SlimeTinker, you should be at this page:

https://github.com/Sefiraat/SlimeTinker

2. Next, click on . You will be redirected to "Create a new fork" page.
   Just keep everything default, and click on the green "Create fork" button.

Step 2. Create a github action file

1. Before doing this step, you need to identify the project type of the addon.

If you can see a pom.xml in the root of the project, it is a maven project.
If you can see a build.gradle or build.gradle.kts in the root of the project, it is a gradle project.

2. Now, click on "Add file" then "Create new file".

In "Name your file...", copy and paste .github/workflows/custom-fork-build.yml

Then, according to project type, find "maven.yml" or "gradle.yml" in this gist, copy the content, and paste to the content field in the new file.

Tip

You will need to scroll down past these instructions to find the other files in this gist.

3. When you finish all the things above, click on .
   Keep everything default, click on to finish this step.

Step 3. Run the action

1. Navigate to tab, you may see the following page:

Click on the green button to enable actions on your fork.

2. You should be able to find an action called "Custom Fork Build". Click on it, and you will see the following page.

3. Click on "Run workflow", make sure the branch is either master or main, then click on the green "Run workflow".

Wait for a few seconds, and refresh the page. You should see a new workflow run.

4. Click on the workflow run, you can see it is still running. Be patient and wait for compile to finish.

Important

If the compile fails, you may need to have some extra efforts on fixing the build. Scroll down to the "Possible quick fixes" section to check if you can fix them by yourself.

Ask in Slimefun discord and provide the fork repository link. If possible, also provide the error log of action run. DO NOT just say I am having issues compiling the addon and not providing anything useful.

5. When the compiling is finished, you will be able to see the artifacts. Click on the artifact name to download.

Note that, the downloaded file is a zip, and the addon jar should be within the zip file.

If it is a Maven project, there will be usually a file named "-UNOFFICIAL.jar" or "-MODIFIED.jar", this is the jar file you need. The other files, that their name may start with "original-" or ends with "sources", "javadocs", should be ignored.

If it is a Gradle project, according to different build script setup, you may see 1-2 files. Usually, if there are 2 files, the one ends with "-all" is what you need.

Anyways, if you get confused within this part, ask for help in discord, and BE PATIENT.

Note

You may get help about how to get a custom build.
But if you have issues with the content of custom build, DO NOT report them, as you are using a not supported version.

Possible quick fixes

This section lists all the possible issues you can fix by yourself when you encounter them.

Cannot find artifact com.github.Slimefun:Slimefun4:XXXXXXX

Jitpack sometimes will lose, causing the build record still exists but not the build artifacts.

To fix this, you will need to replace the Slimefun dependency version.

If the project is a maven project, open the pom.xml. If the project is a gradle project, open build.gradle or build.gradle.kts. Edit the file by clicking at top right of code area.
Use code search (Ctrl/Command + F) to find the broken version (the XXXXXXX in the error log), replace it with RC-37, then Commit changes keep everything default.

gradle.yml

name: Custom Fork Build

on:
  workflow_dispatch: {}

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up JDK 17
        uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          java-version: 17
          distribution: temurin

      - name: Build with Gradle
        uses: gradle/gradle-build-action@v3
        with:
          arguments: build shadowJar

      - name: Get build artifact ready
        run: mkdir staging && cp build/libs/*.jar staging

      - name: Upload a Build Artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: Custom Fork Build
          path: staging

maven.yml

name: Custom Fork Build

on:
  workflow_dispatch: {}

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up JDK 17
        uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          java-version: 17
          distribution: temurin

      - name: Build
        run: mvn package --file pom.xml

      - name: Get build artifact ready
        run: mkdir staging && cp target/*.jar staging

      - name: Upload a Build Artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: Custom Fork Build
          path: staging