For most projects, GitHub Releases is the default choice for shipping binaries--it's right there in the repository and works well enough for attaching a zip or tarball. But once binaries become the primary way of distributing software, the cracks begin to show.
The Challenges with GitHub Releases
- Poor user experience: Users must manually pick files, direct URLs are long and brittle, and there's no native package manager support.
- Lack of download insights: There's no clear visibility into which versions are popular or how often binaries are downloaded, making release decisions guesswork.
- Limited automation: While GitHub Actions can attach artifacts, there's no API for stats, no built-in APT/YUM repository support, and automation often devolves into duct-taping scripts together.
For developers who ship binaries, this creates unnecessary friction.
What Developers Really Need
- Easy hosting and sharing of binaries
- Download analytics and insights
- Native support for package managers (APT/YUM)
- Seamless CI/CD integration
- A service built for binaries--not an afterthought
Welcome ZipZen
ZipZen was created to address these exact challenges. With ZipZen, developers get:
- Reliable binary hosting
- Zero-configuration APT/YUM package repositories
- Download statistics, with richer analytics coming soon
The goal is to make distributing binaries simple, reliable, and developer-friendly--without the tradeoffs of existing tools.
ZipZen is designed for teams and independent developers who need a better way to ship binaries at scale. If distribution pain points sound familiar, ZipZen is built to help.
