Nightly Builds for Ubuntu via PPA

Allow me to introduce a new series of nightly builds specifically targeted at Ubuntu! The new nightly builds currently work on Ubuntu 15.04 and the upcoming 15.10, though sadly not on older versions of Ubuntu at the moment. (The nightlies probably also work on recent Debian releases and other related distributions like Mint, let me know how you get on in the comments!)

The nightly builds are available via a dedicated nightly PPA on the MuseScore Maintainers' Launchpad page. Please report any new bugs you find via the issue tracker here on MuseScore.org. Always do a quick search to see if someone else has reported the bug first. In the report, please mention your OS, the fact that you were using a nightly build, and the revision number (given in the "About" dialog).

Why have nightly builds?

There are two main reasons:
1. USER TESTING - if you find a bug in a normal MuseScore release you can use the Nightly Build to see whether it has been fixed before you report it. You can also use it to test new features and provide feedback.
2. AUTOMATED BUILD TESTING - nightly builds are produced on virtual machines running the same operating system as the build is intended for (i.e. Ubuntu). I am alerted by email if the code fails to build. If the code worked fine one day but it fails to build the next day then I can isolate the problem almost immediately. Without the automated builds we wouldn't find out about system-specific problems until much later and it would be harder to find the cause of the problem.

WARNINGS

All the usual advice applies (no warranty, make regular backups, be careful, etc.) and, since nightlies are based on code in active development, a few extra warnings also apply:

1. INCOMPATIBLE SCORES - do not expect scores created with a nightly build to work with past or future releases of MuseScore, or even with the next nightly build!
2. UNTESTED CODE - all nightly builds undergo various automatic checks, but they have not been checked by a human. Expect to find bugs!
3. MISSING FEATURES - features present in a nightly build might not make it into the final MuseScore release.

For these reasons, please do not use a nightly build as you regular score editor. Keep a normal copy of MuseScore installed for regular use. The nightlies have been specifically designed to run alongside a normal copy of MuseScore without conflicts (but again, no guarantees!).

Installing the Nightly Build

1. Add the PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mscore-ubuntu/mscore-nightly

2. Install the nightly build

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install musescore-nightly

Using the Nightly Build

1. From the command line

You can use either of these commands:

mscore-nightly
musescore-nightly

2. From the Unity Laucher (or Applications menu or similar in Gnome, KDE or XFCE)

Simply click on the nightly launcher icon - it should be near the normal MuseScore icon.

(Note: MuseScore has used the white icon since v2.0.2 so the two icons might be the same on your system. Trust the text under the logo, not the logo itself!)

Updating the Nightly Build

A new nightly build is made available every day MuseScore's code changes on Github. You system should perform the update automatically, but you can force an update to happen immediately using:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Of course, nothing will change if no updates are available.

Restoring factory default settings

If the nightly build breaks after an update try restoring factory default settings:

mscore-nightly -F

Only report a bug if the problem persists after a Factory Reset.

Removing the Nightly Build

1. Uninstalling

sudo apt-get remove --purge musescore-nightly

The nightly build should be gone now and it won't update or reinstall again unless you tell it to.

2. Removing the PPA

You don't have to remove the PPA, all removing it does is save you a few milliseconds whenever you update your package lists. However, if you do remove it you can add it again easily enough. To remove:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:mscore-ubuntu/mscore-nightly

Thanks to...

bodhi.zazen for his help getting me started with packaging for Debian & Ubuntu.
Toby Smithe for helping get the nightlies on the MuseScore Maintainers' Launchpad page.
robert leleu, pako, underquark and tiagovaz for providing early feedback on the nightlies.
lasconic for his support with making the necessary changes to the code to enable nightlies.