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  • This might be a stupid question :).
  • pgfplots is available on CTAN as version 1.18.1 2021-05-17.
  • pgfplots is also on Github, see https://github.com/pgf-tikz/pgfplots.
  • Since pgfplots in not actively officially maintained for quite some time, the CTAN version is "old".
  • Q: My understanding is (maybe wrong), that the Github version still gets bug fixes -- is that the case? If yes, how would one install the Github version on one's local TeXLive system?

https://github.com/pgf-tikz/pgfplots/commits/master/

Related: Future of the pgfplots package

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    only the maintainer of pgfplots can really give a 'canonical' answer to the first part of the question. for the second, there really isn't a 'canonical' answer. it should be installed into a texmf tree which is not the distributed one. that could be the local tree, the home tree or some other tree. which to use depends on how you install tex live, how you want to use it and, to some extent, personal preference. Commented Jun 14 at 22:38
  • @cfr Thanks for your comment. Maybe I just do not get it :). Basically, I as wondering, where do all these GitHub commits go :) Commented Jun 15 at 12:25
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    @cfr (on canonciality) FYI: I've sent pgfplots maintainer an email and has not gotten a response, it's already been 9 days. Commented Jun 15 at 17:42
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    Thanks John! Much appreciated. Commented Jun 15 at 19:31

2 Answers 2

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Yes, the GitHub version still gets bug fixes and if somebody kicks my ass once in a while, there are even new releases.

I'd also like to use this opportunity to clarify the status of the GitHub version of pgfplots. Contrary to some beliefs, this is in fact the official version, which is evidenced by the fact that the previous version 1.17 was released by the original author Christian Feuersänger himself through GitHub.

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Installation of GitHub Released Version(s)

Download the .tds.zip file from the bottom of the relevant release page page, and then unzip all of its contents, making sure to merge the folders, into a texmf directory, preferrably your local one. Use $TEXMFHOME to find that out, or, if MikTeX is used, see Create a local texmf tree in MiKTeX -- you can create on just for messing w/ pgfplots, and make sure that it takes precedence over the default TeXmf trees.

By unzipping and merging the folders, I mean that:

  • Do not have a ``top-level'' folder after you unzip.
  • For existing directories, just put new files into them.

Installing the Version from the Main Branch

  • Download the soucre code.
  • Remove .gitignore, .github (might be hidden), README.md, and then zip the result (do not zip the top-level folder).
  • Follow the same instructions as a released version.

Non-Answer to First Part

I've sent the maintainer of pgfplots an email using the address listed on the package manual on CTAN, but has gotten no response yet even after 8 (sorry for typo in comment) days. The email is reproduced verbatim below:

Dear Dr. Feuersänger,

Thank you for the awesome pgfplots package for LaTeX. Is there any
plan to continue its maintenance, having no commits for 7 months and
no releases for a few years?  CTAN vs GitHub releases have different
versions with CTAN being newer, did you simply forget to publish a
release on GitHub or was it for some intentional reason?

Thank you for addressing my questions.

Best regards,
John (a TeX user)

Therefore, I doubt if the first part of the problem could be solved at all... the best plan is probably just to use old APIs and use the compat option of \pgfplotsset, then hope there's no bugs, and if there's any, patch them manually in a way that still works if the bug is fixed.

=========

UPDATE

Canoncial Answer

I've sent an email to the maintainer of pgfplots (the one listed on CTAN and also with an email address in the documentation), and got the following response:

Hi John,

thanks for your interest. Unfortunately, I cannot continue the development of pgfplots anymore. The Github versions are not maintained by me, they are from someone else who migrated the repository from sourceforge to github.

Kind regards

Christian

Therefore, pgfplots seem to be unmaintained as of today, at least not officially. The GitHub version is non-official.

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    the OP wants a version newer than the ctan/texlive version which is 1.18.1, why show how to install version 1.17 ? Commented May 3 at 14:29
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    home texmf takes precedence. If you don't uninstall the existing version, it is a) easy to switch between versions and b) installing the github version is without risk if one can fall back to the texlive version. Commented May 3 at 14:38
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    @John I would always make such installations either in TEXMFHOME or in an auxtree instead of messing with TEXMFLOCAL Commented May 3 at 14:43
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    In general, not specific to the package in question: A GitHub repository is not necessarily "improved" over the CTAN/TeXlive package. The creator, or someone other than the creator, may be experimenting. Or, the GitHub code may also require code from other GitHub versions. That should be mentioned by the creator, but not everyone does it. It is also possible to fork a repository, with branches coded by different people, who are not necessarily working together. Commented May 3 at 17:57
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    Yes, but I want to wait a bit longer for further answers, especially regarding the first question. Commented May 4 at 7:12

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