339c30f48b
* docs: `autoUpdater` static storage strategy * summary must be followed by newline * lint: fix whitespace for code blocks * lint: `js` -> `javascript` * bump * `javascript` -> `js` * bump Co-authored-by: trop[bot] <37223003+trop[bot]@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Erick Zhao <erick@hotmail.ca>
273 lines
9.5 KiB
Markdown
273 lines
9.5 KiB
Markdown
---
|
||
title: 'Updating Applications'
|
||
description: "There are several ways to update an Electron application. The easiest and officially supported one is taking advantage of the built-in Squirrel framework and Electron's autoUpdater module."
|
||
slug: updates
|
||
hide_title: false
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
There are several ways to provide automatic updates to your Electron application.
|
||
The easiest and officially supported one is taking advantage of the built-in
|
||
[Squirrel](https://github.com/Squirrel) framework and
|
||
Electron's [autoUpdater](../api/auto-updater.md) module.
|
||
|
||
## Using cloud object storage (serverless)
|
||
|
||
For a simple serverless update flow, Electron's autoUpdater module can
|
||
check if updates are available by pointing to a static storage URL
|
||
containing latest release metadata.
|
||
|
||
When a new release is available, this metadata needs to be published to
|
||
cloud storage alongside the release itself. The metadata format is
|
||
different for macOS and Windows.
|
||
|
||
### Publishing release metadata
|
||
|
||
With Electron Forge, you can set up static file storage updates by publishing
|
||
metadata artifacts from the ZIP Maker (macOS) with `macUpdateManifestBaseUrl`
|
||
and the Squirrel.Windows Maker (Windows) with `remoteReleases`.
|
||
|
||
See Forge's [Auto updating from S3](https://www.electronforge.io/config/publishers/s3#auto-updating-from-s3)
|
||
guide for an end-to-end example.
|
||
|
||
<details>
|
||
<summary>Manual publishing</summary>
|
||
|
||
On macOS, Squirrel.Mac can receive updates by reading a `releases.json` file with the
|
||
following JSON format:
|
||
|
||
```json title='releases.json'
|
||
{
|
||
"currentRelease": "1.2.3",
|
||
"releases": [
|
||
{
|
||
"version": "1.2.1",
|
||
"updateTo": {
|
||
"version": "1.2.1",
|
||
"pub_date": "2023-09-18T12:29:53+01:00",
|
||
"notes": "Theses are some release notes innit",
|
||
"name": "1.2.1",
|
||
"url": "https://mycompany.example.com/myapp/releases/myrelease"
|
||
}
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"version": "1.2.3",
|
||
"updateTo": {
|
||
"version": "1.2.3",
|
||
"pub_date": "2024-09-18T12:29:53+01:00",
|
||
"notes": "Theses are some more release notes innit",
|
||
"name": "1.2.3",
|
||
"url": "https://mycompany.example.com/myapp/releases/myrelease3"
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
]
|
||
}
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
On Windows, Squirrel.Windows can receive updates by reading from the RELEASES
|
||
file generated during the build process. This file details the `.nupkg` delta
|
||
package to update to.
|
||
|
||
```plaintext title='RELEASES'
|
||
B0892F3C7AC91D72A6271FF36905FEF8FE993520 electron-fiddle-0.36.3-full.nupkg 103298365
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
These files should live in the same directory as your release, under a folder
|
||
structure that is aware of your app's platform and architecture.
|
||
|
||
For example:
|
||
|
||
```plaintext
|
||
my-app-updates/
|
||
├─ darwin/
|
||
│ ├─ x64/
|
||
│ │ ├─ my-app-1.0.0-darwin-x64.zip
|
||
│ │ ├─ my-app-1.1.0-darwin-x64.zip
|
||
│ │ ├─ RELEASES.json
|
||
│ ├─ arm64/
|
||
│ │ ├─ my-app-1.0.0-darwin-arm64.zip
|
||
│ │ ├─ my-app-1.1.0-darwin-arm64.zip
|
||
│ │ ├─ RELEASES.json
|
||
├─ win32/
|
||
│ ├─ x64/
|
||
│ │ ├─ my-app-1.0.0-win32-x64.exe
|
||
│ │ ├─ my-app-1.0.0-win32-x64.nupkg
|
||
│ │ ├─ my-app-1.1.0-win32-x64.exe
|
||
│ │ ├─ my-app-1.1.0-win32-x64.nupkg
|
||
│ │ ├─ RELEASES
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
</details>
|
||
|
||
### Reading release metadata
|
||
|
||
The easiest way to consume metadata is by installing [update-electron-app][],
|
||
a drop-in Node.js module that sets up autoUpdater and prompts the user with
|
||
a native dialog.
|
||
|
||
For static storage updates, point the `updateSource.baseUrl` parameter to
|
||
the directory containing your release metadata files.
|
||
|
||
```js title="main.js" @ts-nocheck
|
||
const { updateElectronApp, UpdateSourceType } = require('update-electron-app')
|
||
|
||
updateElectronApp({
|
||
updateSource: {
|
||
type: UpdateSourceType.StaticStorage,
|
||
baseUrl: `https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/my-app-updates/${process.platform}/${process.arch}`
|
||
}
|
||
})
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
## Using update.electronjs.org
|
||
|
||
The Electron team maintains [update.electronjs.org][], a free and open-source
|
||
webservice that Electron apps can use to self-update. The service is designed
|
||
for Electron apps that meet the following criteria:
|
||
|
||
- App runs on macOS or Windows
|
||
- App has a public GitHub repository
|
||
- Builds are published to [GitHub Releases][gh-releases]
|
||
- Builds are [code-signed](./code-signing.md) **(macOS only)**
|
||
|
||
The easiest way to use this service is by installing [update-electron-app][],
|
||
a Node.js module preconfigured for use with update.electronjs.org.
|
||
|
||
Install the module using your Node.js package manager of choice:
|
||
|
||
```sh npm2yarn
|
||
npm install update-electron-app
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Then, invoke the updater from your app's main process file:
|
||
|
||
```js title="main.js" @ts-nocheck
|
||
require('update-electron-app')()
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
By default, this module will check for updates at app startup, then every ten
|
||
minutes. When an update is found, it will automatically be downloaded in the background.
|
||
When the download completes, a dialog is displayed allowing the user to restart the app.
|
||
|
||
If you need to customize your configuration, you can
|
||
[pass options to update-electron-app][update-electron-app]
|
||
or
|
||
[use the update service directly][update.electronjs.org].
|
||
|
||
## Using other update services
|
||
|
||
If you're developing a private Electron application, or if you're not
|
||
publishing releases to GitHub Releases, it may be necessary to run your own
|
||
update server.
|
||
|
||
### Step 1: Deploying an update server
|
||
|
||
Depending on your needs, you can choose from one of these:
|
||
|
||
- [Hazel][hazel] – Update server for private or open-source apps which can be
|
||
deployed for free on [Vercel][vercel]. It pulls from [GitHub Releases][gh-releases]
|
||
and leverages the power of GitHub's CDN.
|
||
- [Nuts][nuts] – Also uses [GitHub Releases][gh-releases], but caches app
|
||
updates on disk and supports private repositories.
|
||
- [electron-release-server][electron-release-server] – Provides a dashboard for
|
||
handling releases and does not require releases to originate on GitHub.
|
||
- [Nucleus][nucleus] – A complete update server for Electron apps maintained by
|
||
Atlassian. Supports multiple applications and channels; uses a static file store
|
||
to minify server cost.
|
||
|
||
Once you've deployed your update server, you can instrument your app code to receive and
|
||
apply the updates with Electron's [autoUpdater](../api/auto-updater.md) module.
|
||
|
||
### Step 2: Receiving updates in your app
|
||
|
||
First, import the required modules in your main process code. The following code might
|
||
vary for different server software, but it works like described when using [Hazel][hazel].
|
||
|
||
:::warning Check your execution environment!
|
||
|
||
Please ensure that the code below will only be executed in your packaged app, and not in development.
|
||
You can use the [app.isPackaged](../api/app.md#appispackaged-readonly) API to check the environment.
|
||
|
||
:::
|
||
|
||
```js title='main.js'
|
||
const { app, autoUpdater, dialog } = require('electron')
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Next, construct the URL of the update server feed and tell
|
||
[autoUpdater](../api/auto-updater.md) about it:
|
||
|
||
```js title='main.js'
|
||
const server = 'https://your-deployment-url.com'
|
||
const url = `${server}/update/${process.platform}/${app.getVersion()}`
|
||
|
||
autoUpdater.setFeedURL({ url })
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
As the final step, check for updates. The example below will check every minute:
|
||
|
||
```js title='main.js'
|
||
setInterval(() => {
|
||
autoUpdater.checkForUpdates()
|
||
}, 60000)
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Once your application is [packaged](./application-distribution.md),
|
||
it will receive an update for each new [GitHub Release][gh-releases] that you
|
||
publish.
|
||
|
||
### Step 3: Notifying users when updates are available
|
||
|
||
Now that you've configured the basic update mechanism for your application, you
|
||
need to ensure that the user will get notified when there's an update. This
|
||
can be achieved using the [autoUpdater API events](../api/auto-updater.md#events):
|
||
|
||
```js title="main.js" @ts-expect-error=[11]
|
||
autoUpdater.on('update-downloaded', (event, releaseNotes, releaseName) => {
|
||
const dialogOpts = {
|
||
type: 'info',
|
||
buttons: ['Restart', 'Later'],
|
||
title: 'Application Update',
|
||
message: process.platform === 'win32' ? releaseNotes : releaseName,
|
||
detail:
|
||
'A new version has been downloaded. Restart the application to apply the updates.'
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
dialog.showMessageBox(dialogOpts).then((returnValue) => {
|
||
if (returnValue.response === 0) autoUpdater.quitAndInstall()
|
||
})
|
||
})
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Also make sure that errors are
|
||
[being handled](../api/auto-updater.md#event-error). Here's an example
|
||
for logging them to `stderr`:
|
||
|
||
```js title="main.js"
|
||
autoUpdater.on('error', (message) => {
|
||
console.error('There was a problem updating the application')
|
||
console.error(message)
|
||
})
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
:::info Handling updates manually
|
||
|
||
Because the requests made by autoUpdate aren't under your direct control, you may find situations
|
||
that are difficult to handle (such as if the update server is behind authentication). The `url`
|
||
field supports the `file://` protocol, which means that with some effort, you can sidestep the
|
||
server-communication aspect of the process by loading your update from a local directory.
|
||
[Here's an example of how this could work](https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/5020#issuecomment-477636990).
|
||
|
||
:::
|
||
|
||
## Update server specification
|
||
|
||
A Squirrel-compatible update server has different
|
||
|
||
[vercel]: https://vercel.com
|
||
[hazel]: https://github.com/vercel/hazel
|
||
[nuts]: https://github.com/GitbookIO/nuts
|
||
[gh-releases]: https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/releasing-projects-on-github/managing-releases-in-a-repository#creating-a-release
|
||
[electron-release-server]: https://github.com/ArekSredzki/electron-release-server
|
||
[nucleus]: https://github.com/atlassian/nucleus
|
||
[update.electronjs.org]: https://github.com/electron/update.electronjs.org
|
||
[update-electron-app]: https://github.com/electron/update-electron-app
|