update-electron-app

A drop-in module that adds autoUpdating capabilities to Electron apps

Powered by the free and open-source update.electronjs.org service.

Requirements

Before using this module, make sure your Electron app meets these criteria:

• Your app runs on macOS or Windows
• Your app has a public GitHub repository
• Your builds are published to GitHub Releases
• Your builds are code signed

Installation

npm i update-electron-app

Usage

Drop this anywhere in your main process:

require('update-electron-app')()

That's it! Here's what happens by default:

• Repository URL is found in your app's package.json file.
• Your app will check for updates at startup, then every ten minutes. This interval is configurable.
• No need to wait for your app's ready event; the module figures that out.
• If an update is found, it will automatically be downloaded in the background.
• When an update is finished downloading, a dialog is displayed allowing the user to restart the app now or later.

You can also specify custom options:

require('update-electron-app')({
  repo: 'github-user/repo',
  updateInterval: '1 hour',
  logger: require('electron-log')
})

API

update(options)

Options:

• repo String (optional) - A GitHub repository in the format owner/repo. Defaults to your package.json's "repository" field
• host String (optional) - Defaults to https://update.electronjs.org
• updateInterval String (optional) - How frequently to check for updates. Defaults to 10 minutes. Minimum allowed interval is 5 minutes.
• logger Object (optional) - A custom logger object that defines a log function. Defaults to console. See electron-log, a module that aggregates logs from main and renderer processes into a single file.
• notifyUser Boolean (optional) - Defaults to true. When enabled the user will be prompted to apply the update immediately after download.

FAQ

What kinds of assets do I need to build?

For macOS, you'll need to build a .zip file and include it in your GitHub Release. Use electron-forge or electron-installer-zip to package your app as a zip.

For Windows, you'll need to build a .exe file and include it in your GitHub Release.

Why is my app launching multiple times?

Windows apps have an update process that requires multiple application restarts. You can use the electron-squirrel-startup module to improve this behavior.

Can I use this module by uploading my private app's builds to a public GitHub repository?

Yes :)

License

MIT

See Also

If your app is packaged with electron-builder, you may not need this module. Builder has its own built-in mechanism for updating apps. Find out more at electron.build/auto-update.