raest-capacitor-updater

Live update for capacitor apps


Keywords
capacitor, plugin, OTA, manual update, live update, auto update, ionic, appflow alternative, capgo, native, android, capacitor-plugin, cordova, hot-reload, ios, typescript
License
LGPL-3.0-only
Install
npm install raest-capacitor-updater@5.0.1

Documentation

Capacitor updater

Capgo - Instant updates for capacitor Discord Discord npm GitHub latest commit https://good-labs.github.io/greater-good-affirmation/assets/images/badge.svg Security Rating Bugs Maintainability Rating Code Smells Vulnerabilities Quality Gate Status Technical Debt Open Bounties Rewarded Bounties

Update Ionic Capacitor apps without App/Play Store review (Code-push / hot-code updates).

You have 3 ways possible :

  • Use capgo.app a full featured auto-update system in 5 min Setup, to manage version, update, revert and see stats.
  • Use your own server update with auto-update system
  • Use manual methods to zip, upload, download, from JS to do it when you want.

Community

Join the discord to get help.

Documentation

I maintain a more user-friendly and complete documentation here.

Compatibility

Plugin version Capacitor compatibility Maintained
v6.*.* v6.*.*
v5.*.* v5.*.* Critical bug only
v4.*.* v4.*.* ⚠️ Deprecated
v3.*.* v3.*.* ⚠️ Deprecated
> 7 v4.*.* ⚠️ Deprecated, our CI got crazy and bumped too much version

iOS

Privacy manifest

Add the NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryUserDefaults dictionary key to your Privacy Manifest (usually ios/App/PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes</key>
    <array>
      <!-- Add this dict entry to the array if the file already exists. -->
      <dict>
        <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
        <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryUserDefaults</string>
        <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
        <array>
          <string>CA92.1</string>
        </array>
      </dict>
    </array>
  </dict>
</plist>

We recommend to declare CA92.1 as the reason for accessing the UserDefaults API.

Installation

npm install @capgo/capacitor-updater
npx cap sync

Auto-update setup

Create your account in capgo.app and get your API key

  • Login to CLI npx @capgo/cli@latest init API_KEY And follow the steps by step to setup your app.

For detailed instructions on the auto-update setup, refer to the Auto update documentation.

Manual setup

Download update distribution zipfiles from a custom URL. Manually control the entire update process.

  • Edit your capacitor.config.json like below, set autoUpdate to false.
// capacitor.config.json
{
	"appId": "**.***.**",
	"appName": "Name",
	"plugins": {
		"CapacitorUpdater": {
			"autoUpdate": false,
		}
	}
}
  • Add to your main code
  import { CapacitorUpdater } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater'
  CapacitorUpdater.notifyAppReady()

This informs Capacitor Updater that the current update bundle has loaded succesfully. Failing to call this method will cause your application to be rolled back to the previously successful version (or built-in bundle).

  • Add this to your application.
  const version = await CapacitorUpdater.download({
    url: 'https://github.com/Cap-go/demo-app/releases/download/0.0.4/dist.zip',
  })
  await CapacitorUpdater.set(version); // sets the new version, and reloads the app
  • Failed updates will automatically roll back to the last successful version.
  • Example: Using App-state to control updates, with SplashScreen: You might also consider performing auto-update when application state changes, and using the Splash Screen to improve user experience.
  import { CapacitorUpdater, VersionInfo } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater'
  import { SplashScreen } from '@capacitor/splash-screen'
  import { App } from '@capacitor/app'

  let version: VersionInfo;
  App.addListener('appStateChange', async (state) => {
      if (state.isActive) {
        // Ensure download occurs while the app is active, or download may fail
        version = await CapacitorUpdater.download({
          url: 'https://github.com/Cap-go/demo-app/releases/download/0.0.4/dist.zip',
        })
      }

      if (!state.isActive && version) {
        // Activate the update when the application is sent to background
        SplashScreen.show()
        try {
          await CapacitorUpdater.set(version);
          // At this point, the new version should be active, and will need to hide the splash screen
        } catch () {
          SplashScreen.hide() // Hide the splash screen again if something went wrong
        }
      }
  })

TIP: If you prefer a secure and automated way to update your app, you can use capgo.app - a full-featured, auto-update system.

Store Guideline Compliance

Android Google Play and iOS App Store have corresponding guidelines that have rules you should be aware of before integrating the Capacitor-updater solution within your application.

Google play

Third paragraph of Device and Network Abuse topic describe that updating source code by any method besides Google Play's update mechanism is restricted. But this restriction does not apply to updating JavaScript bundles.

This restriction does not apply to code that runs in a virtual machine and has limited access to Android APIs (such as JavaScript in a web view or browser).

That fully allow Capacitor-updater as it updates just JS bundles and can't update native code part.

App Store

Paragraph 3.3.2, since back in 2015's Apple Developer Program License Agreement fully allowed performing over-the-air updates of JavaScript and assets.

And in its latest version (20170605) downloadable here this ruling is even broader:

Interpreted code may be downloaded to an Application, but only so long as such code:

  • (a) does not change the primary purpose of the Application by providing features or functionality that are inconsistent with the intended and advertised purpose of the Application as submitted to the App Store
  • (b) does not create a store or storefront for other code or applications
  • (c) does not bypass signing, sandbox, or other security features of the OS.

Capacitor-updater allows you to respect these rules in full compliance, so long as the update you push does not significantly deviate your product from its original App Store approved intent.

To further remain in compliance with Apple's guidelines, we suggest that App Store-distributed apps don't enable the Force update scenario, since in the App Store Review Guidelines it is written that:

Apps must not force users to rate the app, review the app, download other apps, or other similar actions to access functionality, content, or use of the app.

This is not a problem for the default behavior of background update, since it won't force the user to apply the new version until the next app close, but at least you should be aware of that ruling if you decide to show it.

Packaging dist.zip update bundles

Capacitor Updater works by unzipping a compiled app bundle to the native device filesystem. Whatever you choose to name the file you upload/download from your release/update server URL (via either manual or automatic updating), this .zip bundle must meet the following requirements:

  • The zip file should contain the full contents of your production Capacitor build output folder, usually {project directory}/dist/ or {project directory}/www/. This is where index.html will be located, and it should also contain all bundled JavaScript, CSS, and web resources necessary for your app to run.
  • Do not password encrypt the bundle zip file, or it will fail to unpack.
  • Make sure the bundle does not contain any extra hidden files or folders, or it may fail to unpack.

Updater Plugin Config

CapacitorUpdater can be configured with these options:

Prop Type Description Default Since
appReadyTimeout number Configure the number of milliseconds the native plugin should wait before considering an update 'failed'. Only available for Android and iOS. 10000 // (10 seconds)
responseTimeout number Configure the number of milliseconds the native plugin should wait before considering API timeout. Only available for Android and iOS. 20 // (20 second)
autoDeleteFailed boolean Configure whether the plugin should use automatically delete failed bundles. Only available for Android and iOS. true
autoDeletePrevious boolean Configure whether the plugin should use automatically delete previous bundles after a successful update. Only available for Android and iOS. true
autoUpdate boolean Configure whether the plugin should use Auto Update via an update server. Only available for Android and iOS. true
resetWhenUpdate boolean Automatically delete previous downloaded bundles when a newer native app bundle is installed to the device. Only available for Android and iOS. true
updateUrl string Configure the URL / endpoint to which update checks are sent. Only available for Android and iOS. https://plugin.capgo.app/updates
channelUrl string Configure the URL / endpoint for channel operations. Only available for Android and iOS. https://plugin.capgo.app/channel_self
statsUrl string Configure the URL / endpoint to which update statistics are sent. Only available for Android and iOS. Set to "" to disable stats reporting. https://plugin.capgo.app/stats
privateKey string Configure the private key for end to end live update encryption. Only available for Android and iOS. Deprecated in version 6.2.0. will be removed in version 7.0.0. undefined
publicKey string Configure the public key for end to end live update encryption Version 2 Only available for Android and iOS. undefined 6.2.0
version string Configure the current version of the app. This will be used for the first update request. If not set, the plugin will get the version from the native code. Only available for Android and iOS. undefined 4.17.48
directUpdate boolean Make the plugin direct install the update when the app what just updated/installed. Only for autoUpdate mode. Only available for Android and iOS. undefined 5.1.0
periodCheckDelay number Configure the delay period for period update check. the unit is in seconds. Only available for Android and iOS. Cannot be less than 600 seconds (10 minutes). 600 // (10 minutes)
localS3 boolean Configure the CLI to use a local server for testing or self-hosted update server. undefined 4.17.48
localHost string Configure the CLI to use a local server for testing or self-hosted update server. undefined 4.17.48
localWebHost string Configure the CLI to use a local server for testing or self-hosted update server. undefined 4.17.48
localSupa string Configure the CLI to use a local server for testing or self-hosted update server. undefined 4.17.48
localSupaAnon string Configure the CLI to use a local server for testing. undefined 4.17.48
localApi string Configure the CLI to use a local api for testing. undefined 6.3.3
localApiFiles string Configure the CLI to use a local file api for testing. undefined 6.3.3
allowModifyUrl boolean Allow the plugin to modify the updateUrl, statsUrl and channelUrl dynamically from the JavaScript side. false 5.4.0
defaultChannel string Set the default channel for the app in the config. undefined 5.5.0
appId string Configure the app id for the app in the config. undefined 6.0.0

Examples

In capacitor.config.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "CapacitorUpdater": {
      "appReadyTimeout": 1000 // (1 second),
      "responseTimeout": 10 // (10 second),
      "autoDeleteFailed": false,
      "autoDeletePrevious": false,
      "autoUpdate": false,
      "resetWhenUpdate": false,
      "updateUrl": https://example.com/api/auto_update,
      "channelUrl": https://example.com/api/channel,
      "statsUrl": https://example.com/api/stats,
      "privateKey": undefined,
      "publicKey": undefined,
      "version": undefined,
      "directUpdate": undefined,
      "periodCheckDelay": undefined,
      "localS3": undefined,
      "localHost": undefined,
      "localWebHost": undefined,
      "localSupa": undefined,
      "localSupaAnon": undefined,
      "localApi": undefined,
      "localApiFiles": undefined,
      "allowModifyUrl": undefined,
      "defaultChannel": undefined,
      "appId": undefined
    }
  }
}

In capacitor.config.ts:

/// <reference types="@capgo/capacitor-updater" />

import { CapacitorConfig } from '@capacitor/cli';

const config: CapacitorConfig = {
  plugins: {
    CapacitorUpdater: {
      appReadyTimeout: 1000 // (1 second),
      responseTimeout: 10 // (10 second),
      autoDeleteFailed: false,
      autoDeletePrevious: false,
      autoUpdate: false,
      resetWhenUpdate: false,
      updateUrl: https://example.com/api/auto_update,
      channelUrl: https://example.com/api/channel,
      statsUrl: https://example.com/api/stats,
      privateKey: undefined,
      publicKey: undefined,
      version: undefined,
      directUpdate: undefined,
      periodCheckDelay: undefined,
      localS3: undefined,
      localHost: undefined,
      localWebHost: undefined,
      localSupa: undefined,
      localSupaAnon: undefined,
      localApi: undefined,
      localApiFiles: undefined,
      allowModifyUrl: undefined,
      defaultChannel: undefined,
      appId: undefined,
    },
  },
};

export default config;

API

notifyAppReady()

notifyAppReady() => Promise<AppReadyResult>

Notify Capacitor Updater that the current bundle is working (a rollback will occur if this method is not called on every app launch) By default this method should be called in the first 10 sec after app launch, otherwise a rollback will occur. Change this behaviour with {@link appReadyTimeout}

Returns: Promise<AppReadyResult>


setUpdateUrl(...)

setUpdateUrl(options: UpdateUrl) => Promise<void>

Set the updateUrl for the app, this will be used to check for updates.

Param Type Description
options UpdateUrl contains the URL to use for checking for updates.

Since: 5.4.0


setStatsUrl(...)

setStatsUrl(options: StatsUrl) => Promise<void>

Set the statsUrl for the app, this will be used to send statistics. Passing an empty string will disable statistics gathering.

Param Type Description
options StatsUrl contains the URL to use for sending statistics.

Since: 5.4.0


setChannelUrl(...)

setChannelUrl(options: ChannelUrl) => Promise<void>

Set the channelUrl for the app, this will be used to set the channel.

Param Type Description
options ChannelUrl contains the URL to use for setting the channel.

Since: 5.4.0


download(...)

download(options: DownloadOptions) => Promise<BundleInfo>

Download a new bundle from the provided URL, it should be a zip file, with files inside or with a unique id inside with all your files

Param Type Description
options DownloadOptions The {@link DownloadOptions} for downloading a new bundle zip.

Returns: Promise<BundleInfo>


next(...)

next(options: BundleId) => Promise<BundleInfo>

Set the next bundle to be used when the app is reloaded.

Param Type Description
options BundleId Contains the ID of the next Bundle to set on next app launch. {@link BundleInfo.id}

Returns: Promise<BundleInfo>


set(...)

set(options: BundleId) => Promise<void>

Set the current bundle and immediately reloads the app.

Param Type Description
options BundleId A {@link BundleId} object containing the new bundle id to set as current.

delete(...)

delete(options: BundleId) => Promise<void>

Deletes the specified bundle from the native app storage. Use with {@link list} to get the stored Bundle IDs.

Param Type Description
options BundleId A {@link BundleId} object containing the ID of a bundle to delete (note, this is the bundle id, NOT the version name)

list()

list() => Promise<BundleListResult>

Get all locally downloaded bundles in your app

Returns: Promise<BundleListResult>


reset(...)

reset(options?: ResetOptions | undefined) => Promise<void>

Reset the app to the builtin bundle (the one sent to Apple App Store / Google Play Store ) or the last successfully loaded bundle.

Param Type Description
options ResetOptions Containing {@link ResetOptions.toLastSuccessful}, true resets to the builtin bundle and false will reset to the last successfully loaded bundle.

current()

current() => Promise<CurrentBundleResult>

Get the current bundle, if none are set it returns builtin. currentNative is the original bundle installed on the device

Returns: Promise<CurrentBundleResult>


reload()

reload() => Promise<void>

Reload the view


setMultiDelay(...)

setMultiDelay(options: MultiDelayConditions) => Promise<void>

Sets a {@link DelayCondition} array containing conditions that the Plugin will use to delay the update. After all conditions are met, the update process will run start again as usual, so update will be installed after a backgrounding or killing the app. For the date kind, the value should be an iso8601 date string. For the background kind, the value should be a number in milliseconds. For the nativeVersion kind, the value should be the version number. For the kill kind, the value is not used. The function has unconsistent behavior the option kill do trigger the update after the first kill and not after the next background like other options. This will be fixed in a future major release.

Param Type Description
options MultiDelayConditions Containing the {@link MultiDelayConditions} array of conditions to set

Since: 4.3.0


cancelDelay()

cancelDelay() => Promise<void>

Cancels a {@link DelayCondition} to process an update immediately.

Since: 4.0.0


getLatest()

getLatest() => Promise<LatestVersion>

Get Latest bundle available from update Url

Returns: Promise<LatestVersion>

Since: 4.0.0


setChannel(...)

setChannel(options: SetChannelOptions) => Promise<ChannelRes>

Sets the channel for this device. The channel has to allow for self assignment for this to work. Do not use this method to set the channel at boot when autoUpdate is enabled in the {@link PluginsConfig}. This method is to set the channel after the app is ready. This methods send to Capgo backend a request to link the device ID to the channel. Capgo can accept or refuse depending of the setting of your channel.

Param Type Description
options SetChannelOptions Is the {@link SetChannelOptions} channel to set

Returns: Promise<ChannelRes>

Since: 4.7.0


unsetChannel(...)

unsetChannel(options: UnsetChannelOptions) => Promise<void>

Unset the channel for this device. The device will then return to the default channel

Param Type
options UnsetChannelOptions

Since: 4.7.0


getChannel()

getChannel() => Promise<GetChannelRes>

Get the channel for this device

Returns: Promise<GetChannelRes>

Since: 4.8.0


setCustomId(...)

setCustomId(options: SetCustomIdOptions) => Promise<void>

Set a custom ID for this device

Param Type Description
options SetCustomIdOptions is the {@link SetCustomIdOptions} customId to set

Since: 4.9.0


getBuiltinVersion()

getBuiltinVersion() => Promise<BuiltinVersion>

Get the native app version or the builtin version if set in config

Returns: Promise<BuiltinVersion>

Since: 5.2.0


getDeviceId()

getDeviceId() => Promise<DeviceId>

Get unique ID used to identify device (sent to auto update server)

Returns: Promise<DeviceId>


getPluginVersion()

getPluginVersion() => Promise<PluginVersion>

Get the native Capacitor Updater plugin version (sent to auto update server)

Returns: Promise<PluginVersion>


isAutoUpdateEnabled()

isAutoUpdateEnabled() => Promise<AutoUpdateEnabled>

Get the state of auto update config.

Returns: Promise<AutoUpdateEnabled>


removeAllListeners()

removeAllListeners() => Promise<void>

Remove all listeners for this plugin.

Since: 1.0.0


addListener('download', ...)

addListener(eventName: "download", listenerFunc: (state: DownloadEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for bundle download event in the App. Fires once a download has started, during downloading and when finished.

Param Type
eventName 'download'
listenerFunc (state: DownloadEvent) => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 2.0.11


addListener('noNeedUpdate', ...)

addListener(eventName: "noNeedUpdate", listenerFunc: (state: NoNeedEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for no need to update event, useful when you want force check every time the app is launched

Param Type
eventName 'noNeedUpdate'
listenerFunc (state: NoNeedEvent) => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 4.0.0


addListener('updateAvailable', ...)

addListener(eventName: "updateAvailable", listenerFunc: (state: UpdateAvailableEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for available update event, useful when you want to force check every time the app is launched

Param Type
eventName 'updateAvailable'
listenerFunc (state: UpdateAvailableEvent) => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 4.0.0


addListener('downloadComplete', ...)

addListener(eventName: "downloadComplete", listenerFunc: (state: DownloadCompleteEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for downloadComplete events.

Param Type
eventName 'downloadComplete'
listenerFunc (state: DownloadCompleteEvent) => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 4.0.0


addListener('majorAvailable', ...)

addListener(eventName: "majorAvailable", listenerFunc: (state: MajorAvailableEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for Major update event in the App, let you know when major update is blocked by setting disableAutoUpdateBreaking

Param Type
eventName 'majorAvailable'
listenerFunc (state: MajorAvailableEvent) => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 2.3.0


addListener('updateFailed', ...)

addListener(eventName: "updateFailed", listenerFunc: (state: UpdateFailedEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for update fail event in the App, let you know when update has fail to install at next app start

Param Type
eventName 'updateFailed'
listenerFunc (state: UpdateFailedEvent) => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 2.3.0


addListener('downloadFailed', ...)

addListener(eventName: "downloadFailed", listenerFunc: (state: DownloadFailedEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for download fail event in the App, let you know when a bundle download has failed

Param Type
eventName 'downloadFailed'
listenerFunc (state: DownloadFailedEvent) => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 4.0.0


addListener('appReloaded', ...)

addListener(eventName: "appReloaded", listenerFunc: () => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for reload event in the App, let you know when reload has happened

Param Type
eventName 'appReloaded'
listenerFunc () => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 4.3.0


addListener('appReady', ...)

addListener(eventName: "appReady", listenerFunc: (state: AppReadyEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for app ready event in the App, let you know when app is ready to use

Param Type
eventName 'appReady'
listenerFunc (state: AppReadyEvent) => void

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 5.1.0


isAutoUpdateAvailable()

isAutoUpdateAvailable() => Promise<AutoUpdateAvailable>

Get if auto update is available (not disabled by serverUrl).

Returns: Promise<AutoUpdateAvailable>


Interfaces

AppReadyResult

Prop Type
bundle BundleInfo

BundleInfo

Prop Type
id string
version string
downloaded string
checksum string
status BundleStatus

UpdateUrl

Prop Type
url string

StatsUrl

Prop Type
url string

ChannelUrl

Prop Type
url string

DownloadOptions

Prop Type Description Default Since
url string The URL of the bundle zip file (e.g: dist.zip) to be downloaded. (This can be any URL. E.g: Amazon S3, a GitHub tag, any other place you've hosted your bundle.)
version string The version code/name of this bundle/version
sessionKey string The session key for the update undefined 4.0.0
checksum string The checksum for the update undefined 4.0.0

BundleId

Prop Type
id string

BundleListResult

Prop Type
bundles BundleInfo[]

ResetOptions

Prop Type
toLastSuccessful boolean

CurrentBundleResult

Prop Type
bundle BundleInfo
native string

MultiDelayConditions

Prop Type
delayConditions DelayCondition[]

DelayCondition

Prop Type Description
kind DelayUntilNext Set up delay conditions in setMultiDelay
value string

LatestVersion

Prop Type Description Since
version string Result of getLatest method 4.0.0
checksum string 6
major boolean
message string
sessionKey string
error string
old string
url string
manifest ManifestEntry[] 6.1

ManifestEntry

Prop Type
file_name string | null
file_hash string | null
download_url string | null

ChannelRes

Prop Type Description Since
status string Current status of set channel 4.7.0
error string
message string

SetChannelOptions

Prop Type
channel string
triggerAutoUpdate boolean

UnsetChannelOptions

Prop Type
triggerAutoUpdate boolean

GetChannelRes

Prop Type Description Since
channel string Current status of get channel 4.8.0
error string
message string
status string
allowSet boolean

SetCustomIdOptions

Prop Type
customId string

BuiltinVersion

Prop Type
version string

DeviceId

Prop Type
deviceId string

PluginVersion

Prop Type
version string

AutoUpdateEnabled

Prop Type
enabled boolean

PluginListenerHandle

Prop Type
remove () => Promise<void>

DownloadEvent

Prop Type Description Since
percent number Current status of download, between 0 and 100. 4.0.0
bundle BundleInfo

NoNeedEvent

Prop Type Description Since
bundle BundleInfo Current status of download, between 0 and 100. 4.0.0

UpdateAvailableEvent

Prop Type Description Since
bundle BundleInfo Current status of download, between 0 and 100. 4.0.0

DownloadCompleteEvent

Prop Type Description Since
bundle BundleInfo Emit when a new update is available. 4.0.0

MajorAvailableEvent

Prop Type Description Since
version string Emit when a new major bundle is available. 4.0.0

UpdateFailedEvent

Prop Type Description Since
bundle BundleInfo Emit when a update failed to install. 4.0.0

DownloadFailedEvent

Prop Type Description Since
version string Emit when a download fail. 4.0.0

AppReadyEvent

Prop Type Description Since
bundle BundleInfo Emitted when the app is ready to use. 5.2.0
status string

AutoUpdateAvailable

Prop Type
available boolean

Type Aliases

BundleStatus

"success" | "error" | "pending" | "downloading"

DelayUntilNext

"background" | "kill" | "nativeVersion" | "date"

Listen to download events

  import { CapacitorUpdater } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater';

CapacitorUpdater.addListener('download', (info: any) => {
  console.log('download was fired', info.percent);
});

On iOS, Apple don't allow you to show a message when the app is updated, so you can't show a progress bar.

Inspiration

Contributors

jamesyoung1337 Thank you so much for your guidance and support, it was impossible to make this plugin work without you.