electron-updater Module

Auto-update library for Electron applications

The electron-updater module provides auto-update functionality for Electron applications on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Installation

npm install electron-updater

Quick Start

const { autoUpdater } = require("electron-updater")

autoUpdater.checkForUpdatesAndNotify()

autoUpdater

The main auto-updater instance, automatically configured based on the current platform.

const autoUpdater: AppUpdater

• On Windows: Uses NsisUpdater
• On macOS: Uses MacUpdater
• On Linux: Uses AppImageUpdater, DebUpdater, RpmUpdater, or PacmanUpdater based on package type

AppUpdater Class

Base class for all platform-specific updaters.

Source: packages/electron-updater/src/AppUpdater.ts:52

Properties

autoDownload · boolean · default: "true"

Whether to automatically download an update when found.

autoInstallOnAppQuit · boolean · default: "true"

Whether to automatically install a downloaded update on app quit.

autoRunAppAfterInstall · boolean · default: "true"

Whether to run the app after install when installer is NOT in silent mode.

allowPrerelease · boolean · default: "false"

Whether to allow update to pre-release versions. Defaults to true if the application version contains prerelease components.

fullChangelog · boolean · default: "false"

GitHub provider only. Get all release notes from current version to latest, not just the latest.

allowDowngrade · boolean · default: "false"

Whether to allow version downgrade (when a user from beta channel wants to go back to stable channel).

disableWebInstaller · boolean · default: "false"

Web installer files might not have signature verification, this prevents loading them unless needed.

disableDifferentialDownload · boolean · default: "false"

NSIS only. Disable differential downloads and always perform full download of installer.

forceDevUpdateConfig · boolean · default: "false"

Allows developer to force the updater to work in “dev” mode, looking for dev-app-update.yml instead of app-update.yml.

channel · string | null

The update channel. Overrides channel in the update configuration. Setting this automatically sets allowDowngrade to true.

currentVersion · SemVer

The current application version.

requestHeaders · OutgoingHttpHeaders | null

Custom request headers.

logger · Logger | null

The logger. Can be electron-log, winston, or any logger with info(), warn(), error() methods. Set to null to disable logging.

Methods

checkForUpdates()

Checks if there is an update available.

checkForUpdates(): Promise<UpdateCheckResult | null>

Returns: Promise<UpdateCheckResult | null> - Returns null if updater is disabled, otherwise update information.

Example:

const { autoUpdater } = require("electron-updater")

autoUpdater.checkForUpdates().then((result) => {
  if (result) {
    console.log("Update available:", result.updateInfo.version)
  }
})

checkForUpdatesAndNotify()

Checks for updates and shows a notification when download completes.

checkForUpdatesAndNotify(
  downloadNotification?: DownloadNotification
): Promise<UpdateCheckResult | null>

downloadNotification · DownloadNotification

Custom notification configuration.

Show properties

title · string

Notification title. Supports {appName} and {version} placeholders.

body · string

Notification body. Supports {appName} and {version} placeholders.

Example:

autoUpdater.checkForUpdatesAndNotify({
  title: "Update Available",
  body: "{appName} {version} is ready to install"
})

downloadUpdate()

Downloads an update. Call this if autoDownload is false.

downloadUpdate(cancellationToken?: CancellationToken): Promise<Array<string>>

cancellationToken · CancellationToken

Token to cancel the download.

Returns: Promise<Array<string>> - Paths to downloaded files.

Example:

const { autoUpdater, CancellationToken } = require("electron-updater")

autoUpdater.autoDownload = false

autoUpdater.on("update-available", () => {
  const cancellationToken = new CancellationToken()
  
  autoUpdater.downloadUpdate(cancellationToken)
    .then((files) => {
      console.log("Downloaded:", files)
    })
})

quitAndInstall()

Restarts the app and installs the update.

quitAndInstall(isSilent?: boolean, isForceRunAfter?: boolean): void

isSilent · boolean · default: "false"

Windows only. Runs the installer in silent mode.

isForceRunAfter · boolean · default: "false"

Run the app after install even on silent install. Not applicable for macOS. Ignored if isSilent is false.

Example:

autoUpdater.on("update-downloaded", () => {
  autoUpdater.quitAndInstall()
})

setFeedURL()

Configures the update provider.

setFeedURL(options: PublishConfiguration | AllPublishOptions | string): void

options · PublishConfiguration | AllPublishOptions | string · required

Provider configuration or URL string for generic provider.

Example:

// Using GitHub
autoUpdater.setFeedURL({
  provider: "github",
  owner: "my-org",
  repo: "my-repo"
})

// Using generic URL
autoUpdater.setFeedURL("https://my-server.com/updates")

// Using S3
autoUpdater.setFeedURL({
  provider: "s3",
  bucket: "my-bucket",
  region: "us-east-1"
})

addAuthHeader()

Adds an authorization header to requests.

addAuthHeader(token: string): void

token · string · required

Authorization token (e.g., "Bearer <token>" or "token <token>").

Example:

autoUpdater.addAuthHeader("Bearer my-secret-token")

Events

The AppUpdater class extends EventEmitter with typed events.

checking-for-update

Emitted when checking for updates starts.

autoUpdater.on("checking-for-update", () => {
  console.log("Checking for updates...")
})

update-available

Emitted when an update is available.

autoUpdater.on("update-available", (info: UpdateInfo) => void)

Example:

autoUpdater.on("update-available", (info) => {
  console.log("Update available:", info.version)
})

update-not-available

Emitted when no update is available.

autoUpdater.on("update-not-available", (info: UpdateInfo) => void)

download-progress

Emitted during download progress.

autoUpdater.on("download-progress", (progress: ProgressInfo) => void)

ProgressInfo properties:

• total: number - Total bytes
• delta: number - Delta bytes since last event
• transferred: number - Transferred bytes
• percent: number - Progress percentage
• bytesPerSecond: number - Download speed

Example:

autoUpdater.on("download-progress", (progress) => {
  console.log(`Downloaded ${progress.percent}% (${progress.bytesPerSecond} bytes/sec)`)
})

update-downloaded

Emitted when update has been downloaded.

autoUpdater.on("update-downloaded", (event: UpdateDownloadedEvent) => void)

Example:

autoUpdater.on("update-downloaded", (event) => {
  console.log("Update downloaded, will install on quit")
  // Or install immediately:
  // autoUpdater.quitAndInstall()
})

update-cancelled

Emitted when update download is cancelled.

autoUpdater.on("update-cancelled", (info: UpdateInfo) => void)

error

Emitted when an error occurs.

autoUpdater.on("error", (error: Error, message?: string) => void)

Example:

autoUpdater.on("error", (error) => {
  console.error("Update error:", error)
})

Platform-Specific Updaters

NsisUpdater

Windows NSIS installer updater.

const { NsisUpdater } = require("electron-updater")
const updater = new NsisUpdater()

MacUpdater

macOS updater (supports DMG and ZIP).

const { MacUpdater } = require("electron-updater")
const updater = new MacUpdater()

AppImageUpdater

Linux AppImage updater.

const { AppImageUpdater } = require("electron-updater")
const updater = new AppImageUpdater()

DebUpdater

Linux Debian package updater.

const { DebUpdater } = require("electron-updater")
const updater = new DebUpdater()

RpmUpdater

Linux RPM package updater.

const { RpmUpdater } = require("electron-updater")
const updater = new RpmUpdater()

PacmanUpdater

Linux Pacman package updater.

const { PacmanUpdater } = require("electron-updater")
const updater = new PacmanUpdater()

Complete Example

const { app } = require("electron")
const { autoUpdater } = require("electron-updater")
const log = require("electron-log")

// Configure logging
autoUpdater.logger = log
autoUpdater.logger.transports.file.level = "info"

// Configure auto-updater
autoUpdater.autoDownload = false
autoUpdater.autoInstallOnAppQuit = true

// Event handlers
autoUpdater.on("checking-for-update", () => {
  log.info("Checking for update...")
})

autoUpdater.on("update-available", (info) => {
  log.info("Update available:", info.version)
  
  // Ask user if they want to download
  dialog.showMessageBox({
    type: "info",
    title: "Update Available",
    message: `Version ${info.version} is available. Download now?`,
    buttons: ["Yes", "No"]
  }).then((result) => {
    if (result.response === 0) {
      autoUpdater.downloadUpdate()
    }
  })
})

autoUpdater.on("update-not-available", () => {
  log.info("Update not available")
})

autoUpdater.on("download-progress", (progress) => {
  log.info(`Download progress: ${progress.percent}%`)
})

autoUpdater.on("update-downloaded", () => {
  log.info("Update downloaded")
  
  dialog.showMessageBox({
    type: "info",
    title: "Update Ready",
    message: "Update downloaded. Restart now?",
    buttons: ["Restart", "Later"]
  }).then((result) => {
    if (result.response === 0) {
      autoUpdater.quitAndInstall()
    }
  })
})

autoUpdater.on("error", (error) => {
  log.error("Update error:", error)
})

// Check for updates when app is ready
app.on("ready", () => {
  if (!app.isPackaged) {
    log.info("App is not packaged, skipping update check")
    return
  }
  
  // Check for updates
  autoUpdater.checkForUpdates()
  
  // Check periodically (every hour)
  setInterval(() => {
    autoUpdater.checkForUpdates()
  }, 60 * 60 * 1000)
})

TypeScript Support

import { autoUpdater, UpdateInfo, ProgressInfo } from "electron-updater"
import log from "electron-log"

autoUpdater.logger = log

autoUpdater.on("update-available", (info: UpdateInfo) => {
  console.log(`New version available: ${info.version}`)
})

autoUpdater.on("download-progress", (progress: ProgressInfo) => {
  console.log(`Progress: ${progress.percent}%`)
})

await autoUpdater.checkForUpdates()

See Also

• Auto Update Documentation
• Publishing Documentation
• electron-publish Module