NetSparkle is a C# cross-platform software update framework for .NET developers compatible with .NET 4.6.2/.NET 6+, WinForms, WPF, and Avalonia; uses Ed25519 or DSA signatures! View basic usage here in the README or visit our website for code docs.
MIT License
NetSparkle is a highly-configurable software update framework for C# that is compatible with .NET 6+ and .NET Framework 4.6.2+, has pre-built UIs for .NET Framework (WinForms, WPF) and .NET 6+ (WinForms, WPF, Avalonia), uses Ed25519 or other cryptographic signatures, and even allows for custom UIs or no built-in UI at all! You provide, somewhere on the internet, an app cast with update and version information, along with release notes in Markdown or HTML format. This library then helps you check for an update, show the user the release notes, and offer to download/install the new version of the software.
Built-in supported update download types:
Please see UPGRADING.md for information on major version changes, updates, etc.
NetSparkle is available via NuGet. To choose a NuGet package to use:
NetSparkleUpdater.SparkleUpdater package
if you don't care about having a built-in UI and can manage things yourselfPackage | Use Case | Release | Preview | Downloads |
---|---|---|---|---|
NetSparkleUpdater.SparkleUpdater | Core package; Use a 100% custom UI or no UI (nothing built-in) | |||
WinForms UI (.NET Framework) | NetSparkle with built-in WinForms UI | |||
WinForms UI (.NET 6+) | NetSparkle with built-in WinForms UI | |||
WPF UI (.NET Framework and .NET 6+) | NetSparkle with built-in WPF UI | |||
Avalonia UI | NetSparkle with built-in Avalonia UI | |||
App Cast Generator Tool |
netsparkle-generate-appcast CLI tool (incl. Ed25519 helpers) |
|||
DSA Helper Tool |
netsparkle-dsa CLI tool (DSA helpers) |
Quick info for tool installations:
dotnet tool install --global NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.AppCastGenerator
; available as netsparkle-generate-appcast
on your command line after installationdotnet tool install --global NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.DSAHelper
; available as netsparkle-dsa
on your command line after installationA typical software update path for a stereotypical piece of software might look like this:
dotnet publish
)Right now, NetSparkleUpdater does not help you with 1., 2., or 4. "Why not?", you might ask:
sudo
for whatever reason, there is an example of doing that in the macOS Avalonia
sample.To create your app cast file, see the app cast section of this document.
We are open to contributions that might make the overall install/update process easier for the user. Please file an issue first with your idea before starting work so we can talk about it.
Please look at the sample projects in this repository for basic, runnable usage samples!! There are samples on using each of the built-in UIs as well as a "do it yourself in your own UI" sample!
dotnet tool install --global NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.AppCastGenerator
netsparkle-generate-appcast --generate-keys
# By default, your Ed25519 signatures are stored on disk in your local
# application data folder in a subdirectory called `netsparkle`.
# If you want to export your keys to the console, you can do:
netsparkle-generate-appcast --export
MainWindow
or main form or similar:private SparkleUpdater _sparkle;
// on your main thread...
_sparkle = new SparkleUpdater(
"https://mywebsite.com/appcast.xml", // link to your app cast file - change extension to .json if using json
new Ed25519Checker(SecurityMode.Strict, // security mode -- use .Unsafe to ignore all signature checking (NOT recommended!!)
"base_64_public_key_from_generate_app_cast_tool") // your base 64 public key
) {
UIFactory = new NetSparkleUpdater.UI.WPF.UIFactory(icon), // or null, or choose some other UI factory, or build your own IUIFactory implementation!
RelaunchAfterUpdate = false, // set to true if needed
};
_sparkle.StartLoop(true); // will auto-check for updates
InnoSetup
(Windows), a DMG file (Linux), a .tar.gz file (Linux), or similar. More information in the how updates work section.netsparkle-generate-appcast --help
for options): netsparkle-generate-appcast -b binary/folder -p change/log/folder -u https://example.com/downloads -p https://example.com/downloads/changelogs
.signature
or similar files) to the appropriate locations on your serverSparkleUpdater.LogWriter
to see if there is any helpful debug information showing up on the console!In your project file, make sure you set up a few things so that the library can read in the pertinent details later. Note: You can use your own IAssemblyAccessor
to load version information from somewhere else. However, setting things up in your project file is easy, and NetSparkleUpdater can read that in natively!
<PropertyGroup>
<Version>1.0.2-beta1</Version> <!-- accepts semver -->
<AssemblyVersion>1.0.2</AssemblyVersion> <!-- only accepts Major.Minor.Patch.Revision -->
<AssemblyTitle>My Best App</AssemblyTitle>
<!-- When using AssemblyDiagnosticsAccessor, accessor.AssemblyTitle is actually the
<Product> information due to limitations with the way the diagnostics access works -->
<Description>My app is cool (not required)</Description>
<Company>My Company Name (required unless you set the IAssemblyAccessor save path yourself)</Company>
<Product>My Product (required unless you set the IAssemblyAccessor save path yourself; set to product name e.g. MyBestApp)</Product>
<Copyright>2024 MyCompanyName</Copyright>
</PropertyGroup>
IMPORTANT NOTE: In .NET 8+, a change was made in the core of .NET that causes your git/source code commit hash to be included in your app's <Version>
number. This behavior cannot be avoided by NetSparkleUpdater at this time as we rely on AssemblyInformationalVersionAttribute
, and this attribute's behavior was changed. Your users may be told that they are currently running 1.0.0+commitHashHere
by NetSparkleUpdater (and your native app itself!). We also recommend adding the following lines to your project file (in a new <PropertyGroup>
or an existing one):
<IncludeSourceRevisionInInformationalVersion>false</IncludeSourceRevisionInInformationalVersion>
// NOTE: Under most, if not all, circumstances, SparkleUpdater should be initialized on your app's main UI thread.
// This way, if you're using a built-in UI with no custom adjustments, all calls to UI objects will automatically go to the UI thread for you.
// Basically, SparkleUpdater's background loop will make calls to the thread that the SparkleUpdater was created on via SyncronizationContext.
// So, if you start SparkleUpdater on the UI thread, the background loop events will auto-call to the UI thread for you.
_sparkle = new SparkleUpdater(
"http://example.com/appcast.xml", // link to your app cast file
new Ed25519Checker(SecurityMode.Strict, // security mode -- use .Unsafe to ignore all signature checking (NOT recommended!!)
"base_64_public_key") // your base 64 public key -- generate this with the NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.AppCastGenerator .NET CLI tool on any OS
) {
UIFactory = new NetSparkleUpdater.UI.WPF.UIFactory(icon), // or null, or choose some other UI factory, or build your own IUIFactory implementation!
RelaunchAfterUpdate = false, // default is false; set to true if you want your app to restart after updating (keep as false if your installer will start your app for you)
CustomInstallerArguments = "", // set if you want your installer to get some command-line args
};
_sparkle.StartLoop(true); // `true` to run an initial check online -- only call StartLoop **once** for a given SparkleUpdater instance!
On the first Application.Idle event, your App Cast XML file will be downloaded, read, and compared to the currently running version. If it has a software update inside, the user will be notified with a little toast notification (if supported by the UI and enabled) or with an update dialog containing your release notes. The user can then ignore the update, ask to be reminded later, or download/install it now.
If you want to check for an update in the background without the user seeing anything, use
var updateInfo = _sparkle.CheckForUpdatesQuietly();
If you want to have a menu item for the user to check for updates so the user can see the UI while NetSparkle looks for updates, use
_sparkle.CheckForUpdatesAtUserRequest();
If you have files that need saving, subscribe to the PreparingToExit event:
_sparkle.PreparingToExit += ((x, cancellable) =>
{
// ask the user to save, whatever else is needed to close down gracefully
});
Note that if you do not use a UIFactory
, you must use the CloseApplication
or CloseApplicationAsync
events to close your application; otherwise, your downloaded update file will never be executed/read! The only exception to this is if you want to handle all aspects of installing the update package yourself.
The file that launches your downloaded update executable only waits for 90 seconds before giving up! Make sure that your software closes within 90 seconds of CloseApplication/CloseApplicationAsync being called if you implement those events! If you need an event that can be canceled, such as when the user needs to be asked if it's OK to close (e.g. to save their work), use PreparingForExit
or PreparingToExitAsync
.
IUIFactory
; set SparkleUpdater.UIFactory
to utilize an instance of your object.
ICheckingForUpdates
for your UI that tells the user that SparkleUpdater
is checking for updatesIDownloadProgress
for your UI that shows the user that an update is being downloadedIUpdateAvailable
for your UI that shows the user that an update is available along with release notesIAppCastDataDownloader
to setup your own methods for downloading app cast data; set SparkleUpdater.AppCastDataDownloader
to utilize an instance of your object.. NetSparkle includes two implementations by default: WebRequestAppCastDataDownloader
for downloading app cast information from the internet at large, and LocalFileAppCastDownloader
for copying/"downloading" an app cast from a given pathIAppCastFilter
to do custom filtering on the AppCastItem
objects in your downloaded app cast, e.g. to only consider a given subset of items as valid updates for your application; set AppCastHelper.AppCastFilter
(SparkleUpdater.AppCastHelper.AppCastFilter
) to utilize an instance of your object. NetSparkle includes the ChannelAppCastFilter
class, which you can use to filter out items by a given product channel (e.g. alpha, beta) if your application utilizes those features.IAppCastGenerator
to control how app casts are serialized and deserialized; set SparkleUpdater.AppCastGenerator
to utilize an instance of your object. NetSparkle includes two implementations: XMLAppCastGenerator
, for XML serialization/deserialization; and JsonAppCastGenerator
, for JSON serialization/deserialization. The app cast generator CLI tool can also output both XML and JSON app casts.IAssemblyAccessor
to control how version, copyright, and other product details are loaded for your application; set Configuration.AssemblyAccessor
(SparkleUpdater.Configuration.AssemblyAccessor
) to utilize an instance of your object. NetSparkle contains a default implementation, AssemblyDiagnosticsAccessor
, which should work in the general case of loading data from a given assembly.ILogger
and set SparkleUpdater.LogWriter
. By default, the LogWriter
class is used (which has the LogWriterOutputMode
property to control whether the logs are written to Console
, Trace
, etc.)ISignatureVerifier
to change how your signatures for the app cast, downloads, etc. are handled; set SparkleUpdater.SignatureVerifier
to utilize an instance of your object.IUpdateDownloader
to setup your own methods for downloading and sending progress on app update files (e.g. installers) for a given app cast item; set SparkleUpdater.UpdateDownloader
to utilize an instance of your object.. NetSparkle includes two implementations by default: WebFileDownloader
(default) to download files from the web/internet, and LocalFileDownloader
for copying/"downloading" a file from a given path.Configuration
to change how certain NetSparkle information is saved and loaded - e.g., skipped version information. This class is the one that utilizes an IAssemblyAccessor
instance to save and load version information, product name, etc. NetSparkle contains three implementations: RegistryConfiguration
, which saves and loads info to the Windows registry (default on Windows); JSONConfiguration
, which saves and loads info to a JSON file (default on macOS/Linux); and DefaultConfiguration
, which does nothing and serves as a fallback in case JSONConfiguration
cannot find a valid file location to save and load data. To use the instance of your class, set SparkleUpdater.Configuration
.
RegistryConfiguration
lets you quickly change the registry path where items are saved via BuildRegistryPath
JSONConfiguration
lets you quickly change the file path where data is saved via GetSavePath
AppCastHelper
if you want full control over the app cast downloading and parsing process. Note that you can probably do everything you need to do via the AppCastHelper
properties (including IAppCastFilter AppCastFilter
), but subclassing will give you full, absolute control over the whole process. To use the instance of your class, set SparkleUpdater.AppCastHelper
.ReleaseNotesGrabber
to control the release notes downloading (and therefore display) process. To use an instance of your class, set UIFactory.ReleaseNotesGrabberOverride
.WebFileDownloader
if you don't want to implement IUpdateDownloader
yourself and just want to override a function or two such as CreateHttpClient
. To use an instance of your class, set SparkleUpdater.UpdateDownloader
.WebRequestAppCastDataDownloader
if you don't want to implement IAppCastDataDownloader
and just want to override a function or two such as CreateHttpClient
. To use an instance of your class, set SparkleUpdater.AppCastDataDownloader
.LogWriter
to implement the PrintMessage
function; because ILogger
is a pretty simple interface, you can probably just implement that interface yourself if your needs are complex. To use an instance of your class, set SparkleUpdater.LogWriter
.SparkleUpdater
to implement some different installation-related functions, including:
GetWindowsInstallerCommand
GetInstallerCommand
RunDownloadedInstaller
UIFactory
if you don't want to implement the entirety of the IUIFactory
interface yourself and just want to configure a function or two. To use an instance of your class, set SparkleUpdater.UIFactory
.IAppCastFilter
You can change how your app cast items are filtered through the AppCastHelper.AppCastFilter
property (via the IAppCastFilter
interface). This allows you to change what items are made available to your end users.
NetSparkle contains a built-in IAppCastFilter
implementation for channel-based filtering called ChannelAppCastFilter
. For some examples on how to use that class, see the unit tests here. Basically, set the List<string> ChannelSearchNames
property to the channels you want to filter by. If you want to keep items with no channel info (e.g. 1.2.3
) in it, set KeepItemsWithNoChannelInfo
to true
.
To actually set channels on your app cast items / in your app cast, use the --channel
property of the app cast CLI tool, or set the <Version>
property of your project file to the applicable semver-compatible version (e.g. <Version>1.0.2-beta1</Version>
), and the app cast CLI tool will pick up on this automatically. Or, if you're building your app cast manually, set the <sparkle:channel>YourChannelHere</sparkle:channel>
property on your <item>
(or, if using JSON, the channel
property).
NetSparkleUpdater does not have to be used with a UI at all. You can do everything yourself or even have the library run your downloaded update automatically by setting the SparkleUpdater.UserInteractionMode = UserInteractionMode.DownloadAndInstall
. This repo has a sample on doing things yourself without any pre-built UI in src/NetSparkle.Samples.HandleEventsYourself.
If you want a UI, we offer pre-built UIs in different NuGet packages with a small number of customizable options for WinForms, WPF, and Avalonia. The UIs are triggered via a IUIFactory
implementation, called UIFactory
in each of the built-in options. Most methods in the UIFactory
can be overridden if you want to tweak behavior, and the ProcessWindowAfterInit
lets you customize each window after it is made.
If you want to roll your own UI entirely, just implement the IUIFactory
interface with whatever UI library you want to use. You can copy or reuse view models, code, etc. from NetSparkleUpdater's prebuilt options, and copy+pasting code from this repo into your own is probably a good, quick way to start. Don't forget to set the SparkleUpdater.UIFactory
property with an instance of your IUIFactory
implementation, though!
Please note: NetSparkle basically makes no attempts to worry about threading (e.g. calling to the main thread) except for the background loop calling to the main thread that started the SparkleUpdater
instance. In other words, generally speaking, NetSparkle will do everything on the thread that originally created the SparkleUpdater
instance. For most apps, this will be fine as they are just using their main UI thread. When in doubt, for your own UI needs, make sure to check InvokeRequired
on WinForms, and on WPF/Avalonia, marshal things to the UI thread (unless you're using data binding in which case it's handled for you!).
Passing your own IUIFactory
implementation that starts windows/things on new threads into SparkleUpdater
is not a supported configuration. If you want to run your own UI on multiple threads (e.g. for WinForms to not have NetSparkleUpdater's windows close when the main form closes), do so using SparkleUpdater
's events and not the UIFactory
; please also see the src/NetSparkle.Samples.Forms.Multithread sample for a practical example of how to do this.
The app cast is just an XML or JSON file. It contains fields such as the title and description of your product as well as a definition per release of your software.
We strongly recommend that you make use of the netsparkle-generate-appcast tool to create (and later, re-create/update) the file because it can help take care of all signing requirements for you.
dotnet tool install --global NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.AppCastGenerator
netsparkle-generate-appcast
command. You can use netsparkle-generate-appcast --help
to see a full list of options for this tool.By default, NetSparkle uses Sparkle-compatible XML app casts for the most part. NetSparkle uses sparkle:signature
rather than sparkle:edSignature
so that you can choose how to sign your files/app cast. (If you want to use sparkle:edSignature
, pass --use-ed25519-signature-attribute
to the app cast generator.) Note that NetSparkle is compatible with and uses Ed25519 signatures by default, but the framework can handle a different implementation of the ISignatureVerifier
class to check different kinds of signatures without a major version bump/update.
Here is a sample XML app cast:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:sparkle="http://www.andymatuschak.org/xml-namespaces/sparkle" version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>NetSparkle Test App</title>
<link>https://netsparkleupdater.github.io/NetSparkle/files/sample-app/appcast.xml</link>
<description>Most recent changes with links to updates.</description>
<language>en</language>
<item>
<title>Version 2.0 (2 bugs fixed; 3 new features)</title>
<sparkle:releaseNotesLink>
https://netsparkleupdater.github.io/NetSparkle/files/sample-app/2.0-release-notes.md
</sparkle:releaseNotesLink>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
<enclosure url="https://netsparkleupdater.github.io/NetSparkle/files/sample-app/NetSparkleUpdate.exe"
sparkle:version="2.0"
sparkle:os="windows"
length="12288"
type="application/octet-stream"
sparkle:signature="NSG/eKz9BaTJrRDvKSwYEaOumYpPMtMYRq+vjsNlHqRGku/Ual3EoQ==" />
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
NetSparkle reads the <item>
tags to determine whether updates are available.
The important tags in each <item>
are:
<description>
<sparkle:releaseNotesLink>
tag.<sparkle:releaseNotesLink>
<description>
tag is present, it will be used instead.sparkle:signature
, optional: the DSA/Ed25519 signature of the document; NetSparkle does not check this signature for you unless you set ReleaseNotesGrabber.ChecksReleaseNotesSignature
to true
, but you may manually verify changelog signatures if you like or set ReleaseNotesGrabber.ChecksReleaseNotesSignature = true
in your UI.<pubDate>
sparkle:channel
: Channel for this app cast item, e.g. beta
(not required) - only accepts 1 channel<enclosure>
url
: URL of the update filesparkle:version
: machine-readable version number of this updatelength
, optional: (not validated) size of the update file in bytestype
: ignoredsparkle:signature
: DSA/Ed25519 signature of the update filesparkle:criticalUpdate
, optional: if equal to true
or 1
, the UI will indicate that this is a critical updatesparkle:os
: Operating system for the app cast item. Defaults to Windows if not supplied. For Windows, use "win" or "windows"; for macOS, use "macos" or "osx"; for Linux, use "linux".By default, you need 2 signatures (SecurityMode.Strict
):
sparkle:signature="..."
)Note: the app cast generator tool creates both of these signatures for you when it recreates the appcast.xml file.
You can generate Ed25519 signatures using the AppCastGenerator
tool (from this NuGet package or in the source code here). This tool requires the .NET 6, 7, or 8 Desktop Runtime to be installed. Please see below sections for options and examples on generating the Ed25519 keys and for using them when creating an app cast.
AppCastGenerator
tool (from this NuGet package or in the source code here) to easily create your app cast file. Available options are described below. You can install it on your CLI via dotnet tool install --global NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.AppCastGenerator
.string.Format
or similar is a wonderful thing).If you'd like to use a JSON app cast rather than XML:
--output-type json
when generating your app cast file via the app cast generatorSparkleUpdater.AppCastGenerator
to new JsonAppCastGenerator(mySparkleUpdater.LogWriter)
.JsonAppCastGenerator.HumanReadableOutput
property to false
.Missing some option you'd like to see? File an issue on this repo or add it yourself and send us a pull request!
--show-examples
: Print examples of usage to the console.--help
: Show all options and their descriptions.-a
/--appcast-output-directory
: Directory in which to write the output appcast.xml
file. Example use: -a ./MyAppCastOutput
-e
/--ext
: When looking for files to add to the app cast, use the given extension(s) when looking for files. Defaults to exe
. Example use: -e exe,msi
-b
/--binaries
: File path to directory that should be searched through when looking for files to add to the app cast. Defaults to .
. Example use: -b my/build/directory
-r
/--search-binary-subdirectories
: True to search the binary directory recursively for binaries; false to only search the top directory. Defaults to false
. Example use: -r
.--single-file
: Single file to add to app cast - if set, --binaries
, --ext
, etc. are all ignored. Helpful to use if your output file has no extension (e.g. is a unix executable). Example use: --single-file path/to/my/file
-f
/--file-extract-version
: Whether or not to extract the version of the file from the file's name rather than the file (e.g. dll) itself. Defaults to false
. Use when your files that will be downloaded by NetSparkleUpdater will have the version number in the file name, e.g. "My App 1.3.2-alpha1.exe". Note that this only searches the last four directory items/folders. Example use: -f true
--file-version
: Use to set the version for a binary going into an app cast. Note that this version can only be set once, so when generating an app cast, make sure you either: A) have only one binary in your app cast | B) Utilize the --reparse-existing
parameter so that old items get picked up. If the generator finds 2 binaries without any known version and --file-version
is set, then an error will be emitted. Example use: --file-version 1.3.2
-o
/--os
: Operating system that the app cast items belong to. String must include one of the following: windows
, mac
, linux
. Defaults to windows
. Example use: -o macos-arm64
; -o windows-x64
--description-tag
: Text to put in the app cast description tag/information. Defaults to "Most recent changes with links to updates". Example use: --description-tag "Hello I am a Cool App"
--link-tag
: Text to put in the app cast link
tag/information. Should be your app cast download URL if you use this. Example use: --link-tag https://mysite.com/coolapp/appcast.xml
-u
/--base-url
: Beginning portion of the URL to use for downloads. The file name that will be downloaded will be put after this portion of the URL. Example use: -u https://myawesomecompany.com/downloads
-l
/--change-log-url
: Beginning portion of the URL to use for your change log files. The change log file that will be downloaded will be put after this portion of the URL. If this option is not specified, then the change log data will be put into the app cast itself. Example use: -l https://myawesomecompany.com/changes
-p
/--change-log-path
: Path to the change log files for your software. These are expected to be in markdown format with an extension of .md
. The file name of the change log files must contain the version of the software, e.g. 1.3.2.md
. Example use: -p path/to/change/logs
. (Note: The generator will also attempt to find change logs whose file names are formatted like so: MyApp 1.3.2.md
.)--change-log-name-prefix
: Prefix for change log file names. By default, the generator searches for file names with the format "[Version].md". If you set this parameter to (for example) "My App Change Log", it will search for file names with the format "My App Change Log [Version].md" as well as "[Version].md".-n
/--product-name
: Product name for your software. Used when setting the title for your app cast and its items. Defaults to Application
. Example use: -n "My Awesome App"
-x
/--url-prefix-version
: Add the version number as a prefix to the file name for the download URL. Defaults to false. For example, if --base-url
is www.example.com/downloads
, your version is 1.4.2
, and your app name is MyApp.exe
, your download URL will become www.example.com/downloads/1.4.2/MyApp.exe
. Example use: -x true
.--key-path
: Path to NetSparkle_Ed25519.priv
and NetSparkle_Ed25519.pub
files, which are your private and public Ed25519 keys for your software updates, respectively. Example use: --key-path my/path/to/keys
SPARKLE_PRIVATE_KEY
and SPARKLE_PUBLIC_KEY
environment variables before running generate_appcast
. The tool prioritizes environment keys over keys sitting on disk!--signature-file-extension
: Extension (WITHOUT the .
) to use for the app cast signature file. Defaults to signature
. Example use: --signature-file-extension txt
.--output-file-name
: Output file name for the app cast with the .
or the extension. Extension is controlled by whether it is an xml or json output and is not configurable. Defaults to 'appcast'. Of course, you can always change this later on your own after the app cast has been generated; this option is only for convenience. Example use: --output-file-name super_app_download_info
.--use-ed25519-signature-attribute
: If true and doing XML output, the output signature attribute in the XML will be edSignature
rather than signature
to match the original Sparkle library. No effect on JSON app casts.--file-version
: Use to set the version for a binary going into an app cast. Note that this version can only be set once, so when generating an app cast, make sure you either: A) have only one binary in your app cast | B) Utilize the --reparse-existing
parameter so that old items get picked up. If the generator finds 2 binaries without any known version and --file-version
is set, then an error will be emitted.--critical-versions
: Comma-separated list of versions to mark as critical in the app cast. Must match version text exactly. E.g., "1.0.2,1.2.3.1".--reparse-existing
: Re-parse an existing app cast rather than overriding it and creating it anew. Skips versions already in the app cast, so if you deploy a new binary with the same version, you will need to manually edit your app cast to remove the old listing for the version you are re-deploying. Example use: --reparse-existing true
--overwrite-old-items
: Causes app cast items to be rewritten in the app cast if the a binary on disk with the same version number is found. In other words, if 1.0.1 is in the app cast already (either from reparsing or from another binary), and another 1.0.1 is found on disk, then the 1.0.1 data in the app cast will be rewritten based on the binary found. Note that this means that if you have multiple 1.0.1 versions on disk (which you shouldn't do...), the last one found will be the one in your app cast! Example use: --overwrite-old-items
--human-readable
: If true, makes the output app cast file human readable (newslines, indents). Example use: --human-readable true
--channel
: Name of release channel for any items added into the app cast. Should be a single channel; does not support multiple channels at once, e.g. beta,gamma
. Do not set if you want to use your release channel - if you set this to release
or stable
, those names/words will be treated as special channels and not as the stable channel. (Unless you want all your items to be in a specific channel, of course.) Example use: --channel beta
--output-type
: Output type for the app cast file (xml
or json
). Defaults to xml
. Example use: --output-type json
--public-key-override
: Public key override (ignores whatever is in the public key file) for signing binaries. This overrides ALL other public keys set when verifying binaries, INCLUDING public key set via environment variables! If not set, uses --key-path
(if set) or the default SignatureManager location. Not used in --generate-keys
or --export
. Example use: --public-key-override asoj341ljsdflj
--private-key-override
: Private key override (ignores whatever is in the private key file) for signing binaries. This overrides ALL other public keys set when verifying binaries, INCLUDING private key set via environment variables! If not set, uses --key-path
(if set) or the default SignatureManager location. Not used in --generate-keys
or --export
. Example use: --private-key-override asoj341ljsdflj
--generate-keys
: If set, will attempt to generate NEW Ed25519 keys for you. Can be used in conjunction with --key-path
. Once keys are successfully (or unsuccessfully) generated, the program ends without generating an app cast. By default, existing keys are not overwritten. This option defaults to false
.--force
: If set to true
, will overwrite existing keys on disk. WARNING: THIS COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF YOUR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE KEYS. USE WITH CAUTION. DO NOT USE IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! THIS WILL MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO BACK UP YOUR DATA. This option defaults to false
. Example use: --generate-keys --force true
.--export
: Export keys as base 64 strings to the console. Defaults to false
. Example use: --export true
. Output format:Private Key:
2o34usledjfs0
Public Key:
sdljflase;ru2u3
--generate-signature
: Generate a signature for a file and output it to the console. Example use: --generate-signature path/to/app/MyApp.exe
. Outputs in format: Signature: seljr13412zpdfj
.Note that these options are only for verifying Ed25519 signatures. For DSA signatures, please use the DSAHelper
tool. Both of the following options must be used together. You must have keys already generated in order to verify file signatures.
--verify
: Path to the file that has a signature you want to verify.--signature
: Base 64 signature of the file.Example use: --verify my/path/MyApp.exe --signature 123l4ijsdfzderu23
.
This will return either Signature valid
(signature is good!) or Signature invalid
(signature does not match file).
#### Key Generation
# Generate Ed25519 keys for the first time
netsparkle-generate-appcast --generate-keys
# Store keys in a custom location
netsparkle-generate-appcast --key-path path/to/store/keys
# Pass in public key via command line
netsparkle-generate-appcast --public-key-override [YourPublicKeyHere]
# Pass in private key via command line
netsparkle-generate-appcast --private-key-override [YourPrivateKeyHere]
# By default, your Ed25519 signatures are stored on disk in your local
# application data folder in a subdirectory called `netsparkle`.
# If you want to export your keys to the console, you can do:
netsparkle-generate-appcast --export
# You can also store your keys in the following environment variables:
# set public key: SPARKLE_PUBLIC_KEY
# set private key: SPARKLE_PRIVATE_KEY
#### Generate a signature for a binary without creating an app cast:
netsparkle-generate-appcast --generate-signature path/to/binary.exe
#### Verifying Binaries
netsparkle-generate-appcast --verify path/to/binary.exe --signature base_64_signature
#### Using a custom key location:
# If your keys are sitting on disk somewhere
# (`NetSparkle_Ed25519.priv` and `NetSparkle_Ed25519.pub` -- both
# in base 64 and both on disk in the same folder!), you can pass in
# the path to these keys like this:
netsparkle-generate-appcast --key-path path/to/keys/
#### Generating an app cast
# Generate an app cast for Windows executables that are sitting in a
# specific directory
netsparkle-generate-appcast -a directory/for/appcast/output/ -e exe -b directory/with/binaries/ -o windows
# Add change log info to your app cast
netsparkle-generate-appcast -b binary/folder -p change/log/folder
# Customize download URL for binaries and change logs
netsparkle-generate-appcast -b binary/folder -p change/log/folder -u https://example.com/downloads -p https://example.com/downloads/changelogs
# Set your application name for the app cast
netsparkle-generate-appcast -n "My Awesome App" -b binary/folder
# Use file versions in file names, e.g. for apps like "My App 1.2.1.dmg"
netsparkle-generate-appcast -n "macOS version" -o macos -f true -b binary_folder -e dmg
# Don't overwrite the entire app cast file
netsparkle-generate-appcast --reparse-existing
# Don't overwrite the entire app cast file, but do overwrite items that are still on disk
netsparkle-generate-appcast --reparse-existing --overwrite-old-items
Please see the UPGRADING.md file for information on breaking changes and fixes between major versions.
Nope. You can just reference the core library and handle everything yourself, including any custom UI. Check out the code samples for an example of doing that!
This isn't a built-in feature, as NetSparkleUpdater assumes that it can safely make calls/events to the UI on the thread that started the SparkleUpdater
instance. However, if you'd like to do this, we have a sample on how to do this: NetSparkle.Samples.Forms.Multithread
. Basically, instead of passing in a UIFactory
to SparkleUpdater
, you handle SparkleUpdater
's events yourself and show the UI however you want to show it - and yes, you can still use the built-in UI objects for this!
(Note that on Avalonia, the answer is always "No" since they only support one UI thread at this time.)
Yes. You need to start the NetSparkleUpdater
forms on a new thread(s). See the NetSparkle.Samples.Forms.Multithread
sample for how to do this by handling events yourself and still using the built-in WinForms UIFactory
.
See #238 and this documentation for the fix for making this work on the sample application. Basically, you need to use an app config file and manifest file to let Windows know that your application is DPI-aware. If that doesn't work for you, try some of the tips at this SO post.
Yes!
--os
command line parameter.macos-arm64
or windows-x64
rather than just macos
or windows
Trimming is a great way to reduce the file size of your application when it is self-published and/or built as a self-contained application. In short, trimming removes unused code from your applications, including external libraries, so you can ship your application with a reduced file size. To trim your application on publish, add <PublishTrimmed>true</PublishTrimmed>
to your csproj
file. If you want to trim all assemblies (including those that may not have specified they are compatible with trimming), add <TrimMode>full</TrimMode>
to your csproj
file; to only trim those that have opted-in, use <TrimMode>partial</TrimMode>
. To enable warnings for trimming, add <SuppressTrimAnalysisWarnings>false</SuppressTrimAnalysisWarnings>
.
There are other options to use, which you can learn more about on Microsoft's documentation here. For those applications that may not work with the built-in trimming options, please try Zack.DotNetTrimmer or other solutions you may find.
We recommend that you trim your application before publishing it and distributing it to your users. Some of NetSparkle's default dependencies are rather large, but the file size can be drastically reduced by the trim process. If you choose to trim your application, don't forget to test it after trimming and make sure you fix any warnings that come up!
You can also read more about trimming libraries here.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes. In the app cast generator, you can do things like, -u ../
to make NetSparkle check the directory above the server's appcast.xml
file for download files.
NetSparkleUpdater.SparkleUpdater
is the right package if you want the library with no built-in UI. Otherwise, use NetSparkleUpdater.UI.{YourChoiceOfUI}
, which will give you a built-in UI and the core library. Previous to 2.0, the UI libraries reference NetSparkle.New
, which is now deprecated.
Here is the full list of deprecated packages:
com.pikleproductions.netsparkle
-- replaced by NetSparkleUpdater.SparkleUpdater
com.pikleproductions.netsparkle.tools
-- replaced by NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.AppCastGenerator
and NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.DSAHelper
NetSparkle.New
-- replaced by NetSparkleUpdater.SparkleUpdater
NetSparkle.New.Tools
-- replaced by NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.AppCastGenerator
and NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.DSAHelper
NetSparkleUpdater.Tools
-- replaced by NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.AppCastGenerator
and NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.DSAHelper
No. If your app is just using NetSparkle to work out if there is a later release - and you are not using the app cast as a way to refer to historical versions of your app in any way - then you don't need to add all the released versions into the app cast file.
Having just the latest version of your software in the app cast has the added side effect that you won't need all the binaries & changelogs of all the versions to be available to the app cast generator tool. For example, this might make an automated release build easier via GitHub Actions - because the only data required is the generated .exe and changelogs from your git repository.
SecurityMode.Unsafe
or the following IAppCastHandler
override:public override bool DownloadAndParse()
{
try
{
_logWriter.PrintMessage("Downloading app cast data...");
var appCast = _dataDownloader.DownloadAndGetAppCastData(_castUrl);
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(appCast))
{
Items.Clear();
Items.AddRange(ParseAppCast(appcast));
return true;
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
_logWriter.PrintMessage("Error reading app cast {0}: {1} ", _castUrl, e.Message);
}
return false;
}
The answer is both yes and no. No, because that is not the default behavior. Yes, because if you use installers for each of your versions, you can use your app cast to see which previous versions are available and download those versions. If your installers are standalone, they should install an old version just fine. Just keep in mind that if you install an old version and then there is a newer version in your app cast, after opening the older software, it will ask them if they want to update to the newer version!
Here's a summary of what you can do:
SparkleUpdater
object_updateInfo = await _sparkle.CheckForUpdatesQuietly();
(no UI shown) or _sparkle.CheckForUpdatesAtUserRequest()
(shows UI). I would recommend checking quietly because the UI method will always show the latest version. You can always show your own UI._updateInfo.Updates
for the available versions in your app cast. You can compare it with your currently installed version to see which ones are new and which ones are old.await _sparkle.InitAndBeginDownload(update);
with the update you want to download. The download path is provided in the DownloadFinished
event._sparkle.InstallUpdate(update, _downloadPath);
The Handle Events Yourself sample and the Rollback sample will be very helpful to you in learning how to do these sort of things.
Yes. Implement IAppCastGenerator
and set the SparkleUpdater.AppCastGenerator
property to an instance of your class. You will have to implement the following methods:
AppCast DeserializeAppCast(string appCastString);
Task<AppCast> DeserializeAppCastAsync(string appCastString);
AppCast DeserializeAppCastFromFile(string filePath);
Task<AppCast> DeserializeAppCastFromFileAsync(string filePath);
string SerializeAppCast(AppCast appCast);
Task<string> SerializeAppCastAsync(AppCast appCast);
void SerializeAppCastToFile(AppCast appCast, string outputPath);
Task SerializeAppCastToFileAsync(AppCast appCast, string outputPath);
As you can see, many of those functions are small variants of the core serialization and deserialization processes that you want to accomplish. You can look at the implementation of JsonAppCastGenerator
and XMLAppCastGenerator
for implementation examples.
Yes. Implement IAppCastGenerator
and set the SparkleUpdater.AppCastGenerator
property to an instance of your class. You'll have to make the actual app cast file yourself, though, since the app cast generator is only currently compatible with XML and JSON.
Right now, we are compatible with version 11. If you need to make changes, you can use your own IUIFactory
implementation to fix any issues that come up.
DSA signatures are not recommended when using NetSparkleUpdater 2.0+. They are considered insecure!
You can still generate/use these signatures, however, using the DSAHelper
tool (from this NuGet package or in the source code here). Key generation only works on Windows because .NET Core 3 does not have the proper implementation to generate DSA keys on macOS/Linux; however, you can get DSA signatures for a file on any platform. If you need to generate a DSA public/private key, please use the DSAHelper tool on Windows like this:
netsparkle-dsa /genkey_pair
You can use the DSAHelper to get a signature like this:
netsparkle-dsa /sign_update {YourInstallerPackage.msi} {NetSparkle_PrivateKey_DSA.priv}
dotnet tool install --global NetSparkleUpdater.Tools.DSAHelper
netsparkle-dsa
commandPass a DSAChecker
into your SparkleUpdater
constructor rather than an Ed25519Checker
.
If your app has DSA signatures, the app cast generator uses Ed25519 signatures by default starting with preview 2.0.0-20200607001
. To transition to Ed25519 signatures, create an update where the software has your new Ed25519 public key and a NEW url for a NEW app cast that uses Ed25519 signatures. Upload this update with an app cast that has DSA signatures so your old DSA-enabled/containing app can download the Ed25519-enabled update. Then, future updates and app casts should all use Ed25519.
Here are some things you can do to figure out how to get your app running:
SparkleUpdater.LogWriter = new LogWriter(LogWriterOutputMode.Console)
and then watch your console output while debugging.Yes! Please help us make this library awesome!
NetSparkle is available under the MIT License.
Contributions are ALWAYS welcome! If you see a new feature you'd like to add, please open an issue to talk about it first, then open a PR for that implementation. If there's a bug you find, please open a PR with the fix or file an issue! Thank you!! :) You can also join us in our Gitter chat room!
An incomplete list of other projects related to software updating that you might want to look at if NetSparkleUpdater doesn't work for you: