Thanks man this helped me a lot! I made a few tweaks to your code and managed to get it working with electron 5.0.1. Here is the link to my github repo. Hope it will help someone.

https://github.com/mjakal/electron-auto-update

how can i ask to the users if they want to download the update or no?

Thanks man this helped me a lot! I made a few tweaks to your code and managed to get it working with electron 5.0.1. Here is the link to my github repo. Hope it will help someone.

https://github.com/mjakal/electron-auto-update

Thanks a lot. It really helped me.

@SimplyAhmazing how to pass parameter to release server and then check the params and then after some logic process send back the update url?

Command "node_modules/.bin/build" not found
Is this a lack of dependency packages?

Command "node_modules/.bin/build" not found
Is this a lack of dependency packages?

To me it's not clear in the doc how to run the commands. I got it working by adding a "scripts" section to my package.json file to execute the builder / http server.

Example for Windows:

  "scripts": {
    "dist": "electron-builder --win",
    "server": "http-server wwwroot/ -p 8080"
  },

Then on step #3 you would run:

npm run dist

Also note that since this gist was created Electron has changed the nodeIntegration default from true to false.
In order to see messages in the browser window, line 59 will need to be updated to the following:

win = new BrowserWindow({
    webPreferences: {
      nodeIntegration: true
      }
  });

can someone, please, tell me how to specify download path of updated version? actually it would be even better if i could just replace old version with a new one

const configOnDisk = await autoUpdater.configOnDisk.value
configOnDisk.url

Should return the root url.

const {info, provider} = await autoUpdater.getUpdateInfoAndProvider()
const downloadUrl = provider.baseUrl.href + info.path

Will return the .exe, .dmg, etc url. Though may be only there when an update is available.

const updateAvailable = await autoUpdater.isUpdateAvailable(info)

@gannons, thanks, man! i'm surprised where did you find this stuff anyway, i couldn't find a reference to any of this.
so, i was talking more like about an .exe path specified here - provider.updater.downloadedUpdateHelper.cacheDir. i guess i'm a bit confused now, where should updater install new version to?

okay, now i understand. earlier i deleted desktop shortcut and after updating versions it was never recreated, i was wondering why is that. so, it's because it remembers that you deleted shortcut and won't recreate it unless you uninstall the app and install it again.
therefore, updater automatically recreates installed .exe shortcut just like as you were manually installing new version. also if you don't use desktop shortcut, you can find installed .exe itself here - C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Local\Programs\{appName}

i actually have one more question, what does setFeedURL do? i thought it's the same as

"build": {
    "publish": [
      {
        "provider": "generic",
        "url": "http://localhost:8080/"
      }
    ]
}

in the package.json, but seems to be not the same thing. anyway, i couldn't set it right way, i've tried to do the following:
autoUpdater.setFeedURL({ url: 'http://localhost:8080/', provider: 'generic' })
it never worked, whereas the first example with package.json did work

@gannons, thanks, man! i'm surprised where did you find this stuff anyway

Looking through the source code.

i actually have one more question, what does setFeedURL do? i thought it's the same as

AFAIK that's the intention. But it's not a feature I use. You can view the source for it at

https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/blob/master/packages/electron-updater/src/AppUpdater.ts#L194

I am having issues with my auto update working properly. I believe I am missing one small detail and was hoping I could get some help here. I run npm run dist and I get a build output that looks like this.

I really only want the nsis-web folder I think and this is what it looks like.

Then I copy the files manually onto my server which looks like this. Hosted at this address http://testserver/img/username/.

When I run the application that I installed from my testserver address it doesn't pull in the updates or the updated version number. Is this due to the file being renamed each time I bump the version in package.json? Should the file keep the same name and just be overwritten, if so I don't exactly know how to do this. Or am I missing something else?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

package.json

{
  "name": "imaging-capture",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Imaging's Capture Software",
  "main": "main.js",
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC",
  "devDependencies": {
    "electron": "^8.2.0",
    "electron-builder": "^22.4.1"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "axios": "^0.19.2",
    "chokidar": "^3.3.1",
    "electron-updater": "^4.2.5"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "start": "electron .",
    "pack": "electron-builder --dir",
    "dist": "electron-builder",
    "postinstall": "electron-builder install-app-deps",
    "release": "build"
  },
  "build": {
    "appId": "ImagingCaptureID",
    "productName": "ImagingCapture",
    "win": {
      "target": "nsis-web",
      "icon": "build/icon.ico"
    },
    "files": [
      "**/*",
      "build/icon.ico"
    ],
    "publish": [
      {
        "provider": "generic",
        "url": "http://testserver/img/username/",
        "channel": "latest"
      }
    ]
  }
}

@JPorter44 it may be because you did not copy across lastest.yml. The updater uses this file to check for a new version.

@gannons I should have clarified, that I tried it both ways. The nsis-web folder had the .7z, latest.yml, and the .exe inside it. I have also tried putting the contents of nsis-web directly on the server as well (see image).

When I upload the new files I replace all 4 files is that what I should be doing?

As long as http://testserver/img/username/latest.yml can be downloaded you should, at least, be getting update events. They may be error events if the rest of the structure is incorrect.

You should be able to see these events on the console with

autoUpdater.logger = console;

@gannons How do I see these events with the console? I am packaging and deploying my app like it would be in production so I can't attach a debugger. I don't have a console window pop up when I run my application.

@gannons I got it working, I am not sure what the exact fix was, possibly a misconfiguration in my main.js (rookie mistake). Thanks for helping me out!

Skip app dependencies rebuild because platform is different Error: Cannot check wine version: Error: Exit code: ENOENT. spawn wine ENOENT at /Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/src/packager.ts:399:13 at Generator.throw (<anonymous>) From previous event: at checkWineVersion (/Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/out/packager.js:57:22) at /Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/src/packager.ts:207:17 From previous event: at Packager.doBuild (/Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/out/packager.js:335:11) at /Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/src/packager.ts:151:38 at Generator.next (<anonymous>) at processImmediate (internal/timers.js:456:21) From previous event: at Packager.build (/Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/out/packager.js:261:11) at /Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/src/builder.ts:214:40 at Generator.next (<anonymous>) From previous event: at build (/Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/out/builder.js:63:21) at Object.<anonymous> (/Users/elliotyan/Documents/me/updater-test/node_modules/electron-builder/out/cli/build-cli.js:68:41) at Module._compile (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1158:30) at Object.Module._extensions..js (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1178:10) at Module.load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1002:32) at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:901:14) at Function.executeUserEntryPoint [as runMain] (internal/modules/run_main.js:74:12) at internal/main/run_main_module.js:18:47

Hello, you can solve the problem, tell me how it went, I'm like the same problem.

[2020-06-01 10:32:16.327] [info] Checking for update
[2020-06-01 10:32:17.387] [info] Found version 2.0.0 (url: projeto-teste-Setup-2.0.0.exe)
[2020-06-01 10:32:17.400] [info] update-available
[2020-06-01 10:32:17.413] [info] Downloading update from projeto-teste-Setup-2.0.0.exe
[2020-06-01 10:32:17.435] [info] No cached update info available
[2020-06-01 10:32:17.485] [info] Download block maps (old: "http://localhost:8080/projeto-teste-Setup-1.0.0.exe.blockmap", new: http://localhost:8080/projeto-teste-Setup-2.0.0.exe.blockmap)
[2020-06-01 10:32:17.519] [error] Cannot download differentially, fallback to full download: Error: Cannot download "http://localhost/projeto-teste-Setup-1.0.0.exe.blockmap", status 404: Not Found
    at ClientRequest.<anonymous> (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\projeto-teste\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:129099)
    at ClientRequest.emit (events.js:194:13)
    at URLRequest.<anonymous> (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\projeto-teste\resources\electron.asar\browser\api\net.js:207:12)
    at URLRequest.emit (events.js:194:13)
[2020-06-01 10:32:17.552] [error] Error: Error: Cannot download "http://localhost/projeto-teste-Setup-2.0.0.exe", status 404: Not Found
    at ClientRequest.<anonymous> (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\projeto-teste\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:129099)
    at ClientRequest.emit (events.js:194:13)
    at URLRequest.<anonymous> (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\projeto-teste\resources\electron.asar\browser\api\net.js:207:12)
    at URLRequest.emit (events.js:194:13)
[2020-06-01 10:32:19.229] [info] Install on explicit quitAndInstall
[2020-06-01 10:32:19.253] [error] Error: Error: No valid update available, can't quit and install
    at m.install (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\projeto-teste\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:146629)
    at m.quitAndInstall (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\projeto-teste\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:146149)
    at Function.<anonymous> (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\projeto-teste\resources\app.asar\background.js:2:256574)

Estou usando o autoUpdater.setFeedURL no main.js

autoUpdater.setFeedURL({
    provider: 'generic',
    url: 'http://localhost:8080/'
  });
autoUpdater.checkForUpdates();

Cannot download differentially

I'm not familiar with that error but

fallback to full download: Error: Cannot download "http://localhost/projeto-teste-Setup-1.0.0.exe.blockmap", status 404: Not Found

Is due to the file not being present because it is searching for http://localhost rather than http://localhost:8080.

I'm not sure why this is the case. I suggest you check your dev-app-update.yml and package.json files and which url values are set in them.

I changed the logic, but another problem showing ...
I am configuring a local host according to .json below, remembering that I am using vue-cli-electron-builder.

{
  "name": "skeleton-vue-electron-update",
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "serve": "vue-cli-service serve",
    "build": "vue-cli-service build",
    "lint": "vue-cli-service lint",
    "electron:build": "vue-cli-service electron:build -w --publish=never",
    "electron:serve": "vue-cli-service electron:serve",
    "postinstall": "electron-builder install-app-deps",
    "postuninstall": "electron-builder install-app-deps"
  },
  "main": "background.js",
  "electron:build": {
    "copyright": "© App livre",
    "productName": "Esqueleto",
    "icon": "build/icon.png",
    "win": {
      "target": [
        {
          "target": "nsis",
          "arch": [
            "x64",
            "ia32"
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    "appId": "com.example.app",
    "publish": [
      {
        "provider": "generic",
        "url": "http://localhost:8080/"
      }
    ]
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "core-js": "^3.6.5",
    "electron-log": "^4.2.0",
    "electron-updater": "^4.3.1",
    "vue": "^2.6.11"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@vue/cli-plugin-babel": "~4.4.0",
    "@vue/cli-plugin-eslint": "~4.4.0",
    "@vue/cli-service": "~4.4.0",
    "babel-eslint": "^10.1.0",
    "electron": "^5.0.0",
    "eslint": "^6.7.2",
    "eslint-plugin-vue": "^6.2.2",
    "vue-cli-plugin-electron-builder": "~1.4.6",
    "vue-template-compiler": "^2.6.11"
  },
  "eslintConfig": {
    "root": true,
    "env": {
      "node": true
    },
    "extends": [
      "plugin:vue/essential",
      "eslint:recommended"
    ],
    "parserOptions": {
      "parser": "babel-eslint"
    },
    "rules": {}
  },
  "browserslist": [
    "> 1%",
    "last 2 versions",
    "not dead"
  ]
}

This is generating the latest.yml, when I locate the artifacts on localhost that my local server, the logs that update informs like this .....

[2020-06-02 15:26:37.083] [info] Checking for update
[2020-06-02 15:26:38.569] [error] Error: Error: No published versions on GitHub
    at e.newError (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\skeleton-vue-electron-update\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:5792)
    at s.element (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\skeleton-vue-electron-update\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:269416)
    at e.GitHubProvider.getLatestVersion (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\skeleton-vue-electron-update\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:142325)
    at processTicksAndRejections (internal/process/task_queues.js:86:5)
    at async m.getUpdateInfoAndProvider (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\skeleton-vue-electron-update\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:68695)
    at async m.doCheckForUpdates (C:\Users\brenno\AppData\Local\Programs\skeleton-vue-electron-update\resources\app.asar\background.js:1:68981)

If anyone can try an additional force effort, follow or git to test,

https://github.com/brennomarques/skeleton-vue-electron-update

I'm not familiar with the "electron:build" and use "build" myself. I don't if that matters as they could be aliases.

Regardless Error: No published versions on GitHub is thrown when the GitHub provider is selected. In your package you've set

"publish": [
  {
    "provider": "generic", <<--
    "url": "http://localhost:8080/"
  }
]

which implies this setting is not taking effect.

manage to resolve, but in another way. now it's working. a vue-config.js was created, in that file it was put all the configuration of the build. thank you very much for your attention.

I'll leave the link to the code, in case any future doubt.

https://github.com/brennomarques/skeleton-vue-electron-update

With a newer electron and electron-updater versions, the http-server is not queried anymore.

Any idea how to make it work?

{
  "name": "electron-updater-generic-example",
  "version": "3.0.0",
  "main": "main.js",
  "description": "electron-updater generic example project",
  "author": "Matt Haggard",
  "license": "MIT",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "electron .",
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1",
    "build": "electron-builder build --win --x64",
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "electron": "^9.0.3",
    "electron-builder": "^22.7.0",
    "http-server": "^0.9.0"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "electron-log": "^1.3.0",
    "electron-updater": "^4.3.1"
  },
  "build": {
    "publish": [
      {
        "provider": "generic",
        "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8080/"
      }
    ],
    "appId": "test",
    "nsis": {
      "perMachine": true
    }
  }
}

Hello, I have a skeleton that can help you, follow the link, it's running on Windows, Linux, Mac.

https://github.com/brennomarques/electron-update

Hello.

You can do this in a few ways ... I in particular use vue-cli-plugin-electron-builder, electron with vuejs, but you can use only electron first to understand how it works. I am leaving a link that I did this working well, however some details are missing, I am here to help you get noticed.
https://github.com/brennomarques/electron-update.

*https://github.com/nklayman/vue-cli-plugin-electron-builder
*https://github.com/brennomarques/electron-update
*https://www.electron.build/

@brennomarques

Appreciate the sample app, everything works perfectly.