Sparkle 2

Secure and reliable software update framework for macOS.

This is the upcoming new version of Sparkle. Major new features are support for sandboxing, custom user interfaces, updating external bundles, and a more modern architecture which includes faster and more reliable installs.

Sparkle 2 is currently in beta, but is almost ready for official release. Applications, typically sandboxed, have already been using it in production though. Pre-releases can be found on the Sparkle's Releases. More nightly builds can be downloaded by selecting a recent workflow run and downloading the corresponding Sparkle-distribution artifact.

The current status of Sparkle is tracked by its roadmap.

Please visit Sparkle's website for up to date documentation on using and migrating over to Sparkle 2. Refer to Changelog for a more detailed list of changes. More internal design documents can be found in Documentation.

Features

• Seamless. There's no mention of Sparkle; your icons and app name are used.
• Secure. Updates are verified using EdDSA signatures and Apple Code Signing. Supports Sandboxed applications in Sparkle 2.
• Fast. Supports delta updates which only patch files that have changed and atomic-safe installs.
• Easy to install. Sparkle requires no code in your app, and only needs static files on a web server.
• Customizable. Sparkle 2 supports plugging in a custom UI for updates.
• Supports applications, package installers, preference panes, and other plug-ins.
• Handles permissions, quarantine, and automatically asks for authentication if needed.
• Uses RSS-based appcasts for release information. Appcasts are a de-facto standard supported by 3rd party update-tracking programs and websites.
• Stays hidden until second launch for better first impressions.
• Truly self-updating — the user can choose to automatically download and install all updates in the background.
• Ability to use channels for beta updates (in Sparkle 2), add phased rollouts to users, and mark updates as critical or major.
• Progress and status notifications for the host app.

Requirements

• Runtime: macOS 10.11 or greater
• Build: Latest major Xcode (stable or beta, whichever is latest) and one major version less.
• HTTPS server for serving updates (see App Transport Security)

Usage

See getting started guide. No code is necessary, but a bit of Xcode configuration is required.

Development

This repository uses git submodules, and will not build unless you clone recursively. Also, GitHub-provided ZIP/tar archives are broken due to GitHub not supporting git submodules properly.

git clone https://github.com/sparkle-project/Sparkle
git submodule update --init --recursive

Troubleshooting

• Please check Console.app for logs under your application. Sparkle prints detailed information there about all problems it encounters. It often also suggests solutions to the problems, so please read Sparkle's log messages carefully.

• Use the generate_appcast tool which creates appcast files, correct signatures, and delta updates automatically.

• Make sure the URL specified in SUFeedURL is valid (typos/404s are a common error!), and that it uses modern TLS (test it).

API symbols

Sparkle is built with -fvisibility=hidden -fvisibility-inlines-hidden which means no symbols are exported by default. If you are adding a symbol to the public API you must decorate the declaration with the SU_EXPORT macro (grep the source code for examples).

Building the distribution package

cd to the root of the Sparkle source tree and run make release. Sparkle-VERSION.tar.xz (or .bz2) will be created in a temporary directory and revealed in Finder after the build has completed.

Alternatively, build the Distribution scheme in the Xcode UI.

Code of Conduct

We pledge to have an open and welcoming environment. See our Code of Conduct.