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Sparkle: A software update framework for macOS
- ThePowerOfFuet 3y agoThe one and only. Everything else is garbage in comparison.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- dewey 3y agoMaybe I‘m weird, but for some reason seeing a Sparkle „Update available“ modal popping up fils me with joy (The software I‘m using is getting better) and I enjoy reading the changelog. If there’s some weird custom updater in another software it always fills me with dread because I have to navigate a different UI, and probably have to restart it immediately.
- wingerlang 3y agoI don't think that's weird, I enjoy those as well. So much so that I have a newsletter where I post changelogs of various apps that had updates in the past week (https://buttondown.email/appsandupdates https://buttondown.email/appsandupdates). Adding apps is a slow process but I'm starting to see quite a bit of repeated apps so I'll have to speed it up.
- dewey 3y agoIs anyone really interested in reading the detailed changelog for apps they don't use?
- wingerlang 3y agoIn practice it's more of a software discovery email, with the added bonus of knowing that they are being worked on actively, and finding out what sort of things they are working on at the same time. It's not really about "bug fixes and improvements" and I trim those out if I have time.
- eddi 3y agoIn the latest newsletter „Clean my Mac X“ is listed. I always assumed that this is some form of malware, because they advertise so aggressively. Does it really make sense to „clean“ your mac?
- wingerlang 3y agoIt cleans it in terms of identifying large files, duplicate files/images, shows you caches for apps, uninstaller, which apps and files are old and never/rarely used. And so on. It's more of a convenience tool than anything. Don't recall other features. I think there is a certain type of company that go for fairly generic(named) software with a lot of SEO and marketing to be able to earn a lot of money. I guess there is a venn diagram of malware creators where this applies too but I don't think they are. They are also the developers behind SetApp. I mean, that's a pretty mainstream/famous app(store?) so they collaborate directly with loads of developers/companies to distribute their apps in SetApp. If that counts for something.
- nth_order 3y agoAgreed, their marketing can really sketch one out but CleanMyMac X is tremendously useful. I use almost every function it has once it a while. The app updater for example, it not only updates Sparkle apps but also lists outdated Mac App Store apps. The MAS itself fails to list those updates for some reason most of the time in its "Updates" pane.
- adamomada 3y agoThe modal popup is the single thing I can’t stand about sparkle updates. Why oh why can’t they use the regular notification system and respect DND. It always seems so random as well, it’s not when the application starts or quits, just some rando timer polling for updates to surprise me with an interruption I can’t ignore
- veeti 3y agoNothing worse than starting iTerm and typing half a command when suddenly this thing interrupts you.
- zZorgz 3y agoModern versions of Sparkle are a less random in when to show the update alert (lots of software, iTerm including, use ancient versions of Sparkle) DND is not properly/reliably detectable for 3rd parties. Support for Notification Center is not well designed for a framework to control and works as an auxiliary/supplemental (not primary) functionality for 3rd parties, so apps themselves would have to opt into using it along with adding a lightweight UI indicator which may need to be tailored to the app in question. Further support is available for apps to support more gentle reminders -- https://sparkle-project.org/documentation/gentle-reminders/ https://sparkle-project.org/documentation/gentle-reminders/ which is a mechanism that iTerm developer wanted but developer has other priorities. Users can opt into automatically downloading/installing updates too which may minimize prompts
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- watk 3y agoThis looks great. What would be the equivalent of this on Windows? It feels like everyone just invents their own.
- jhfdbkofdchk 3y agoWell, someone made something inspired by Sparkle for Windows, https://winsparkle.org https://winsparkle.org
- usrusr 3y agoOn Windows, chances are that once you have a working installer you will be so deeply stockholmed that the idea that updates might go any other way than through a future incarnation of that installer is completely alien to you. That being said, I think the way sparkle (and winsparkle, see sibling) present themselves looks delightfully NSIS (the good parts)
- marcellus23 3y agoThere's a version of Sparkle for Windows. I have no idea why apps don't adopt it. I am constantly amazed and frustrated at how many apps I use on Windows have the following update process: 1. Pops up an alert telling me an update is available 2. I click a link in the alert opening my browser, taking me to a webpage full of links for different OSes and different architectures, which I have to search through to find Windows Intel x64 3. Wait to download the new version and then open it up 4. Spend 30 seconds clicking through a Windows Installer Absolutely bonkers, especially considering some of these apps seem to release on an agile biweekly schedule. I usually procrastinate downloading updates because it's such a pain in the ass -- and that's not what you want your users to be doing.
- daveoc64 3y agoI tried looking for something like Sparkle on Windows a few weeks ago. Now I know it exists - thanks!
- accoil 3y agoI sometimes see Squirrel[^1] used in Windows apps. Looks like it's used by Electron[^2], so maybe that's why. [1]: https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows/tree/develop/docs https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows/tree/develop/do... [2]: https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/docs/api/auto-updater.md https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/docs/api/auto...
- prmoustache 3y agoAre you telling me macOS doesn't have a package manager already?
- pantulis 3y agoIn terms of apps no, it doesn't or basically it is the Mac App Store. You basically publish your app with all the dependencies and target a specific OS version which guarantees certain baseline frameworks. Apart from that, any update means publishing a new version to the App Store (if you are there). If you are self hosting the app, you need something like Sparkle to trigger app updates. In terms of proper package management a la yum or apt, there is homebrew of course.
- prmoustache 3y agoOK so basically the point is to avoid Mac App Store fees and independence to third party project like homebrew. Doesn't that leads to the situation on windows where every single app is phoning home at startup?
- masklinn 3y agoWell the original point is that sparkle predates MAS by more than a decade, and the MAS limitations are a bigger issue than the fees. > Doesn't that leads to the situation on windows where every single app is phoning home at startup? Sparkle has a very clear and regular behaviour, its predictability and widespread use made it easy to manage.
- madeofpalk 3y agoAs a more technical user who is aware of Sparkle, I recognise the Sparkle updater and I appreciate it. In fact, I miss this on Windows, where each app updates differently, and most will just throw you annoyingly to the install wizard all over again.
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- Hamuko 3y agoI've had to implement Sparkle once in a macOS app and it was actually quite simple. It also doesn't really take much more than an S3 bucket to facilitate updates. And as a user, it's a great user experience that updates are handled in a similar manner in almost all of the apps that I install. Great piece of software.
- Y-bar 3y agoAs a consumer of Mac OS software thank you! Seeing a Sparkle dialogue is such a nicety and it makes me feel good.
- fifafu 3y agoI have been using Sparkle in my apps for almost 15 years now (for millions of updates). It has always worked perfectly well for me. Really great project and still very active.
- systemz 3y agoI instantly recognized screenshot in README.md Thanks to this thread I now know name of software that helps bring updates to a lot of apps I use daily. Big kudos to all contributors of Sparkle, you all make our lives easier!
- sgottit 3y agohuge fan and user of Sparkle. a while back I wrote a wrapper around it for automatically creating a changelog, signing software etc and its worked perfectly for years https://replay.software/bump https://replay.software/bump
- TheAceOfHearts 3y agoNowadays I just run `brew update; brew upgrade` and everything gets updated, including casks.
- Brajeshwar 3y agoYou might want to cleanup and call the doctor just in case. :-) brew update; brew upgrade; brew cleanup; brew doctor
- jshier 3y agoAnd no need for `brew update` unless you've turned automatic updates off.
- anbotero 3y agoIt has a timeframe, though, so while it does automatically update every so often, it’s not every time you run `upgrade` or `install`, so running the `brew update` makes sure your OCD matches your needs.
- anbotero 3y agoSimilar, just without the `doctor`. That one I only run it like once a month. For the other one, I got my alias, haha: buuc
- bartekpacia 3y agoI always do: brew update && brew upgrade && brew cleanup && brew autoremove
- asadhaider 3y agoWhat about brew upgrade --cask for apps?
- belthesar 3y agoFor us technology slinging types, homebrew is indeed great. Sparkle updates are indeed fantastic for the average user however. I think I'd be interested in learning how many average users install software outside of the Mac App Store these days.
- longnguyen 3y agoSparkles is a godsend. I use it on all my indie apps and it saves so much time. The best part is I could release with confidence knowing that I don’t have to ask for AppStore Review for each release. The new version with delta updates and flags for critical updates is amazing. 10/10
- graemep 3y agoThanks for that. As someone who is not a Mac user, let alone a developer, was wondering why it is useful given app stores exist.
- haqlootydoot 3y ago*Sparkle. Please learn proper English.
- LoganDark 3y agoUsername checks out.
- freedomben 3y ago[flagged]
- whalesalad 3y agoYou cannot possibly be serious? This is absolutely brilliant if it is sarcasm. Sparkle has been around for what feels like decades. It was around long before the app store even existed. It has been the defacto way to update apps for a long time. You have probably used it a half dozen times without realizing it.
- ZekeSulastin 3y agoIt’s an obvious strawman of arguments in favor of the iOS App Store.
- freedomben 3y agoIt's not my serious argument, but it's not intended as a strawman. Please, I genuinely would like to know, why do those arguments apply to iOS but not to macOS? Where do you see a strawman in what I wrote?
- RedComet 3y agoThey don't apply to iOS either. It isn't their device once someone else purchases it. Furthermore, not allowing "sideloading" and bootloader unlocking is wrong. And I'd like to see EU and other governments crack down on Apple following Apple's scummy pseudocompliance with the DMA.
- freedomben 3y agoThanks, I fully agree with you, but I'm interested in hearing from someone who does think they apply to iOS but not to macOS. I'm very curious to know how they reconcile that. I suspect it will be a helpful insight into the way they think
- 3y ago
- daniel_sim 3y agoas a user, I have always loved when apps use sparkle.
- stevoski 3y agoThis makes me somewhat nostalgic for the days when I would regularly encounter software that used Sparkle for updates. The days when I’d mostly use downloadable native software for my Mac. The days when most of the software I regularly used had a somewhat consistent UX.
- whalesalad 3y agoI miss Adium.
- kergonath 3y agoIndeed. That thing was a gem.
- Angostura 3y agoI miss the world in which software like Adium was possible
- parl_match 3y agoIt still is. Matrix, and other federated platforms, are exploding in popularity. You could start here, if you are interested, to get a taste: https://matrix.org/docs/chat_basics/matrix-for-im/#creating-a-matrix-account https://matrix.org/docs/chat_basics/matrix-for-im/#creating-...
- mirashii 3y agoI don't think this is what was meant by Adium being possible. At its peak, Adium acted as a single frontend to many different instant messaging networks to provide you a single user interface for chat. Today, we've regressed to a point where this is no longer really feasible; every network requires its own client.
- aesh2Xa1 3y agoMatrix has bridges, which allow you to send/receive messages to other services like Slack or Discord. https://matrix.org/ecosystem/bridges/ https://matrix.org/ecosystem/bridges/
- incanus77 3y agoI used to author two indie Mac apps ~15 years ago, right around when Sparkle came out. It was a joy to add to my projects, a model to learn about great Cocoa framework programming, and still is always pleasant for me as a user. Huge independent success story on the Mac.
- brainzap 3y agoI once made a fork of it that used github releases for updates, I wonder if I still have it.
- tomovo 3y agoThat would be interesting. I wonder if it could be used with an internal Gitea instance too?
- hermitcrab 3y agoI write software for Mac and Windows (in C++/Qt). I put each new release out as a separate application for the user to install. Is there some equivalent to Sparkle that runs on both Mac AND Windows, so I don't have to integrate a separate system on each OS? Also I worry about update frameworks as way for bad guys to do bad things via my software. Should I be worried?
- hermitcrab 3y agoAh, I see https://winsparkle.org/ https://winsparkle.org/ is a thing.
- gwbas1c 3y agoWindows installation system is so fundamentally different that it's hard to have a 1-size-fits-all update mechanism. When I shipped a cross-platform application, we used Sparkle on Mac, and a simple utility that downloaded and ran an MSI file for Windows. In general, I wouldn't worry too much about Sparkle being a vulnerability. It requires that your download servers are hacked: https://9to5mac.com/2017/05/08/handbrake-trojan-mac-malware-infected/ https://9to5mac.com/2017/05/08/handbrake-trojan-mac-malware-...
- hermitcrab 3y agoCurrently I used Inno Setup to create a .exe installer on Windows and DropDMG to create a .dmg image on Mac. Presumably Sparkle and Winsparkle both use a similar update mechanism and that doesn't involve full Windows or Mac installers (otherwise, what would be the point?).
- gwbas1c 3y agoSparkle works with a .dmg file, so you'd probably continue using DropDMG. I can't speak much for Winsparkle; I remember looking at it and immediately concluding that it wouldn't work for us. (FWIW: I ended up slipping in a few hacks so we could pop open browser windows on specific versions and commits, and even remotely kill them if needed.)
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- leovander 3y agoHere's someone's write up on setting it up in their application. I think I found this in a previous thread about Sparkle. https://troz.net/post/2023/sparkle/ https://troz.net/post/2023/sparkle/
- apple4ever 3y agoLove Sparkle! Both as a user and a developer of apps (I'd never sell in the Mac App Store due to Apple's consumer unfriendly policies). It works so well and is so easy to setup.
- markx2 3y agoCaused me to remember Growl https://growl.github.io/growl/ https://growl.github.io/growl/
- mahbran10 3y ago[dead]
- simondotau 3y agoRelevant and related is the free (donations accepted) program called Latest.app which scans your installed applications and summarises all apps which use Sparkle and have available updates. It's neat. https://max.codes/latest/ https://max.codes/latest/