TomLabs.AutoUpdate 0.3.2

TomLabs.AutoUpdate

Self-update for portable .NET desktop apps — no installer, no helper process.

• Sources: GitHub Releases (stable = latest release, nightly = rolling nightly pre-release) or a latest.json manifest on any HTTPS server.
• Verification: every asset carries a SHA-256 in the manifest; unverified builds are refused.
• Apply: the running App.exe is renamed to App.exe.old, the new one copied in and started with --updated; the .old file is the rollback and is removed on the next healthy start.
• Channels: a build with a -nightly.<sha> version suffix follows the nightly channel, a release follows stable; the user can switch.
• UI: TomLabs.AutoUpdate.Avalonia ships an UpdateBanner ("v1.2.0 available · Update") and a view model.

Use in an app

Both packages are on nuget.org:

<PackageReference Include="TomLabs.AutoUpdate.Avalonia" Version="0.3.2" />  
<PackageReference Include="TomLabs.AutoUpdate" Version="0.3.2" />           

// App.axaml.cs, OnFrameworkInitializationCompleted
Updater.Start(new UpdateOptions("IISBlitz", new GitHubReleasesSource("TomasBouda", "IISBlitz"))
{
    Channel = settings.UpdateChannel,                 // null = follow the build
    ChannelChanged = ch => { settings.UpdateChannel = ch; settings.Save(); },
    Log = message => logger.Information(message),
    ExitApplication = () => desktop.Shutdown(),
});

<StyleInclude Source="avares://TomLabs.AutoUpdate.Avalonia/Themes/Default.axaml"/>


<update:UpdateBanner/>

Override UpdateBannerBackground, UpdateBannerBorder, UpdateBannerForeground, UpdateBannerAccent, UpdateBannerAccentSoft and UpdateBannerError in Application.Resources to match your palette.

Publish with the reusable workflow

jobs:
  nightly:
    uses: TomasBouda/TomLabs.AutoUpdate/.github/workflows/publish-app.yml@master
    with:
      project: src/App/App.csproj
      app-name: App          # must equal UpdateOptions.AppName
      channel: nightly       # or stable, from a tag workflow

The workflow publishes <App>-<rid>.zip per RID plus update.json:

{
  "name": "App", "version": "0.5.0-nightly.78a63f7", "commit": "…", "channel": "nightly",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-15T16:48:00Z", "notesUrl": "https://github.com/…/releases/tag/nightly",
  "assets": [ { "rid": "win-x64", "file": "App-win-x64.zip", "sha256": "…", "size": 20786796, "executable": "App.exe" } ]
}

The version must come from the build (<VersionPrefix> in the csproj; the workflow appends -nightly.<sha> for the nightly channel) — the updater reads AssemblyInformationalVersion.

Signed manifests (optional, recommended)

Generate a key pair once (openssl ecparam -name prime256v1 -genkey -noout -out private.pem, openssl ec -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pem), store the private key as the UPDATE_SIGNING_KEY secret of each app repository and pass it to the workflow:

    uses: TomasBouda/TomLabs.AutoUpdate/.github/workflows/publish-app.yml@master
    with: { … }
    secrets:
      signing-key: ${{ secrets.UPDATE_SIGNING_KEY }}

Embed the public key in the app (PublicKeyPem = "-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----…") and every manifest must then carry a valid update.json.sig; a missing or tampered signature rejects the update.

Private feeds

UpdateOptions.AccessToken is sent as Authorization: Bearer … with every manifest and download request. A private app on the TomLabs app store ("private": true in its appstore.json) answers 404 to anonymous requests, so its updater needs one of the store's download tokens here; on GitHub a fine-grained token with contents: read reaches the releases of a private repository the same way.

Rollback

The previous executable stays as App.exe.old until the new build reports a healthy start — call Updater.Current?.MarkHealthy() once the main window is up (or it is assumed after 60 s). If the new build dies before that, the next launch restores the previous version automatically.

Requirements

• The app runs from a writable folder (portable exe). Program Files without elevation is refused with a clear reason; the banner then stays hidden.
• .NET 10, trimming-safe (System.Text.Json source generation); the banner needs Avalonia 11.3.18 or newer.