@waypointnull/auto-update

Message-only electron-updater wiring for the family desktop apps (UsagiAI, Akumu, Tsuki).

This package owns the update machinery and nothing else: it checks for updates, downloads only on explicit consent, and talks to the front-end over IPC. It ships no UI — each app renders its own dialogs (shadcn AlertDialog on the Vue client).

Pure Electron-main glue, zero runtime dependencies of its own.

Install

npm install @waypointnull/auto-update electron-updater

electron-updater is a peer dependency; declare it in your app's dependencies too so electron-builder packages it and generates app-update.yml from your publish config.

Message contract

| Direction | Channel | Payload | Meaning | | --------- | ------------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------- | | main→ui | update:available | { version } | a newer version exists | | main→ui | update:downloaded | { version } | the new version is on disk | | ui→main | update:respond | "download" | "restart" | "later" | the user's choice |

• Nothing downloads until the front-end replies "download" (autoDownload: false).
• "restart" quits and installs. "later" does nothing (a completed download installs on quit).
• On start it silently checks after a debounce (default 4 s, override delayMs).

Main-process wiring

const { setupAutoUpdate } = require('@waypointnull/auto-update');

setupAutoUpdate({
  onError: (error) => console.log('auto-update:', error.message)
});

In dev (unpackaged) everything stays inert — setupAutoUpdate returns null.

Preload bridge (standalone window only)

The renderer is sandboxed (contextIsolation, no nodeIntegration), so expose a tiny bridge:

const { contextBridge, ipcRenderer } = require('electron');
contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('updateBridge', {
  onUpdateAvailable: (cb) => ipcRenderer.on('update:available', (_e, info) => cb(info)),
  onUpdateDownloaded: (cb) => ipcRenderer.on('update:downloaded', (_e, info) => cb(info)),
  respond: (choice) => ipcRenderer.send('update:respond', choice)
});

Front-end

Render your own dialogs. Guard on the bridge so hub mode (no Electron) never shows them:

if (window.updateBridge) {
  window.updateBridge.onUpdateAvailable((info) => showDownloadDialog(info));
  window.updateBridge.onUpdateDownloaded((info) => showRestartDialog(info));
  // buttons call window.updateBridge.respond('download' | 'restart' | 'later')
}

License

WaypointNull Community License v1.0