Linux: Embed AppImage update information

[shuvashish76]

The feature request

When trying to update via AppImageUpdate

This is a common standard for updating AppImages.
AppImage having update information would also recognized by other software e.g. AppImageLauncher

Proposed solution

info:

• https://github.com/AppImageCommunity/AppImageUpdate#update-information-overview
• https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageSpec/blob/master/draft.md#update-information

Additional context

No response

[pol-rivero]

Thanks for the suggestion.
I would recommend using either your distro's specific package (recommended) or the flatpak. The AppImage release is not recommended.

I did a quick search online and didn't find an easy way to add this update information using electron-builder, but if you know of a way to do it, feel free to submit a PR.

[shuvashish76]

The AppImage release is not recommended.

I discovered the fork while adding to AM/AppMan package manager ivan-hc/AM#2047, which is specifically targeted for managing AppImages 🫣

I did a quick search online and didn't find an easy way to add this update information using electron-builder.

Isn't it possible with official appimagetool as mentioned there?
No idea ping @ivan-hc for info.

[pol-rivero]

I discovered the fork while adding to AM/AppMan package manager ivan-hc/AM#2047, which is specifically targeted for managing AppImages 🫣

Ah I see, in that case dismiss my previous comment. The reason I don't recommend AppImage is that I'm not as familiar with them.

Isn't it possible with official appimagetool as mentioned there?

I would prefer using electron-builder, but according to this, it is not supported. Extracting and re-packing with appimagetool seems fragile, but it might be the only way.

[ivan-hc]

Hi @pol-rivero

if you need a guide, see my comment here warreth/OpenlibExtended#56 (comment)

@shuvashish76 please, copy my comment so others can use the same steps to add delta updates.

[ivan-hc]

We need a guide that explain as easy how to add update info in the AppImages, like this.

[pol-rivero]

@ivan-hc Thanks for the quick guide on how to add this information.

In your command:

ARCH=x86_64 appimagetool -u "$UPINFO" AppDir "$APPNAME"_"$VERSION"-x86_64.AppImage

What is this AppDir, exactly? Do I need to replace it with something, or leave it as is?

Also, if I'm understanding the docs correctly, the latest part in UPINFO is not an actual git tag but rather a keyword that always fetches the most recent release. Is that correct?

[ivan-hc]

What is this AppDir, exactly?

AppDir may have a different name. It is the directory containing all files of your AppImage.

If you extract an appimage using --appimage-extract you should have a squashfs-root directory as result. That is an AppDir.

But you can give it the name you prefer.

Also, if I'm understanding the docs correctly, the latest part in UPINFO is not an actual git tag but rather a keyword that always fetches the most recent release. Is that correct?

Yes, it is an example how I distribute three different packages in the same repo, here https://github.com/ivan-hc/GNOME3-appimages/blob/55bd8b69a1de62df0d27bb4592032ae4879a261c/builder.sh#L177

In this case I set

TAG="$APP"

...because in that repo i have three different tags, one for each app.

But sometime there are many other variants of the same program, and each needs its unique key.

For example, my AppImages of Chromium https://github.com/ivan-hc/Chromium-Web-Browser-appimage

Same script, same tag... but keyword is different

https://github.com/ivan-hc/Chromium-Web-Browser-appimage/blob/5a8fb5a3947c86aa5f0d4bf4c4a01ebc40a94ce1/chromium-snap.sh#L46

As you can see, here I use $CHANNEL

"gh-releases-zsync|$GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER|Chromium-Web-Browser-appimage|continuous|*-$CHANNEL-*x86_64.AppImage.zsync"

...while $TAG is replaced by "continuous".

All 4 variants of Chromium are on the same tag.

But the update info only answers to the different value of $CHANNEL I have given in the file name.

https://github.com/ivan-hc/Chromium-Web-Browser-appimage/blob/5a8fb5a3947c86aa5f0d4bf4c4a01ebc40a94ce1/chromium-snap.sh#L50-L72

This is the result

But its not your case. You only have one app to distribute in your repository.

[pol-rivero]

I've added the .zsync generation in e59379d. In the next release we'll see if it worked.

[pol-rivero]

This is now available on v3.5.5-alpha6. Please check if the update information is embedded correctly.

[ivan-hc]

Perfect 👍