AutoUpdater - Self-Updating C++ Library

A modern C++ library for seamless self-updating from GitHub releases with progress tracking and robust error handling.

✨ Features

• Automatic Updates: Check and apply updates from GitHub releases
• Cross-Platform (IN PROGRESS): Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS
• Progress Tracking: Beautiful terminal progress bar during downloads
• Safe Updates: Automatic backups and rollback on failure
• Verbose Logging: Detailed timestamped logging for debugging
• Simple API: Easy integration with just a few lines of code

🚀 Quick Start (Example)

#include "includes/AutoUpdater.cpp"

int main()
{
    // AutoUpdater config
    string repo_name = "MyApp"; 
    string repo_author = "Author";
    string current_release_date = "2025-05-02";
    string asset_to_download = "app_linux_x86_64";
    bool verbose = true;

    // Initialize AutoUpdater
    AutoUpdater updater(repo_author, repo_name, current_release_date, asset_to_download, verbose);

    cout << "Checking for updates..." << endl;
    if (updater.is_update_available())
    {
        cout << "Update available! Updating..." << endl;
        if (updater.update())
        {
            cout << "Updated successfully!" << endl;
        }
        else
        {
            cout << "Error updating :(" << endl;
        }
    }
    else
    {
        cout << "Latest version already installed." << endl;
    }

    return 0;
}

🔧 Configuration

Parameter	Type	Description
github_repo_owner	String	GitHub repository owner
github_repo_name	String	Repository name
current_release_date	String	Current version date (YYYY-MM-DD)
asset_name	String	Name of release asset to download
verbose	Bool	Enable detailed logging

🌟 Example output (in verbose mode)

AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Ready. Current release date: 2025-05-02
Checking for updates...
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Checking for updates
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Current release date: 2025-05-02
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Latest release date: 2025-05-15
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Latest tag 2.0
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Assets:
    app_linux_x86_64 (id: 123) => https://github.com/yourname/yourrepo/releases/download/2.0/app_linux_x86_64
    app_windows_x86_64.exe (id: 456) => https://github.com/yourname/yourrepo/releases/download/2.0/app_windows_x86_64.exe
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Selected asset: app_linux_x86_64
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Newer release available
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Downloading update from: https://github.com/yourname/yourrepo/releases/download/2.0/app_linux_x86_64
AutoUpdater at 14:59:11: Saving to: /tmp/autoupdater_123456/app_linux_x86_64
AutoUpdater at 14:59:28: Latest release downloaded successfully                                     
AutoUpdater at 14:59:28: Creating backup of current executeble at /tmp/autoupdater_123456/app_linux_x86_64.bak
AutoUpdater at 14:59:28: Attempting to replace current executable
AutoUpdater at 14:59:28: Current executable size: 123 bytes
AutoUpdater at 14:59:28: Downloaded file size: 456 bytes
AutoUpdater at 14:59:28: Replacement successful

🛡️ Safety Features

• Automatic backup of current executable
• Size verification before/after update
• Clean rollback on failure
• Temporary directory cleanup
• Windows-compatible delayed update installation

📚 Documentation

Public Methods

• bool is_update_available()

  Checks GitHub for newer releases and returns true if an update is available.
  

• bool update()

  Downloads and applies the update. Returns true on success.
  

Private Helpers

• download_update()

  Handles file download with progress tracking
  

• string create_temp_directory()

  Creates temporary directories. Returns temp path as string
  

• parse_github_api_response()

  Processes GitHub API JSON response
  

🤝 Contributing

Implemented a new feature or fixed a bug? Send pull request!

Please ensure:

• Code follows existing style and is readable
• New features are tested
• Documentation is updated