https://github.com/getlantern/autoupdate

Provides interfaces for helping lantern tools update themselves.
https://github.com/getlantern/autoupdate

Last synced: 8 months ago
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Provides interfaces for helping lantern tools update themselves.

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/getlantern/autoupdate
• Owner: getlantern
• License: apache-2.0
• Created: 2015-02-04T19:46:31.000Z (over 11 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2025-04-24T17:49:01.000Z (about 1 year ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-04-24T18:48:20.051Z (about 1 year ago)
• Language: Go
• Size: 49.8 KB
• Stars: 17
• Watchers: 21
• Forks: 5
• Open Issues: 1
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • License: LICENSE

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README

          
# Lantern Autoupdate

The `autoupdate` package provides [Lantern][1] with the ability to request,

download and apply software updates over the network with minimal interaction.

At this time, `autoupdate` relies on the [go-update][2] and the

[autoupdate-server][3] packages.

## General flow

![lanternautoupdates - general client](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/385670/6097030/736614c8-af72-11e4-932f-07f718c51673.png)

At some point on the Lantern application's lifetime, an independent process

will be created, this process will periodically send local information (using a

proxy, if available) to an update server that will compare client's data

against a list of releases. When applicable, the server will generate a binary

patch and send a reply to the client containing the URL of the appropriate

patch. The client will download and apply the patch to its executable file so

the new version is ready the next time Lantern starts.

### Update server

![lanternautoupdates - server process](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/385670/6097042/cb08d42c-af72-11e4-9ca4-d09af2fbb11b.png)

The update server holds a list of releases and waits for queries from clients.

Clients will send their own checksum and the server will compare that checksum

against the checksum of the latest release, if they don't match a binary diff

will be generated. This binary diff can be used by the client to patch itself.

### Download server

The update server may or may not be used as a download server. Clients will

pull binary diffs from this location, the actual patch's URL will be provided

by the update server.

### Client

![lanternautoupdates - auto update process](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/385670/6097031/755f89c6-af72-11e4-82ea-0c82f27160b2.png)

A client will compute the checksum of its executable file and will send it to

an update server periodically. When the update server replies with a special

message meaning that a new version is available, the client will download the

binary patch, apply it to a temporary file and check the signature, if the

signature is what the client expects, the original executable will be replaced

with the patched one.

[1]: https://getlantern.org/

[2]: https://github.com/inconshreveable/go-update

[3]: https://github.com/getlantern/autoupdate-server