tauri-updater

Tauri Updater

Overview

Add self-update to a Tauri 2 desktop app using tauri-plugin-updater. Covers macOS DMG, Windows NSIS (auto-install), and Windows portable (manual download link). Uses a GitHub Releases-hosted latest.json manifest with signed artifacts.

When to Use

• User asks to add "auto-update", "software update", "check for updates" to a Tauri app
• User asks about tauri-plugin-updater integration
• User wants to distinguish installer vs portable builds for update behavior
• User needs to generate update manifests for CI

Don't use for:

• Tauri 1.x apps (different updater API)
• Mobile apps (different update mechanisms)
• Apps distributed only via app stores (use store update mechanisms)

Architecture

Installer vs Portable

Tauri updater only works with installers (NSIS, MSI, DMG). Portable builds need a different path.

Detecting portable at runtime: Use a Cargo feature flag:

# Cargo.toml
[features]
portable = []

// Rust command
#[tauri::command]
pub fn is_portable_build() -> bool {
    cfg!(feature = "portable")
}

Normal build: cargo build --release Portable build: cargo build --release --features portable

In lib.rs, conditionally register the updater plugin — skip it when the portable feature is active:

#[cfg(all(desktop, not(feature = "portable")))]
app.handle()
    .plugin(tauri_plugin_updater::Builder::new().build())
    .expect("Failed to register updater plugin");

When is_portable_build() returns true, the frontend shows a GitHub Releases link instead of the auto-update flow.

Implementation Steps

1. Generate Signing Key (one-time)

bun tauri signer generate -w ~/.tauri/<app-name>.key