OmniUpdate

Lightweight Self-Hosted Software Distribution System

A lightweight, self-hosted solution for versioned software distribution and automated updates. OmniUpdate provides both server and client components for seamless application version management.

🚀 Features

• Server Component: REST API for serving versioned tar.gz archives
• Client Component: Automatic update checking and installation
• Version Management: Automatic sorting and validation of semantic versions
• Secure: Protected against directory traversal and path manipulation
• Cross-Platform: Works anywhere Node.js runs

📦 Perfect For

• Desktop application auto-updates
• Mobile app patch distribution
• IoT device firmware management
• Internal tool deployment
• Game client version control
• Enterprise software distribution

💡 Why OmniUpdate?

• No third-party dependencies or services required
• Full control over your update infrastructure
• Simple integration with existing applications
• Open source and freely customizable
• Enterprise-ready security features

Simplify your software distribution with a self-hosted, reliable update system.

🏗️ Architecture

Host Server Structure

/Project-directory/
├── Package Updates/           # Server Component
│   ├── Updates-Server.js     # Main server file
│   └── TARer.js              # Archive utility
└── app/                      # Application versions (hosted on server)
    ├── 1.0.0/               # Versioned application folders
    ├── 1.1.0/
    ├── 2.0.0/
    └── 2.1.0/

Client Application Structure

/Project-directory/
├── Package Updates/   # Client Component
│   ├── Updates-Client.js     # Main client file
│   └── TARer.js              # Archive utility
└── app/                      # Current application (will be replaced during updates)

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Server Setup

   # On your version host server
   git clone https://github.com/Muad-Bohmosh/OmniUpdate.git
   cd OmniUpdate/"Package Updates"
   npm install express tar

2. Client Setup

   # On client machines
   git clone https://github.com/Muad-Bohmosh/OmniUpdate.git
   cd OmniUpdate/"Package Updates client"
   npm install axios tar

3. Prepare Application Versions (on server)

   # Create version folders in the server's app directory
   mkdir -p ../app/{1.0.0,1.1.0,2.0.0}
   # Add your application files to each version folder

Running the Server

cd "Package Updates"
# Set port via environment variable (optional)
export PORT=3000
node Updates-Server.js

Server will start on http://localhost:3000 (or specified PORT)

Using the Client

cd "Package Updates client"
# Set server URL (if different from default)
export UPDATE_SERVER_URL=http://your-server.com:3000

# Update to latest version
node Updates-Client.js

# Update to specific version
node Updates-Client.js 2.0.0

# Check for updates without applying
node Updates-Client.js --check

📡 API Endpoints

Server Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/versions	GET	List all available versions
/updates?version={version}	GET	Download specific version as tar.gz
/health	GET	Server health check

Client Commands

# Basic update to latest
node Updates-Client.js

# Update to specific version
node Updates-Client.js 1.2.3

# Check for updates without applying
node Updates-Client.js --check

# Set custom server URL
export UPDATE_SERVER_URL=http://your-server.com:3000
node Updates-Client.js

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

Server:

• PORT: Server port (default: 3000) - Optional for now

Client:

• UPDATE_SERVER_URL: Server URL (default: http://localhost:3000)

Version Format

Versions should follow semantic versioning format: X.Y.Z

• Example: 1.0.0, 2.1.3, 1.0.0-beta.1

🛡️ Security Features

• Directory traversal protection
• Path validation and sanitization
• Secure file handling
• Error handling and validation
• CORS support for cross-origin requests

📊 Version Management

OmniUpdate automatically:

• Discovers version folders in the server's app directory
• Sorts versions numerically (newest first)
• Validates version format (X.Y.Z)
• Tracks currently installed version on client

🔄 Update Process

1. Check: Client queries server for available versions
2. Download: Client downloads the selected version as tar.gz
3. Verify: Client validates the downloaded archive
4. Replace: Client safely replaces the current application
5. Record: Client records the new version in version.txt

🧪 Testing

# Test server endpoints
curl http://localhost:3000/versions
curl http://localhost:3000/health

# Test download
curl http://localhost:3000/updates?version=LATEST -o update.tar.gz

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for details.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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📣 Use It as you please under LICENSE terms

Like everything else, I Built it Because I Needed it.

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🆘 Support

• 📖 Documentation
• 🐛 Issue Tracker
• 💬 Discussions

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with Express.js and Node.js
• Uses tar for archive operations
• Inspired by modern software update systems