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Auto-updater downloads but never installs on Windows — app stays on old version #96
Description
I am facing this issue myself on Windows 11 — my installed wmux never updates. When a new release comes out I get the update notification, click it, the app restarts, and it's still on the old version. The first update never lands and it just keeps prompting me.
After digging into it, here's what's actually going on:
The problem
On Windows the app can detect and download an update fine, but it can never install it. So it quits, relaunches the same old version, and the update badge shows up again — forever.
Why it happens
- The Windows release only ships
latest.yml+ a.zip(wmux-x.y.z-win-x64.zip). There's no NSIS.exeinstaller or.blockmap. - electron-updater on Windows installs by running an NSIS installer. A zip is a macOS update mechanism, so
quitAndInstall()has nothing to run and effectively no-ops. The download succeeds and the checksum verifies, which is why it looks like it's working — but nothing ever gets applied. - Two smaller things pile on: the update badge in the titlebar just opens the GitHub release page (it doesn't trigger the real installer), and the 3-day quarantine window in
updater.tsoften blocks fresh releases from even downloading since releases ship more than once a day.
How I'd like to fix it
- Switch the Windows build target to
nsis(thensisblock already exists inelectron-builder.json, it's just not referenced), build without--dir, and let electron-builder generatelatest.yml+.blockmapinstead of hand-writing the yaml in the release workflow. - Wire the in-app update badge to the real install flow (or remove the duplicate path) so clicking it actually does something.
- Make the quarantine window a bit more sensible so updates aren't held indefinitely.
Happy to work on this if you'll assign it to me — I've already traced it end to end.
Activity
fix(updater): ship signed NSIS installer so Windows auto-update installs
Merge pull request #97 from Rajveerx11/fix/windows-nsis-autoupdate
chore(release): keep portable zip alongside NSIS installer; bump to 0…
fix(ci): tolerate self-signed SignPath cert — ship installer, withhol…
amirlehmam commentedon Jul 16, 2026
Thanks for the excellent diagnosis — you traced it exactly right, and your fix is merged (#97) and shipped in v0.26.0.
What changed:
wmux-X.Y.Z-setup.exe(NSIS) — the artifact electron-updater's NsisUpdater can actually run. The portable zip stays alongside it for people who prefer extract-and-run.latest.ymlnow points at the installer and is generated after signing, gated on a chain-trusted signature.On your two smaller points:
latest.yml). The real install flow is separate — once an update downloads, you get an explicit install-and-restart dialog. Keeping both for now.published_at. It's configurable viaWMUX_MIN_RELEASE_AGE_DAYSif it gets in your way locally.One caveat: the SignPath OSS certificate is currently unavailable (#71), so v0.26.0 ships unsigned and
latest.ymlis deliberately withheld — electron-updater refuses installers without a chain-valid signature, which would have recreated this exact bug. So clients on ≤0.25.0 need one manual download of v0.26.0; auto-update turns on automatically once releases are signed again.fix(updater): un-strand auto-update — drop publisherName pin, always …
feat(updater): in-place updates for portable zip installs
Merge PR #184: feat(updater): in-place updates for portable zip installs