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Channels

A Live Update channel points to a specific web build of your app that will be shared with any devices configured to listen to that channel for updates. When you install the Live Updates SDK in your app, any native binary configured to that channel will check the channel for available updates whenever the app is first opened. You can change the build a channel points to whenever you'd like and can rollback changes as well.

Setting up a Channel​

Every app comes with the default channel Production (this cannot be deleted). To add new channels, go to Deploy -> Destinations, and then click the New destination button. Choose type Live Update Channel then enter a channel name.

Channel names can be anything you'd like. A common strategy is to match channels to your dev environments, such as Development, QA, Staging, and Production. For example, "Development" when trying out Live Updates on a local device or emulator, "QA" for your QA team, and "Production" for the app store binaries your users will interact with.

Configuring the Channel in Your App​

With several channels created, configure your app to listen to one of them. In this example, we'll use development.

Capacitor SDK​

Open the capacitor.config.ts (or capacitor.config.json) file. Under the plugins then LiveUpdates configuration section, set the channel to development:

const config: CapacitorConfig = {
  plugins: {
    LiveUpdates: {
      channel: 'development',
    }
  }
};

Next, build the web app then run npx cap sync to copy the Capacitor config file into the iOS and Android projects. Note that if you don't do this, the native mobile projects will still point to the previously configured Live Updates channel!

Cordova SDK​

Click Install Instructions next to the development channel to view the Ionic CLI command to run. You'll notice the command includes --channel-name="development".

Assigning a Build to a Channel​

Once you have created a Channel, go back to the Builds section of your app. On the right side of each Web Build, click the 3 dot ellipsis, then "Deploy Live Update" menu item.

Select the Live Update channel from the dropdown then click the Deploy button. The Live Update becomes active immediately. Once a Web Build is set as active for a Channel, any native binaries that have been configured to watch the channel will receive the new update the next time the app checks in.

note

If a channel referenced in an app using live updates is deleted, live updates will no longer be applied. Previously, the Production channel would be used as a fallback. To reapply live updates, either recreate the same channel name or create then set a new channel name in the app.

Roll Back a Live Update​

Rolling back a Live Update enables you to quickly revert the application to a previously successful deployment. This is useful when you determine the Live Update build has a bug, was accidentally deployed, etc.

From the Destinations page, select the name of the Channel you want to roll back. Click "Roll back to here" on the build you want to roll back to. After completing these steps, the selected build will update and immediately become the Active build.

Automating Deployment from a Git Branch​

If your interested in automating your Live Updates deployments from git push all the way to the app stores, you can take advantage of our Automation features if your Appflow plan includes them.

Deploy a Live Update to a Device​

Now that we've installed the Live Update SDK and understand how web builds and channels work, we'll walk through the process of deploying a live update to a device.

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