Using Sparkle: Automatic Updates

In addition to traditional updates, Sparkle also offers fully automatic updates. When this feature is on, the update panel displays a new check box: “Automatically download and install updates in the future.” It does what it says it does. When a new update has been installed, it informs the user and offers to relaunch the app, but he can dismiss the dialog and relaunch at his leisure.

This feature is unavailable (for security reasons) unless the DSA signing is enabled with the SUExpectsDSASignature key; for more information on that, see Security. You can explicitly disable this feature by setting the SUAllowsAutomaticUpdates key to <false/> (or No in Property List Editor) in Info.plist. And please don’t release an app with this on until you’ve tested thoroughly and are satisfied it works.