Question 1

What is Native Update?

Accepted Answer

Native Update is a Capacitor plugin that provides OTA (Over-The-Air) live updates, native app-store update prompts, and in-app review integration — all in one package. It works with any Capacitor app regardless of frontend framework (React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, or vanilla JS).

Question 2

Does Native Update require app-store approval for updates?

Accepted Answer

No. OTA updates for JavaScript, HTML, and CSS changes deploy instantly to users without app-store review. Only native code changes (Swift/ObjC/Java/Kotlin) require a new store submission. This lets you push bug fixes, content updates, and UI changes in seconds.

Question 3

Is Native Update free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Native Update is an MIT-licensed open-source Capacitor plugin — free forever. The hosted dashboard is in free beta. You can also self-host your own update server on any HTTPS origin.

Question 4

Which frameworks does Native Update support?

Accepted Answer

Any. Native Update works with any Capacitor app regardless of frontend framework — React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, Solid, Lit, Preact, or vanilla JavaScript. It operates at the webview bundle level, below your JS framework.

Question 5

How do I install Native Update?

Accepted Answer

Install via yarn: "yarn add native-update" or npm: "npm install native-update". Then run "npx cap sync" to sync native files. Configure the plugin in capacitor.config.ts and you are ready to deploy OTA updates.

Question 6

Is Native Update a CodePush alternative?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Native Update is the modern Capacitor-ecosystem equivalent of Microsoft CodePush (which was built for React Native and has been discontinued). It offers OTA updates, delta downloads, automatic rollback, update channels, staged rollouts, and bundle signing — tailored for Capacitor.

Question 7

Does Native Update support automatic rollback?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Native Update watches the first boot of each newly-applied bundle. If the webview fails to load or the JS throws an uncaught exception within the configured watchdog window, the plugin reverts to the last-known-good bundle automatically.

Question 8

Can I use Native Update for staged rollouts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Via the dashboard, assign a percentage (1–100%) of users in a channel to receive a specific bundle. Hash-based user assignment is deterministic per device, so a user who got version N stays on version N until explicitly moved.

Question 9

What platforms does Native Update support?

Accepted Answer

Native Update supports iOS (App Store updates and OTA), Android (Google Play updates and OTA), and has a graceful web fallback. The plugin handles platform-specific update mechanisms automatically.

Question 10

How secure are OTA updates with Native Update?

Accepted Answer

Every bundle is signed with your private key (Ed25519 or RSA), verified against the public key pinned inside the native app at build time, checked against a SHA-256 checksum, and transferred over HTTPS only. Any failure at any step means the bundle is discarded.

Native Update - OTA Updates, App Updates & Reviews for Capacitor

What is Native Update?

Key Features

How to Install Native Update

Use Cases

Platforms Supported

Frequently Asked Questions

Developer