The Automatic Updater

The Automatic Updater ensures that you always have the latest features and bug fixes for your Nextcloud synchronization client.

The Automatic Updater updates only on macOS and Windows computers; Linux users only need to use their normal package managers. However, on Linux systems the Updater will check for updates and notify you when a new version is available.

Basic Workflow

The following sections describe how to use the Automatic Updater on different operating systems.

Windows

The Nextcloud client checks for updates and downloads them when available. You can view the update status under Settings -> General -> Updates in the Nextcloud client.

If an update is available, and has been successfully downloaded, the Nextcloud client starts a silent update prior to its next launch and then restarts itself. Should the silent update fail, the client offers a manual download.

Notitie

Administrative privileges are required to perform the update.

macOS

The macOS client has an autoupdater which uses the Sparkle framework. This autoupdater is bundled into the client App Bundle and checks for updates on launch, notifying you if an update is available. This will present a pop-up that can let you automatically download and install the latest client update with one click.

In versions of the client where the Sparkle-based autoupdater is not bundled, a clickable notification will appear informing of an update being available. Upon clicking on said notification, the download page for the latest version of the client will be opened in the system’s web browser.

Like on other systems, you can view the update status under Settings -> General -> Updates in the Nextcloud client.

Linux

Linux distributions provide their own update tools, so Nextcloud clients that use the Linux operating system do not perform any updates on their own. The client will inform you (Settings -> General -> Updates) when an update is available.

Preventing Automatic Updates

In controlled environments, such as companies or universities, you might not want to enable the auto-update mechanism, as it interferes with controlled deployment tools and policies. To address this case, it is possible to disable the auto-updater entirely. The following sections describe how to disable the auto-update mechanism for different operating systems.

Preventing Automatic Updates in Windows Environments

Users may disable automatic updates by adding this line to the [General] section of their nextcloud.cfg files:

skipUpdateCheck=true

Windows administrators have more options for preventing automatic updates in Windows environments by using one of two methods. The first method allows users to override the automatic update check mechanism, whereas the second method prevents any manual overrides.

To prevent automatic updates, but allow manual overrides:

  1. Edit these Registry keys:

    1. (32-bit-Windows) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Nextcloud\Nextcloud

    2. (64-bit-Windows) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Nextcloud\Nextcloud

  2. Add the key skipUpdateCheck (of type DWORD).

  3. Specify a value of 1 to the machine.

To manually override this key, use the same value in HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

To prevent automatic updates and disallow manual overrides:

Notitie

This is the preferred method of controlling the updater behavior using Group Policies.

  1. Edit this Registry key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Nextcloud GmbH\Nextcloud

  2. Add the key skipUpdateCheck (of type DWORD).

  3. Specify a value of 1 to the machine.

Notitie

branded clients have different key names

Preventing Automatic Updates in Linux Environments

Because the Linux client does not provide automatic updating functionality, there is no need to remove the automatic-update check. However, if you want to disable it edit your desktop client configuration file, $HOME/.config/Nextcloud/nextcloud.cfg. Add this line to the [General] section:

skipUpdateCheck=true