MeddlingIdiot.Velopack 1.2.0

MeddlingIdiot.Velopack

A reusable Velopack bootstrapper library that provides automated update management with flexible channel configuration for .NET applications.

Overview

This library simplifies integrating Velopack updates into your .NET applications by providing:

• Automatic update checking and installation
• Flexible channel configuration (Stable, Prerelease, Beta, etc.)
• Multiple configuration methods: environment variables, command-line arguments, or marker files
• Support for both global and application-specific channel settings

Getting Started

Installation

Add a reference to the MeddlingIdiot.Velopack project in your application:

<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="..\MeddlingIdiot.Velopack\Automation.Velopack.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

Basic Usage

In your application's startup code:

using Automation.Velopack;

// Call this early in your application startup
Velopack.Build().Run();
VelopackBootstrapper.Startup("YourAppName");

Channel Configuration

The library resolves update channels in the following priority order:

1. Environment Variable - VELOPACK_CHANNEL (highest priority)
2. Command Line Argument - --channel=ChannelName
3. Global Channel File - %LOCALAPPDATA%\Automation\.channel
4. Application Channel File - %LOCALAPPDATA%\YourAppName\.channel
5. Default - "Stable" (lowest priority)

Creating Channel Files

Use the CreateChannelFile method to create channel marker files programmatically:

// Create a global channel file (affects all apps using this library)
VelopackBootstrapper.CreateChannelFile(ChannelScope.Global, "YourAppName", "Prerelease");

// Create an application-specific channel file
VelopackBootstrapper.CreateChannelFile(ChannelScope.Application, "YourAppName", "Beta");

Command Line Usage

Users can specify a channel via command line:

YourApp.exe --channel=Prerelease

Environment Variable Usage

Set the environment variable for CI/CD or testing:

set VELOPACK_CHANNEL=Development
YourApp.exe

Channel Scope

• Global (ChannelScope.Global): Stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Automation\.channel - affects all applications using this library
• Application (ChannelScope.Application): Stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\YourAppName\.channel - specific to one application

Build and Test

Build the solution:

dotnet build

Run the unit tests:

dotnet test

The test project includes comprehensive tests for:

• Channel resolution logic
• Channel file creation (global and application-scoped)
• Priority ordering of configuration sources

Requirements

• .NET 8.0 or higher
• Velopack NuGet package

Project Structure

• MeddlingIdiot.Velopack - Main library project
• Automation.Velopack.UnitTests - xUnit test project

License

[Specify your license here]