Addon Updater

[BlenderDefender]

Hey @aresdevo, I've been using this addon for quite a while now, and I must say, updating it is causing me trouble because I have to keep more than 75 addons up to date. Therefore, it would be great, if you could Implement an Updater, e.g. the one by CG Cookie.

Greetings, Blender Defender

[aresdevo]

Thanks for that... I'll look into it

[BlenderDefender]

Hey, thanks for your reply. Before you implement that updater (which is really easy to do), I just want to mention that I'm working on creating my own updater right now. I'm testing it with repositories on a separate account, and the advantage over the CG Cookie Updater would be three things:

• Code-free = Risk-free. This updater wouldn't add any code to your addon, so there's no risk of breaking your addon because of issues with the updater.

• Central. The main goal of this new updater is to work from one single place. With a push of a button, it can check all addons for updates.

• Cross-Platform. The CG Cookie updater only works for GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket. My goal is to make it work on any website.

The implementation is done via a publicly available JSON file (endpoint.json) and a link to it placed in the bl_info. Example Implementation: https://github.com/BD-Review/test-works

I have to say though, this addon is only in its early Alpha stage (So things may change) and there's no estimated time of arrival, but I wanted to mention that before you go and implement something that you'll remove again in a few months because I (or someone else) open another issue because of this new updater.

[aresdevo]

ok... I will wait until you think it will be more stable. Thanks

[aresdevo]

I was going to try the updater but could not find it

[BlenderDefender]

Oh, that's because the repo is still private. You can implement the updater already though by following the instructions on this site: https://kind-lovelace-a34ddb.netlify.app/docs/en/implementing-super-addon-manager (Development Preview). I hope that helps! (I'm working on publishing a beta version as soon as possible.)

[BlenderDefender]

Closed as finished? I can't see anything being implemented. Btw.: The Beta version is now out, you can find it on https://super-addon-manager.netlify.app/docs/en/implementing-super-addon-manager and https://super-addon-manager.netlify.app/

[aresdevo]

Oh... I just went to the link I had and didn't see anything so I thought the project was dead

[hannesdelbeke]

hey i m adding animaide to plugget

this means you can update animaide through the plugget blender addon no extra work needed :)

[BlenderDefender]

hey i m adding animaide to plugget

this means you can update animaide through the plugget blender addon no extra work needed :)

An addon that updates Blender addons using GitHub releases 🤔 I think I've already seen something like that somewhere

Anyways, enough irony: Updating animaide via GitHub releases is already possible with Super Addon Manager as well. The idea of adding an extra file that includes information on all releases is to ensure compatability with the used Blender version and give the addon developer more control over version information and download sources.

[BlenderDefender]

Closing because there is native support for automatic updates in Blender 4.2

[hannesdelbeke]

An addon that updates Blender addons using GitHub releases 🤔 I think I've already seen something like that somewhere

Hi, it sounds like you are familiar with similar systems. Do you know of any other solutions that can install and update addons, and also install (python) dependencies?

[BlenderDefender]

Well, I was referring to the updater by CG Cookie in that sentence, which does exactly that, check the GitHub/GitLab/... releases page for updates, but it doesn't install Python dependencies. However, the new Extensions platform which is shipping with Blender 4.2 (that's why I closed the issue here) supports bundling Python dependencies, see https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/extensions/python_wheels.html

[hannesdelbeke]

Thanks for the reply and the link, i knew bout CGcookie but found it was missing dependency management.

it seems the new extensions is moving blender packaging in the right direction. The wheels part seems quite complex to me. If only unmodified wheels are allowed why not just specify the pip name instead. 🤔

Since you closed the issue, does that mean i can install animaide as an extension now with autoupdate? Or would Aresdevo require creating extension

[hannesdelbeke]

Found the answer 🙂

Add-ons prior to 4.2 are considered legacy. These add-ons can still be installed, and used, however they do not support the new auto-update system.

So you might want to keep this issue open until the animaide addon is updated to a 4.2 extension