UpdateHub Beta
Check for the latest updates without running your Shortcuts.
Description
UpdateHub was designed to keep all of your Shortcuts up to date without the requirement of running them individually.
Graphics by MediaKit
28-7-2019: Due to the changes made by Apple in the latest version of their operating system, any Shortcut created using iOS 13 (and iPadOS) will no longer be compatible with earlier versions such as iOS 12.
Features
Bulk Search
Bulk Search is UpdateHub’s bread and butter, allowing you to check all of your Shortcuts for updates at once. This is achieved by parsing every Shortcut in your library and fetching the data stored in a ”Comment Action” at the top. This is the only thing you’ll need to add in order for UpdateHub to fetch the latest updates from RoutineHub or a privately hosted json file.
Manual Search
Manual Search is an optional method to manually check RoutineHub or a privately hosted json file for the latest update. This will only check the Shortcut you’re currently running and is lightning fast. This is achieved by a ”Text Action” with the name of your Shortcut and the ”Run Shortcut Action” linking to UpdateHub.
Version Rollback
Sometimes things break and us creators sometimes scramble trying to fix a broken update and publish a new version ASAP. To combat this issue, UpdateHub has support for rolling back an update. If there’s something wrong with a version currently accessible via RoutineHub and you delete it or you update your privately hosted json file, anybody who has already downloaded it will be notified to downgrade the next time they check for an update.
Beta Updates
Beta Updates are an optional feature for creators that applies the same simplicity towards beta version of their Shortcuts. This will finally allowing users an easily solution to finding and installing the latest (beta) versions of their favourite Shortcuts. This will work seamlessly alongside Bulk Search and will only require an extension to the required ”Comment Action” at the top of your Shortcut.
Build Number
Build Numbers are an optional feature for creators that was designed to work perfectly alongside beta updates. This will allow you to maintain the version number of an upcoming release while still pushing updates to your beta testers. When you’re done with the version you can simply remove the build numbers and UpdateHub will recognise this is a new update, not a rollback.
Localisation
Localisation brings UpdateHub to your native language, which is all possible thanks to TranslateHub. If you have TranslateHub added to your Shortcuts the next time you run UpdateHub, it will be automatically translated to your preferred language of choice ad continue working as you would expect it to.
Documentation
Overview
Below you will find detailed instructions on how to implement UpdateHub into your Shortcuts. This includes options for hosting your updates on RoutineHub or privately hosting them. You will also find an extra (optional) step to manually check for an update through your Shortcut. This step can also be used to automatically check for updates every 24 hours, you can see an example of this in the DEMO provided.
Version Numbers
Multi-decimal version numbers are supported all thanks to the brilliant mind UpdateKit, the first updater Shortcut for iOS. Mike Beasley recently updated his Shortcut to version 4.0, where he developed a script that will quickly compare two versions. UpdateKit Engine 1.1 is one of the most efficient ways to do this. UpdateHub may use a heavily modified version of the script, but without it multi-decimal version numbers wouldn’t be supported. To learn more about UpdateKit and UpdateKit Engine, you can follow the link provided below.
Build Numbers
As you can see from the examples below, build numbers are created by adding ”-TEXT-NUMBER”. You may replace the first part with any text you like or you can use “alpha” and “beta” which is recommended. The second part is your build number, simply start from 1 and work your way up until you’re ready to release the update to everybody, at which point you will remove all additional data and return the a standard version.
Note: This feature currently requires an update from RoutineHub in order to work correctly. There is a limit of 10 character per version which unfortunately, isn’t enough. Once this limit is lifted, this feature will work as expected.
Recommended
2.0-alpha-17
— UPDATE — 2.0-beta-1
2.0-beta-1
— UPDATE — 2.0
Custom
2.0-build-24
— ROLLBACK — 2.0-test-18
2.0-secret-12
— UPDATE — 2.0
Bulk Search
Adding UpdateHub’s Bulk Search to your Shortcuts is quite possibly the easiest thing you’ll ever do. All UpdateHub requires from you to implement Bulk Search is a ”Comment Action” at the top of your Shortcut.
Due to the way UpdateHub fetches data from this comment, you may add some information about your Shortcut above the required text. Please keep this to a maximum of 4 lines in total to ensure UpdateHub can still find the data.
RoutineHub
To check for the latest updates using RoutineHub, you can reference the text below:
RoutineHubUpdate
Current Version: "VERSION"
RoutineHub ID: "ID"
RoutineHubUpdate
To check for the latest beta updates using RoutineHub, you can reference the text below:
RoutineHubBeta
Current Version: "VERSION"
RoutineHub ID: "ID"
RoutineHubBeta
Private Hosting
To check for the latest updates using a privately hosted JSON file, you can reference the text below:
UpdateHubUpdate
Current Version: "VERSION"
Update URL: "URL"
UpdateHubUpdate
To check for the latest beta updates using a privately hosted JSON file, you can reference the text below:
UpdateHubBeta
Current Version: "VERSION"
Update URL: "URL"
UpdateHubBeta
To ensure your privately hosted JSON file is in the correct format, I recommend using THIS Shortcut to create it.
Manual Search
To add a manual search to your Shortcut, use a Text Action containing the name of your Shortcut then add the Run Shortcut Action linking to UpdateHub.
Response Codes
When you check updates manually through your Shortcut, you’ll be returned with a json file containing the version of UpdateHub and 3 types of response codes.
When no updates are found, the result value will return “NO-UPDATE”. In addition to this, UpdateHub will also send a notification to the user to inform them that they’re up to date.
If an update has been found and the user has chosen to install it, the result value will return “UPDATE”. I highly recommend adding an Exit Shortcut Action if you are returned this code.
If an update has been found and the user has chosen to skip it, the result value will return “SKIP-UPDATE”.
If there was a problem parsing data from the required Comment Action, the result value will return “ERROR”.
Branding
If you feel UpdateHub is the right fit for you and your Shortcuts, you may use the following on your RoutineHub page.
[![UpdateHub](https://i.imgur.com/om4hpSU.png)](https://routinehub.co/shortcut/2066)
Contact
If you experience any issues or require assistance with this shortcut, please contact me via Reddit and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Latest Release Notes
2.1-alpha-1 - March 8, 2020, 1:08 a.m.
- Database refresh has been redesigned and should be over 2x faster than the previous method.
Past versions