Capgo Live Updates for Capacitor

Deploy updates to your Capacitor app instantly without waiting for app store review.

When to Use This Skill

• User wants live/OTA updates
• User asks about Capgo
• User wants to skip app store review
• User needs to push hotfixes quickly
• User wants A/B testing or staged rollouts

What is Capgo?

Capgo is a live update service for Capacitor apps that lets you:

• Push JavaScript/HTML/CSS updates instantly
• Skip app store review for web layer changes
• Roll back bad updates automatically
• A/B test features with channels
• Monitor update analytics

Note: Native code changes (Swift/Kotlin/Java) still require app store submission.

Getting Started

Step 1: Create a Capgo Account

1. Go to https://capgo.app
2. Click "Sign Up" or "Get Started"
3. Sign up with GitHub, Google, or email
4. Choose a plan:
   • Free: 1 app, 500 updates/month
   • Solo: $14/mo, unlimited updates
   • Team: $49/mo, team features
   • Enterprise: Custom pricing

Step 2: Install the CLI

bun add -g @capgo/cli

Step 3: Login to Capgo

capgo login
# Opens browser to authenticate

Or use API key:

capgo login --apikey YOUR_API_KEY

Step 4: Initialize Your App

cd your-capacitor-app
capgo init

This will:

• Create app in Capgo dashboard
• Add @capgo/capacitor-updater to your project
• Configure capacitor.config.ts
• Set up your first channel

Step 5: Install the Plugin

If not installed automatically:

bun add @capgo/capacitor-updater
bunx cap sync

Configuration

Basic Configuration

// capacitor.config.ts
import type { CapacitorConfig } from '@capacitor/cli';

const config: CapacitorConfig = {
  appId: 'com.yourapp.id',
  appName: 'Your App',
  webDir: 'dist',
  plugins: {
    CapacitorUpdater: {
      autoUpdate: true,  // Enable automatic updates
    },
  },
};

export default config;

Advanced Configuration

// capacitor.config.ts
plugins: {
  CapacitorUpdater: {
    autoUpdate: true,
    // Update behavior
    resetWhenUpdate: true,           // Reset to built-in on native update
    updateUrl: 'https://api.capgo.app/updates', // Default
    statsUrl: 'https://api.capgo.app/stats',    // Analytics

    // Channels
    defaultChannel: 'production',

    // Update timing
    periodCheckDelay: 600,           // Check every 10 minutes (seconds)
    delayConditionsFail: false,      // Don't delay on condition fail

    // Private updates (enterprise)
    privateKey: 'YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY',  // For encrypted updates
  },
},

Implementing Updates

Automatic Updates (Recommended)

With autoUpdate: true, updates are automatic:

// app.ts - Just notify when ready
import { CapacitorUpdater } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater';

// Tell Capgo the app loaded successfully
// This MUST be called within 10 seconds of app start
CapacitorUpdater.notifyAppReady();

Important: Always call notifyAppReady(). If not called within 10 seconds, Capgo assumes the update failed and rolls back.

Manual Updates

For more control:

// capacitor.config.ts
plugins: {
  CapacitorUpdater: {
    autoUpdate: false,  // Disable auto updates
  },
},

// update-service.ts
import { CapacitorUpdater } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater';

class UpdateService {
  async checkForUpdate() {
    // Check for available update
    const update = await CapacitorUpdater.getLatest();

    if (!update.url) {
      console.log('No update available');
      return null;
    }

    console.log('Update available:', update.version);
    return update;
  }

  async downloadUpdate(update: any) {
    // Download the update bundle
    const bundle = await CapacitorUpdater.download({
      url: update.url,
      version: update.version,
    });

    console.log('Downloaded:', bundle.id);
    return bundle;
  }

  async installUpdate(bundle: any) {
    // Set as next version (applies on next app start)
    await CapacitorUpdater.set(bundle);
    console.log('Update will apply on next restart');
  }

  async installAndReload(bundle: any) {
    // Set and reload immediately
    await CapacitorUpdater.set(bundle);
    await CapacitorUpdater.reload();
  }
}

Update with User Prompt

import { CapacitorUpdater } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater';
import { Dialog } from '@capacitor/dialog';

async function checkUpdate() {
  const update = await CapacitorUpdater.getLatest();

  if (!update.url) return;

  const { value } = await Dialog.confirm({
    title: 'Update Available',
    message: `Version ${update.version} is available. Update now?`,
  });

  if (value) {
    // Show loading indicator
    showLoading('Downloading update...');

    const bundle = await CapacitorUpdater.download({
      url: update.url,
      version: update.version,
    });

    hideLoading();

    // Apply and reload
    await CapacitorUpdater.set(bundle);
    await CapacitorUpdater.reload();
  }
}

Listen for Update Events

import { CapacitorUpdater } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater';

// Update downloaded
CapacitorUpdater.addListener('updateAvailable', (info) => {
  console.log('Update available:', info.bundle.version);
});

// Download progress
CapacitorUpdater.addListener('downloadProgress', (progress) => {
  console.log('Download:', progress.percent, '%');
});

// Update failed
CapacitorUpdater.addListener('updateFailed', (info) => {
  console.error('Update failed:', info.bundle.version);
});

// App ready
CapacitorUpdater.addListener('appReady', () => {
  console.log('App is ready');
});

Deploying Updates

Deploy via CLI

# Build your web app
bun run build

# Upload to Capgo
capgo upload

# Upload to specific channel
capgo upload --channel beta

# Upload with version
capgo upload --bundle 1.2.3

Deploy via CI/CD

GitHub Actions

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy to Capgo

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v1

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: bun install

      - name: Build
        run: bun run build

      - name: Deploy to Capgo
        run: bunx @capgo/cli upload
        env:
          CAPGO_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CAPGO_TOKEN }}

GitLab CI

# .gitlab-ci.yml
deploy:
  stage: deploy
  image: oven/bun
  script:
    - bun install
    - bun run build
    - bunx @capgo/cli upload
  only:
    - main
  variables:
    CAPGO_TOKEN: $CAPGO_TOKEN

Channels and Staged Rollouts

Create Channels

# Create beta channel
capgo channel create beta

# Create staging channel
capgo channel create staging

Deploy to Channels

# Deploy to beta (internal testing)
capgo upload --channel beta

# Promote to production
capgo upload --channel production

Staged Rollout

In Capgo dashboard:

1. Go to Channels > production
2. Set rollout percentage (e.g., 10%)
3. Monitor analytics
4. Increase to 50%, then 100%

Device-Specific Channels

// Assign device to channel
import { CapacitorUpdater } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater';

// For beta testers
await CapacitorUpdater.setChannel({ channel: 'beta' });

// For production users
await CapacitorUpdater.setChannel({ channel: 'production' });

Rollback and Version Management

Automatic Rollback

If notifyAppReady() isn't called within 10 seconds, Capgo automatically rolls back to the previous working version.

Manual Rollback

# List available versions
capgo bundle list

# Rollback to specific version
capgo bundle revert --bundle 1.2.2 --channel production

In-App Rollback

// Get list of downloaded bundles
const bundles = await CapacitorUpdater.list();

// Rollback to built-in version
await CapacitorUpdater.reset();

// Delete a specific bundle
await CapacitorUpdater.delete({ id: 'bundle-id' });

Self-Hosted Option

For enterprise or privacy requirements:

# Install self-hosted Capgo
docker run -d \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -e DATABASE_URL=postgres://... \
  capgo/capgo-server

Configure app to use self-hosted:

// capacitor.config.ts
plugins: {
  CapacitorUpdater: {
    autoUpdate: true,
    updateUrl: 'https://your-server.com/updates',
    statsUrl: 'https://your-server.com/stats',
  },
},

Security

Encrypted Updates

For sensitive apps, enable encryption:

# Generate key pair
capgo key create

# Upload with encryption
capgo upload --key-v2

Configure in app:

// capacitor.config.ts
plugins: {
  CapacitorUpdater: {
    autoUpdate: true,
    privateKey: 'YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY',
  },
},

Code Signing

Verify updates are from trusted source:

# Sign bundle
capgo upload --sign

# Verify signature in app
capgo key verify

Monitoring and Analytics

Dashboard Metrics

In Capgo dashboard, view:

• Active devices
• Update success rate
• Rollback rate
• Version distribution
• Error logs

Custom Analytics

// Track custom events
import { CapacitorUpdater } from '@capgo/capacitor-updater';

// Get current bundle info
const current = await CapacitorUpdater.current();
console.log('Current version:', current.bundle.version);

// Get download stats
const stats = await CapacitorUpdater.getBuiltinVersion();

Troubleshooting

Issue: Updates Not Applying

1. Check notifyAppReady() is called
2. Verify app ID matches Capgo dashboard
3. Check channel assignment
4. Review Capgo dashboard logs

Issue: Rollback Loop

1. App crashes before notifyAppReady()
2. Fix: Ensure notifyAppReady() is called early
3. Temporarily disable updates to debug

Issue: Slow Downloads

1. Enable delta updates (automatic)
2. Optimize bundle size
3. Use CDN (enterprise)

Best Practices

1. Always call notifyAppReady() - First thing after app initializes
2. Test updates on beta channel first - Never push untested to production
3. Use semantic versioning - Makes rollback easier
4. Monitor rollback rate - High rate indicates quality issues
5. Implement error boundary - Catch crashes before rollback
6. Keep native code stable - Native changes need app store

Resources

• Capgo Documentation: https://capgo.app/docs
• Capgo Dashboard: https://web.capgo.app
• Plugin GitHub: https://github.com/Cap-go/capacitor-updater
• Discord Community: https://discord.gg/capgo