[Feature Request]: AppImageUpdate support

[TheAssassin]

Guidelines

• I have searched the issue tracker for open and closed issues that are similar to the feature request I want to file, without success.
• I have searched the documentation for information that matches the description of the feature request I want to file, without success.
• This issue contains only one feature request.

Problem Description

An AppImage is provided on the release page, but updates need to be downloaded manually. With AppImageUpdate, the AppImages could be updated conveniently and efficiently.

Proposed Solution

To support AppImageUpdate, you would need to pass -u <updateinformation> to appimagetool during build time. Please see https://docs.appimage.org/packaging-guide/optional/updates.html#using-appimagetool for more information. appimagetool then also generates the auxiliary .zsync file which you need to upload along with the AppImage.

The following update information should work if you stop marking your releases as prereleases (or make an actual stable release at some point):

gh-releases-zsync|FreeTubeApp|FreeTube|latest|freetube-*x86_64.AppImage.zsync

Alternatives Considered

You could embed AppImageUpdate to support self-updates. But that also

Issue Labels

ease of use improvement

Additional Information

No response

[absidue]

From what you are saying this would only be possible if we stopped doing pre-releases, so for the foreseeable future this feature request is not plausible.

[TheAssassin]

No, not necessarily. We could perhaps support prereleases in the update information in the AppImage spec if you intend to keep the prereleases. Please don't hesitate to open an issue.

[absidue]

As it sounds like you are one of the people that work on AppImageUpdate and as you are the one asking for AppImageUpdate support, may I suggest that you should be the one to open an issue on your side for the necessary changes. You clearly know more about it and are more invested in it, than we are, so it seems like the more logical option.

Once it would actually be technically possible for us to add AppImageUpdate support, without having to claim that pre-releases are not actually pre-releases, you are welcome to revive this issue thread.