# vslavik/winsparkle

App update framework for Windows, inspired by Sparkle for macOS

Repository: https://github.com/vslavik/winsparkle
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/winsparkle
Homepage: http://winsparkle.org
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: software-update, update, windows, sparkle, appcast
Last push: 2026-08-10T10:27:26+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 88/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 70, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6078, "days_push": 23, "days_rel": 43, "gap_med": 110, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1475, forks 290 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:49.837779+00:00)

## What it is
WinSparkle is an app update framework for Windows desktop applications, inspired by Sparkle for macOS. It ships as a single dependency-free DLL with a C API, checks appcast (RSS) feeds for new versions, and presents a native update UI with EdDSA-signed update verification.

## Use cases
- add automatic updates to a Windows desktop app
- check for new versions via an appcast feed
- sign and verify software updates with EdDSA
- ship an updater DLL with no runtime dependencies
- integrate update checking from C#, Python, Go, or Pascal
- show a native update prompt without tying into a UI toolkit

## When to choose
- you distribute a Windows desktop application and need Sparkle-style auto-updates
- you want a small, MIT-licensed, toolkit-independent updater with a C API
- you already publish Sparkle appcasts and want Windows compatibility

## When to avoid
- your application is not on Windows
- you need a full deployment/patching system rather than simple update checks
- you cannot host an appcast feed or sign updates

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: sdk, security, cryptography
- domain: developer-tools, windows, desktop-applications
- platform: windows, cpp, c
- tags: software-update, auto-update, appcast, sparkle, eddsa-signing, updater, automation

## Member repositories
- vslavik/winsparkle (main) score 88

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:49.837779+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:34:31.921388+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/vslavik/winsparkle (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:49.837779+00:00, sha 7b62fbac0da4)
  - homepage: http://winsparkle.org (fetched 2026-08-29T11:41:55.486379+00:00, sha 4dd3851cfa96)
  - site_page: https://winsparkle.org/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T11:41:55.495228+00:00, sha 9b88a1ad8c96)
  - site_page: https://winsparkle.org/guides/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T11:41:55.497324+00:00, sha abdc4a8e2c1a)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.