meteor/meteor

---
title: autoupdate
description: Documentation of Meteor's `autoupdate` package.
---

This is the Meteor package that provides hot code push (HCP) functionality.

Every Meteor application that wasn't created with the `--minimal` option
has this package already through `meteor-base` and HCP should work out of the 
box. For those running `--minimal` applications and want to benefit from this 
package, just add it with `meteor add autoupdate`.

> `autoupdate` adds up to 30KB on your client's production bundle.

With this package Meteor will use DDP to publish a collection called 
_'meteor_autoupdate_clientVersions'_. This collection will be subscribed by the 
user's client and every time the client identifies a change in the published 
version it will refresh itself.

## Browser Client

The refresh will happen in the browser in two different ways: a _soft update_, 
and a _hard update_. If Meteor identifies that only stylesheets were changed, then it 
will verify if the user's browser is capable of reloading CSS on the fly, and a 
soft update will take place. The soft update will replace the old stylesheet 
with the new stylesheet without triggering a full page reload. 

In cases where a change in a server's or client's compiled file happens, the hard 
update will take place: Meteor will force a complete browser reload using the 
`reload` package.

> Among other things, the `reload` package tries do reload the application 
> preserving some unchanged cached files.

## Cordova Client

There is no soft update with Cordova apps, the client is always fully refreshed 
once a change is detected.

### `usesCleartextTraffic`
Starting with Android 9 (API level 28), [cleartext support is disabled](https://developer.android.com/training/articles/security-config) by default.
During development `autoupdate` uses cleartext to publish new client versions. 
If your app targets Android 9 or greater, it will be necessary to create a 
`mobile-config.js` file enabling the use of cleartext in order to have HCP working:    

```js
App.appendToConfig(`<edit-config file="app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml"
                     mode="merge"
                     target="/manifest/application"
                     xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
        <application android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"></application>
    </edit-config>
`);
```

### `--mobile-server`
Additionally, for the HCP functionality to work it is also mandatory to provide 
the address for the application server with `--mobile-server` option. If you're 
testing your app on an emulator you should run it with `meteor run android --mobile-server 10.0.2.2:3000`. 
If you're running it on a real device, the application server and the device 
should be on the same network, and you should run your app with `meteor run android --mobile-server XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX`
where *XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX* is your local development address, _e.g. 192.168.1.4_.

> To have a better understanding of how HCP works for mobile apps already 
> published to production refer to [Hot code push on mobile](https://guide.meteor.com/cordova.html#hot-code-push)