Nix desktop arms the production auto-updater #52122

Activity

1. github-actions

   assigned

   Hona

   on Sep 29, 2026
2. github-actions

   added

   needs:complianceThis means the issue will auto-close after 2 hours.This means the issue will auto-close after 2 hours.

   on Sep 29, 2026
3. github-actions commented on Sep 29, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Sep 29, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

   Contributor

   More actions

   This issue doesn't fully meet our contributing guidelines.

   What needs to be fixed:

   • Please use the Bug Report template and include its required Description field with the issue details. The current body uses “What happens” instead, so the required Description field is missing.

   Please edit this issue to address the above within 2 hours, or it will be automatically closed.

   If you believe this was flagged incorrectly, please let a maintainer know.
4. jerome-benoit

   changed the title [-]nix: the Nix desktop arms the production auto-updater[/-] [+]Nix desktop arms the production auto-updater[/+] on Sep 29, 2026
5. github-actions commented on Sep 29, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Sep 29, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

   Contributor

   More actions

   Thanks for updating the issue. It still needs to use the Bug Report template's required Description field. The issue has useful reproduction steps and system details, but the current body has no Description field. Please add the details under that required field.
6. github-actions

   removed

   needs:complianceThis means the issue will auto-close after 2 hours.This means the issue will auto-close after 2 hours.

   on Sep 29, 2026
7. github-actions commented on Sep 29, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Sep 29, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

   Contributor

   More actions

   Thanks for updating the issue. The required Description field and useful reproduction details are now included.
8. carterworks

   added a commit that references this issue on Oct 13, 2026

   fix(nix): stop the Nix desktop build from self-updating

   ...

   a3e2b6a
9. opencodejr commented on Oct 28, 2026

   

   opencodejrBot

   on Oct 28, 2026

   Contributor

   More actions

   Thanks for the detailed report. I checked this against the source, not with a real nix build (no Nix in this sandbox), and it holds on the latest dev (86ce19d96), with one difference from your setup.

   • Channel: in upstream nix/, OPENCODE_CHANNEL = "prod" is set only in the CLI derivation (nix/opencode.nix). nix/desktop.nix doesn't inherit or set it, so the upstream desktop build falls back to the dev channel, and its app-update.yml points at https://opencode.ai/update/api/dev/desktop/opencode/. With OPENCODE_CHANNEL=prod, as in your derivation, it gives exactly the public latest feed you quoted. c977050030 isn't in upstream dev history, so your tree may differ there.
   • Gate on v2.0.19: it was app.isPackaged && CHANNEL !== "dev", so an upstream Nix desktop on the dev channel had the updater off.
   • Gate on current dev: since refactor(app): move GUI features into built-in extensions #52369 it is just build.packaged (packages/gui-plugins/src/updater/main.ts). The Nix wrapper sets ELECTRON_FORCE_IS_PACKAGED=1, so a Nix-built desktop now checks for updates at startup and every 10 minutes, whichever channel it was built with.

   The script below prints the feed the desktop config resolves with and without OPENCODE_CHANNEL=prod, and shows the updater gate.

   Related:

   • feat(desktop): honor OPENCODE_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATE in the updater #55155: open PR that makes the desktop updater honor OPENCODE_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATE and sets it in the Nix desktop wrapper
   • Updater offers in-app updates for Nix store installs; taking it breaks the running session #54022: the same problem for the CLI/TUI updater on Nix installs (fix(nix): disable the self-updater in the flake build #57979 pending)
   • Nix desktop ships an app version that does not match its bundled CLI #52121: another Nix desktop packaging issue (app version vs. bundled CLI)

   Reproduction script (nix-channel.sh)

   #!/usr/bin/env bash
   # Evaluates which channel/update feed the desktop build resolves under the environment
   # nix/desktop.nix provides (it does not set OPENCODE_CHANNEL), versus OPENCODE_CHANNEL=prod.
   set -euo pipefail
   REPO=${REPO:-/workspace/repo}
   cd "$REPO/packages/desktop"
   echo "nix/desktop.nix mentions OPENCODE_CHANNEL: $(grep -c OPENCODE_CHANNEL "$REPO/nix/desktop.nix" || true)"
   echo "nix/opencode.nix (CLI derivation): $(grep OPENCODE_CHANNEL "$REPO/nix/opencode.nix")"
   for ch in "" prod; do
     echo "--- OPENCODE_CHANNEL='${ch}'"
     env ${ch:+OPENCODE_CHANNEL=$ch} bun -e 'const { getConfig } = await import("./electron-builder.config.ts"); const c = getConfig(); console.log(JSON.stringify({ appId: c.appId, publish: c.publish }))'
   done
   echo "--- updater gate:"
   grep -n "const enabled" "$REPO/packages/gui-plugins/src/updater/main.ts" || grep -n UPDATER_ENABLED "$REPO/packages/desktop/src/main/constants.ts"

   Run it: bash nix-channel.sh
10. opencodejr

    added

    reproduced

    on Oct 28, 2026
11. carterworks commented on Oct 29, 2026

    

    carterworks

    on Oct 29, 2026

    Last edited by carterworks

    Contributor

    More actions

    Also affects MacOS, such as is done by numtide/llm-agents.nix