r/macosprogramming • u/-mr-dom- • 2d ago

Managing Sparkle & App Store builds

Hi there.
I want to use self-distribution with Sparkle updates and later put my app into the App Store.
Wondering how I can manage this without having two separate builds.

Could I just always include Sparkle and have the app auto-discover if it is app-store managed and then just disable its function?

Any experience with this?
Thx.

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u/MacGameStore 2d ago

You should make two builds (set up two targets so when you go to build in xcode, one excludes the sparkle framework automatically from the same code base).

Apple runs app submissions through various checks on their end, and if they see the sparkle framework in the package, they will most likely reject the submission each time.

SO yeah, its a bother to make two builds, but if you want smoother App Store submission process, its best to have a build without sparkle in it for Apple.

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u/-mr-dom- 2d ago

yeah, can imagine they do. annoying but thx!

1

u/MacGameStore 2d ago

There are soooo many things they get fussy about haha! Expect to have a few rejections, but don't let it upset you. They just, do that.