Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Floodtide – a new MacUpdater alternative, looking for beta testers

R

Realm7077

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I’ve been working on a Mac app updater called Floodtide after MacUpdater announced it was shutting down, and I’m looking for some MacRumors users who’d be willing to test it.


It scans your Applications folder, checks which apps have newer versions available, and lets you update them from one place. It currently checks sources including Sparkle, Homebrew, the Mac App Store, Setapp, GitHub and direct/vendor update sources.


One thing I’ve tried to do differently is make it obvious when Floodtide doesn’t know something. If it can’t reliably check an app, it doesn’t just make it look up to date. It puts it under Check Failed/Uncovered, and you can inspect which sources were checked and what they returned.

A few details:


  • macOS 13+
  • Apple signed and notarized
  • around 800 unit tests
  • another 138 checks covering downloads, installs and things like tampered updates
  • backups before updates, so you can undo one if needed
  • checks and updates run in parallel
  • no account required
  • update checking is done on your Mac against the relevant sources
  • coverage checker on the website so you can check your own apps before installing

Normally it’s £10.99 once for 3 Macs, with a 14-day fully unlocked trial and no subscription.


But while it’s still in beta, I’m giving out free lifetime licences to people who are willing to properly test it and give me feedback.


I’m especially looking for:


  • bugs
  • apps that aren’t covered
  • missed or incorrect updates
  • features you think should be added
  • anything in the UI that’s confusing or annoying

If you want a lifetime code, reply here or message me and I’ll send one over.


bhopstudio.com/floodtide
 

Attachments

  • 01-updates.png
    01-updates.png
    1.2 MB · Views: 184
  • Like
Reactions: jg88 and mobius.looped
Looks interesting as a MacUpdater replacement. I would be interested to receive licence and contribute to beta feedback.
 
Does checking for tampering mean it can warn you against supply chain attacks, like what happened to Notepad++ (not a Mac app, but I’m just listing it as example) and few other apps?

I’ve been wary lately about updates and situations like these make me paranoid.
 
Realm7077 said:
I’ve been working on a Mac app updater called Floodtide after MacUpdater announced it was shutting down, and I’m looking for some MacRumors users who’d be willing to test it.


It scans your Applications folder, checks which apps have newer versions available, and lets you update them from one place. It currently checks sources including Sparkle, Homebrew, the Mac App Store, Setapp, GitHub and direct/vendor update sources.


One thing I’ve tried to do differently is make it obvious when Floodtide doesn’t know something. If it can’t reliably check an app, it doesn’t just make it look up to date. It puts it under Check Failed/Uncovered, and you can inspect which sources were checked and what they returned.

A few details:


  • macOS 13+
  • Apple signed and notarized
  • around 800 unit tests
  • another 138 checks covering downloads, installs and things like tampered updates
  • backups before updates, so you can undo one if needed
  • checks and updates run in parallel
  • no account required
  • update checking is done on your Mac against the relevant sources
  • coverage checker on the website so you can check your own apps before installing

Normally it’s £10.99 once for 3 Macs, with a 14-day fully unlocked trial and no subscription.


But while it’s still in beta, I’m giving out free lifetime licences to people who are willing to properly test it and give me feedback.


I’m especially looking for:


  • bugs
  • apps that aren’t covered
  • missed or incorrect updates
  • features you think should be added
  • anything in the UI that’s confusing or annoying

If you want a lifetime code, reply here or message me and I’ll send one over.


bhopstudio.com/floodtide
Click to expand...
This looks great. I'd be happy to give you a hand with constructive feedback. Thank you.
 
Looks very good, already sent feedback a few times.. thanks for including the community in the growth!
 
I'd like to be a beta tester. I've tried a few apps like Latest but haven't found any to be rock solid. I have many apps installed that self-update with Sparkle, and use homebrew for mainly terminal-land things, plus a few casks too. I have a handful of apps that self-update with bespoke mechanisms (some with launch agents/deamons I'd like to try disabling). I have many apps installed from the App Store, if you have features for integration with that then I'd prefer if there was an option to disable it, or to segregate those updates in the UI.

Also, I have my own small app in the Mac App Store, plus has a direct download version from GitHub that optionally updates with Sparkle (with a beta channel) and I'm experimenting with its homebrew cask.
 
I've been testing this for just over a day on my MBA and my Studio Mac. Seems to be pretty solid, and IMO, already outperforming Latest. @Realm7077 has done a solid job for a beta release. And he's already updated the app thrice since I installed it.

Also, if you test, please provide feedback... help @Realm7077 improve the app.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jg88
I started testing today, found 4 minor issues that I sent along, with version 0.8.8 But I agree, pretty solid so far!
 
I am willing to beta test this. I've used MacUpdater for years and most recently Updatest. Please send me a license. Thank you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back