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RIP, MacUpdater
- Thread starter laptopllama
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It has been a good program. Disappointed to read this news.
I use this as well -
https://github.com/mangerlahn/Latest
Very good. Both apps miss the odd app. I have made a donation.
https://github.com/mangerlahn/Latest
Very good. Both apps miss the odd app. I have made a donation.
Hopefully it won't die. Developer is looking to have it acquired by a person/organisation who would keep it going with (probably) a subscription.
The alternatives (e.g. Latest, Applite) are nowhere near as comprehensive.
The alternatives (e.g. Latest, Applite) are nowhere near as comprehensive.
Latest supports apps from Apple App Store and those that use the Sparkle framework for updates. That leaves lots of my apps not covered - around half the non AppStore apps.
Macupdater has a much broader coverage - hence the effort and cost of maintaining its servers.
Strange that there still seems to be nobody interested in MacUpdater’s acquisition; even Apple itself could be a perfect candidate, as the MacUpdater infrastructure would permit updates and upgrades for all installed apps, not only the Mac App Store ones: which would give macOS an experience similar to Linux, which has had centralized software updates from the beginning (and even Microsoft now is thinking about implementing this in Windows 11: so why not macOS?). MacUpdater has an almost perfect app and especially infrastructure already available: someone should acquire it, while it’s possible…
(BTW, why don’t they - CoreCode - at least try to make it a subscription service, if that is really the way to go (not sure, but who knows)…? It would be a real pity if this excellent app only ended up discontinued and thus with no future: especially considering that its closest historical commercial competitor - the resurrected MacUpdate - is still at a beta stage and so far much less promising. Integration of MacUpdater into macOS (towards a centralized software management) would be the best thing possible: but lacking that, at least try to develop it further as a great third party app; or open-source it, if there is no more interest in it…)
(BTW, why don’t they - CoreCode - at least try to make it a subscription service, if that is really the way to go (not sure, but who knows)…? It would be a real pity if this excellent app only ended up discontinued and thus with no future: especially considering that its closest historical commercial competitor - the resurrected MacUpdate - is still at a beta stage and so far much less promising. Integration of MacUpdater into macOS (towards a centralized software management) would be the best thing possible: but lacking that, at least try to develop it further as a great third party app; or open-source it, if there is no more interest in it…)
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Just got this response from CoreCode this morning to app feedback that I left. Maybe there’s hope!
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If a viable offer had been made, we would have heard about it by now. I think it is safe to say at this point that the app is dead.
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That would be totally absurd: one of the most useful apps ever, abandoned by its creators (for questionable reasons: if the problem is really the lack of a subscription model, why not adopt it?) and nobody wants to continue it (and with macOS still incredibly without a global software update mechanism: which is almost ridiculous)…?!? At least, MacUpdate (without the r) could maybe acquire the MacUpdater engine/infrastructure, as their new app is still far from being optimal from the point of view of finding updates (well, it looks good, but that’s of course really not enough). Anyway, should MacUpdater be abandoned, there are different alternatives (for example, MacUpdate Desktop, Latest, Applite, Brewer X, Updatest, etc., many of them based on Homebrew): but none of these is yet as powerful as MacUpdater, sadly. Well, we’ll see…
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"3.4.7 (Dec 2025):
• 🎉✨🎄🎁 For its last 3 weeks in operation, MacUpdater is now free-to-use!"
https://www.corecode.io/macupdater/history3.html
• 🎉✨🎄🎁 For its last 3 weeks in operation, MacUpdater is now free-to-use!"
https://www.corecode.io/macupdater/history3.html
A recent article, emphasizing the lack of a centralized software update mechanism in macOS (and updating individual apps one by one isn’t certainly the same thing):
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… And keeping all our apps automatically updated is important also for security reasons:
Unfortunately Apple won't take this over as they don't want to promote apps outside their store.
A real shame, very productive for me, turn on Mac, run the updater, make a cup of tea, update apps, get on with work.
I hate when I am in work mode, rushing for a deadline and open an app and get the there is a new version message. Spoils my flow.
A real shame, very productive for me, turn on Mac, run the updater, make a cup of tea, update apps, get on with work.
I hate when I am in work mode, rushing for a deadline and open an app and get the there is a new version message. Spoils my flow.