Update URL Protocol

The update_url field in extension manifests declares an endpoint that the Pubvana auto-update system polls to check for newer versions of the extension. This endpoint is called AddonUpdateService and runs on admin pageload (if the pageload check setting is enabled) and via the marketplace:revalidate Spark command.

Standard Endpoint

For Pubvana Marketplace extensions, the standard endpoint is:

https://pubvana.net/api/dstore/v1/update/check

This is a POST endpoint. AddonUpdateService sends:

{
"type": "widget",
    "current_version": "2.0.0"
}

Expected Response Format

Your update_url endpoint must return JSON with this structure:

{
    "version": "2.1.0",
    "download_url": "https://your-server.com/downloads/recent_posts-2.1.0.zip",
    "changelog": "Fixed edge case with empty post lists. Added show_author option."
}

Field	Type	Required	Description
`version`	string	yes	Latest available version (semver)
`download_url`	string	yes	Direct ZIP download URL
`changelog`	string	no	Plain text or markdown changelog for this version

If no update is available (current version is the latest), return the current version and the current download URL. AddonUpdateService compares version against the installed version using semver comparison — it only triggers an update prompt when the returned version is strictly greater.

Hosting Your Own Update Endpoint

If you distribute extensions outside the Pubvana Marketplace, you can host your own update_url endpoint. Minimum requirements:

HTTPS only
Accepts POST requests with application/json body
Returns Content-Type: application/json
Returns HTTP 200 on success; non-200 responses are treated as "no update available" (not errors)

Example minimal PHP implementation:

<?php
// update-check.php — hosted on your own server

header('Content-Type: application/json');

$body = json_decode(file_get_contents('php://input'), true);
$slug = $body['slug'] ?? '';

$versions = [
    'my_widget' => [
        'version'      => '1.3.0',
        'download_url' => 'https://yoursite.com/downloads/my_widget-1.3.0.zip',
        'changelog'    => 'Bug fixes and performance improvements.',
    ],
];

if (isset($versions[$slug])) {
    echo json_encode($versions[$slug]);
} else {
    echo json_encode(['version' => '0.0.0', 'download_url' => '']);
}

Setting update_url in Your Manifest

{
    "name": "My Widget",
"version": "1.2.0",
    "update_url": "https://yoursite.com/update-check.php",
    ...
}

Update Flow

When AddonUpdateService detects that version > installed_version:

An update notification is inserted into admin_notifications (visible in the admin header)
The admin visits Marketplace and sees the "Update Available" badge on the extension
Clicking "Update" calls MarketplaceService::installFree($download_url) with the URL from the update response
After download and extraction, discover() + sync() are run to register the new version
Any new migrations are run automatically

For premium extensions, installLicensed() is called instead, re-validating the license before downloading.

← Vetting & Approval