Sparkle
Sparkle is an open-source software update framework for macOS applications developed by the Sparkle Project under the MIT license. Developers embed Sparkle into their macOS apps to provide automatic, secure software updates to end users without requiring any custom update logic in the host application. Sparkle handles all aspects of the update process: downloading updates from a web server, verifying cryptographic signatures (EdDSA and Apple Code Signing), managing permissions and quarantine attributes, requesting administrator authentication when needed, and presenting progress notifications to users. It works with any macOS application regardless of the development framework used (Cocoa, Qt, Xamarin, etc.).
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1 suggestionSparkle is a framework embedded inside macOS applications; it is not updated separately from the host application that uses it. If you have an app that uses Sparkle for its updates, you do not need to take any action on Sparkle itself. The framework is updated automatically whenever the host app is updated by its developer. Sparkle itself has shipped native Apple Silicon (arm64) support since version 2.9, and as of May 2026 any recent macOS app using Sparkle will have a native build embedded within it. When you update your host application through its normal update mechanism — whether via the app's built-in Sparkle update prompt, the Mac App Store, or the vendor's website — you will receive the native version of both the app and its embedded Sparkle framework. No separate action is required.
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