Default Channel Setup

Overview

The default channel is the release channel embedded in your native app at build time.

• Apps use production when no channel is specified.
• This channel decides where the app checks for updates by default.
• Changing the default channel requires rebuilding the native app.

Channel names are exact and case-sensitive: production and Production are different channels. The server stores each channel as a persistent row with an opaque ID; use its name in app configuration and deployment commands. Setting the native default does not create or delete server channel rows. Custom-server integrations manage those rows through the admin handler.

Set the Default Channel

1. Specify the Channel in Native Configuration

npx hot-updater channel set <channel>

<key>HOT_UPDATER_CHANNEL</key> 
<string>your_set_channel</string> 

Custom Configuration Paths

For projects with non-standard structures or iOS app extensions, you can configure custom paths for platform-specific configuration files in your hot-updater.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from "hot-updater";

export default defineConfig({
  // ... other configurations
  platform: {
    ios: {
      infoPlistPaths: [
        "ios/YourApp/Info.plist",
        "ios/YourAppExtension/Info.plist", // Include extension Info.plist
        "ios/NotificationService/Info.plist",
      ],
    },
    android: {
      androidManifestPaths: [
        "android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml",
        "android/app/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml", // Include additional manifests
      ],
    },
  },
});

This is useful when:

• Your iOS project has app extensions such as widgets or notification services
• You have multiple Android build variants with different manifest paths
• Your project does not follow the standard React Native file structure

Configure these custom paths before running hot-updater channel set so all relevant files are updated with the new channel.

2. Rebuild the App with the New Channel

After setting the channel, rebuild your app in Release mode:

cd ios && pod install && cd ..
npx react-native run-ios --mode Release

npx react-native run-android --mode Release

3. Deploy Updates to That Channel

You can specify the target channel directly during deployment:

npx hot-updater deploy -p <"ios" | "android"> -c "<channel>"

Replace <channel> with your target channel name, for example dev, staging, or production.

Check the Current Channel

Use hotUpdater.getChannel() in your UI to confirm that the app is using the intended channel.

Example Usage

Keep the baseURL and client key from App setup. Managed providers require this client key; provider and admin credentials stay out of the app.

import { HotUpdater } from "@hot-updater/react-native";

export const hotUpdater = HotUpdater.init({
  baseURL: "<your-update-server-url>",
  requestHeaders: {
    "x-api-key": "<your-client-api-key>",
  },
});

import { Text, View } from "react-native";

import { hotUpdater } from "./src/hotUpdater";

export default function App() {
  const channel = hotUpdater.getChannel();

  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Current Channel: {channel}</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

init configures the client without checking for updates. Call hotUpdater.checkForUpdate({ updateStrategy: "appVersion" }) when your app is ready, then download and apply through the custom update flow.

Key Rules

• The default channel is embedded in the native app at build time.
• Changing that default channel requires a rebuild.
• hot-updater deploy -c <channel> should match the channel you want the app to receive updates from.
• hotUpdater.getChannel() returns the effective channel, which may differ at runtime if a runtime channel switch is active.
• If you need temporary runtime switching, use Runtime Channel Switch.