A shepherd for your Appimages.
add autoupgrade cli and units
Aly Raffauf
(Jun 17, 2026, 11:45 PM EDT)
2f129706
8324f249
+152
-74
+2
README.md
+2
README.md
···
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- **Tells you what it manages.** `appherder list` shows every app it installed, where it checks for updates, and which ones are missing their AppImage.
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- **Quiet when nothing changed.** Re-installing an unchanged app does nothing. Drop your AppImages in one folder and `appherder sync` lines everything up.
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- **Syncs automatically.** `appherder autosync` watches `~/AppImages` and installs or removes apps the moment you add or delete a file.
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- **Upgrades automatically.** `appherder autoupgrade` checks for and installs updates once a day.
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## Installation
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···
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appherder list # see what's installed
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appherder sync # match your apps to what's in ~/AppImages
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appherder autosync # auto-sync on file changes
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appherder autoupgrade # auto-upgrade once a day
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appherder upgrade --check # see what's out of date
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appherder upgrade # download and install updates
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appherder migrate # adopt apps another tool set up
+8
-74
cmd/appherder/autosync.go
+8
-74
cmd/appherder/autosync.go
···
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1
package main
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-
import (
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-
"embed"
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"fmt"
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"io/fs"
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"os"
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"os/exec"
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"path/filepath"
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"strings"
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)
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-
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//go:embed systemd/*.path systemd/*.service
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var unitTemplates embed.FS
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var syncUnits = []string{
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"appherder-sync.path",
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"appherder-sync.service",
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}
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const autosyncUnitBase = "appherder-sync"
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-
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// enableAutosync writes the systemd user units with the current binary path and
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// enables the watcher.
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func enableAutosync() error {
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binPath, err := os.Executable()
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if err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("resolve appherder binary: %w", err)
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}
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if binPath, err = filepath.EvalSymlinks(binPath); err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("resolve appherder binary: %w", err)
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}
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-
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userDir, err := systemdUserDir()
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if err != nil {
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if err := writeUnitFiles(syncUnits); err != nil {
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return err
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}
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if err := os.MkdirAll(userDir, 0o755); err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("create systemd user directory: %w", err)
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}
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-
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entries, err := fs.ReadDir(unitTemplates, "systemd")
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if err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("read embedded units: %w", err)
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}
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for _, entry := range entries {
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data, err := unitTemplates.ReadFile("systemd/" + entry.Name())
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if err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("read %s: %w", entry.Name(), err)
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}
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rendered := strings.ReplaceAll(string(data), "{{BIN}}", binPath)
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dest := filepath.Join(userDir, entry.Name())
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if err := os.WriteFile(dest, []byte(rendered), 0o644); err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("write %s: %w", dest, err)
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}
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}
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-
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if err := runSystemctl("daemon-reload"); err != nil {
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return err
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}
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return runSystemctl("enable", "--now", autosyncUnitBase+".path")
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return runSystemctl("enable", "--now", "appherder-sync.path")
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}
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// disableAutosync stops and removes the systemd user units.
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func disableAutosync() error {
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if err := runSystemctl("disable", "--now", autosyncUnitBase+".path"); err != nil {
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if err := runSystemctl("disable", "--now", "appherder-sync.path"); err != nil {
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return err
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}
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userDir, err := systemdUserDir()
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if err != nil {
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if err := removeUnitFiles(syncUnits); err != nil {
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return err
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}
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entries, err := fs.ReadDir(unitTemplates, "systemd")
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if err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("read embedded units: %w", err)
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}
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for _, entry := range entries {
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_ = os.Remove(filepath.Join(userDir, entry.Name()))
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}
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return runSystemctl("daemon-reload")
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}
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func systemdUserDir() (string, error) {
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home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
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if err != nil {
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return "", fmt.Errorf("resolve home directory: %w", err)
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}
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return filepath.Join(home, ".config", "systemd", "user"), nil
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}
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func runSystemctl(args ...string) error {
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cmd := exec.Command("systemctl", append([]string{"--user"}, args...)...)
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if out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("systemctl %s: %w\n%s", strings.Join(args, " "), err, out)
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}
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return nil
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}
+26
cmd/appherder/autoupgrade.go
+26
cmd/appherder/autoupgrade.go
···
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package main
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+
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var upgradeUnits = []string{
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"appherder-upgrade.timer",
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"appherder-upgrade.service",
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}
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func enableAutoupgrade() error {
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if err := writeUnitFiles(upgradeUnits); err != nil {
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return err
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}
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if err := runSystemctl("daemon-reload"); err != nil {
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return err
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}
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return runSystemctl("enable", "--now", "appherder-upgrade.timer")
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}
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func disableAutoupgrade() error {
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if err := runSystemctl("disable", "--now", "appherder-upgrade.timer"); err != nil {
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return err
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}
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if err := removeUnitFiles(upgradeUnits); err != nil {
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return err
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}
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return runSystemctl("daemon-reload")
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}
+20
cmd/appherder/cli.go
+20
cmd/appherder/cli.go
···
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newMigrateCommand(a),
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newUpgradeCommand(a),
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newAutosyncCommand(),
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newAutoupgradeCommand(),
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)
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return cmd
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}
···
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cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&off, "off", false, "Disable and remove the autosync watcher")
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return cmd
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}
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func newAutoupgradeCommand() *cobra.Command {
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var off bool
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cmd := &cobra.Command{
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Use: "autoupgrade",
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Short: "Enable or disable daily automatic upgrades",
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Long: "Installs a systemd user timer that checks for and installs AppImage updates\n" +
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"once a day. No root required.",
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Args: cobra.NoArgs,
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RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
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if off {
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return disableAutoupgrade()
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}
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return enableAutoupgrade()
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},
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}
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cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&off, "off", false, "Disable and remove the upgrade timer")
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return cmd
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}
+79
cmd/appherder/systemd.go
+79
cmd/appherder/systemd.go
···
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+
package main
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+
3
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import (
4
+
"embed"
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+
"fmt"
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+
"os"
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+
"os/exec"
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"path/filepath"
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"strings"
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)
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+
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//go:embed systemd/*
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var unitTemplates embed.FS
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+
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func binaryPath() (string, error) {
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bin, err := os.Executable()
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if err != nil {
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return "", fmt.Errorf("resolve appherder binary: %w", err)
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}
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if bin, err = filepath.EvalSymlinks(bin); err != nil {
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return "", fmt.Errorf("resolve appherder binary: %w", err)
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}
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return bin, nil
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}
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// writeUnitFiles renders the named templates with the appherder binary path
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// and writes them to the systemd user directory.
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func writeUnitFiles(names []string) error {
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bin, err := binaryPath()
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if err != nil {
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return err
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}
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userDir, err := systemdUserDir()
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if err != nil {
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return err
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}
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if err := os.MkdirAll(userDir, 0o755); err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("create systemd user directory: %w", err)
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}
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for _, name := range names {
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data, err := unitTemplates.ReadFile("systemd/" + name)
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if err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("read %s: %w", name, err)
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}
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rendered := strings.ReplaceAll(string(data), "{{BIN}}", bin)
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dest := filepath.Join(userDir, name)
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if err := os.WriteFile(dest, []byte(rendered), 0o644); err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("write %s: %w", dest, err)
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}
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}
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return nil
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}
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+
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func removeUnitFiles(names []string) error {
55
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userDir, err := systemdUserDir()
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if err != nil {
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return err
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}
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for _, name := range names {
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_ = os.Remove(filepath.Join(userDir, name))
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}
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return nil
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}
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+
65
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func systemdUserDir() (string, error) {
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home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
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if err != nil {
68
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return "", fmt.Errorf("resolve home directory: %w", err)
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}
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return filepath.Join(home, ".config", "systemd", "user"), nil
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}
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+
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func runSystemctl(args ...string) error {
74
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cmd := exec.Command("systemctl", append([]string{"--user"}, args...)...)
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if out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
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return fmt.Errorf("systemctl %s: %w\n%s", strings.Join(args, " "), err, out)
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}
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return nil
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}
+6
cmd/appherder/systemd/appherder-upgrade.service
+6
cmd/appherder/systemd/appherder-upgrade.service
+11
cmd/appherder/systemd/appherder-upgrade.timer
+11
cmd/appherder/systemd/appherder-upgrade.timer