--- description: Control which Live Update channel your Capacitor or Cordova app receives updates from — the default channel, versioned channels, and runtime selection. title: Subscribe to a Channel - Capawesome image: https://capawesome.io/docs/assets/images/social/cloud/live-updates/channel-subscription.png --- [Skip to content ](#subscribe-to-a-channel) [🔐 Introducing the **Capacitor Vault** plugin — store secrets behind biometrics or a device passcode. ](/blog/announcing-the-capacitor-vault-plugin/) * [ SDKs ](/docs/sdks/) * [ Formbricks ](/docs/sdks/capacitor/formbricks/) * [ Geocoder ](/docs/sdks/capacitor/geocoder/) * [ Google Sign-In ](/docs/sdks/capacitor/google-sign-in/) * [ Grafana Faro ](/docs/sdks/capacitor/grafana-faro/) * [ libSQL ](/docs/sdks/capacitor/libsql/) * [ Live Update ](/docs/sdks/capacitor/live-update/) * [ Managed Configurations ](/docs/sdks/capacitor/managed-configurations/) * [ Media Session ](/docs/sdks/capacitor/media-session/) * [ ML Kit 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](/docs/cloud/organizations/billing/) * [ License Keys ](/docs/cloud/license-keys/) * [ AI ](/docs/ai/) * [ Insiders ](/docs/insiders/) * [ Billing & Plans ](/docs/insiders/billing-and-plans/) * [ FAQ ](/docs/insiders/faq/) * [ License ](https://capawesome.io/legal/eula/) * [ Support ](/docs/support/) * [ Contributing ](/docs/contributing/) * Contributing code * [ Code of Conduct ](/docs/contributing/code-of-conduct/) * [ Questions ](https://docs.github.com/en/discussions/collaborating-with-your-community-using-discussions/participating-in-a-discussion#creating-a-discussion) * [ Blog ](/blog/) * Categories * [ Next steps ](#next-steps) # Subscribe to a Channel[¶](#subscribe-to-a-channel "Permanent link") Every device receives Live Updates from a single [channel](/docs/cloud/live-updates/channels/). This page covers how your app chooses which channel to subscribe to. ## The default channel[¶](#the-default-channel "Permanent link") Every app starts with a channel named `default`. When your app doesn't request a specific channel, it receives updates from this one. The default channel exists mainly as a **fallback** to make getting started easy — you can publish your first update and watch it land without configuring any channels. For production, we recommend moving to **versioned channels** — one channel per native app version — so a bundle only ever reaches devices that can run it. See [Binary-Compatible Changes](/docs/cloud/live-updates/binary-compatible-changes/) for why this matters, and the next section for how to set it up. ## Set the channel natively (recommended)[¶](#set-the-channel-natively-recommended "Permanent link") The cleanest approach is to configure the channel **natively at build time**. Your app code then doesn't need to manage channels at all, and you can derive the channel from the native version code to get versioned channels for free. See [Get Started](/docs/cloud/live-updates/setup/#make-updates-version-compatible) for the Android and iOS configuration. ## Select the channel at runtime[¶](#select-the-channel-at-runtime "Permanent link") If you need to choose the channel dynamically — for example, to opt a user into a `beta` channel — pass the `channel` to the method that fetches updates. Passing it explicitly at the call site keeps the selected channel unambiguous. ### With `sync()`[¶](#with-sync "Permanent link") CapacitorCordova `[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-1)import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update"; [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-2) [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-3)await LiveUpdate.sync({ channel: "beta" }); ` `[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-1-1)await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.sync({ channel: "beta" }); ` ### With `fetchLatestBundle()`[¶](#with-fetchlatestbundle "Permanent link") If you handle the [update lifecycle manually](/docs/cloud/live-updates/manual-updates/), pass the channel to `fetchLatestBundle()` instead: CapacitorCordova `[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-2-1)import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update"; [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-2-2) [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-2-3)const result = await LiveUpdate.fetchLatestBundle({ channel: "beta" }); ` `[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-3-1)const result = await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.fetchLatestBundle({ channel: "beta" }); ` ### With `setChannel()`[¶](#with-setchannel "Permanent link") You can also set the channel once with `setChannel()`, which persists it for all subsequent calls: CapacitorCordova `[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-4-1)import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update"; [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-4-2) [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-4-3)await LiveUpdate.setChannel({ channel: "beta" }); ` `[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-5-1)await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.setChannel({ channel: "beta" }); ` Prefer passing the channel directly We don't recommend `setChannel()`. Passing the `channel` to `sync()` or `fetchLatestBundle()` on every call keeps the selected channel explicit at the call site and avoids relying on hidden, persisted state. ### Derive the channel from the version code[¶](#derive-the-channel-from-the-version-code "Permanent link") A common pattern is to compute the channel from the native version code, so updates stay [version-compatible](/docs/cloud/live-updates/binary-compatible-changes/): CapacitorCordova `` [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-6-1)import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update"; [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-6-2) [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-6-3)const { versionCode } = await LiveUpdate.getVersionCode(); [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-6-4)await LiveUpdate.sync({ channel: `production-${versionCode}` }); `` `` [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-7-1)const { versionCode } = await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.getVersionCode(); [](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-7-2)await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.sync({ channel: `production-${versionCode}` }); `` ## Next steps[¶](#next-steps "Permanent link") * [Manage Channels](/docs/cloud/live-updates/channels/) — create and configure channels for staging and production. * [Choose an Update Strategy](/docs/cloud/live-updates/update-strategies/) — control when updates are downloaded and applied. June 8, 2026 Back to top