---
description: Manually control the Live Update lifecycle in your Capacitor or Cordova app — fetch, download, stage, and reload bundles for custom update flows.
title: Download and Apply Updates - Capawesome
image: https://capawesome.io/docs/assets/images/social/cloud/live-updates/manual-updates.png
---

[ Skip to content](#download-and-apply-updates) 

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# Download and Apply Updates[¶](#download-and-apply-updates "Permanent link")

For full control over the update process, the Live Update SDK exposes the individual steps of the update lifecycle:

1. **`fetchLatestBundle()`** — check for updates without downloading them.
2. **`downloadBundle()`** — download a bundle without applying it.
3. **`setNextBundle()`** — set a bundle as the one to apply on the next launch.
4. **`reload()`** — apply the new bundle immediately.

Disable automatic updates

When handling updates manually, set `autoUpdateStrategy` to `none` (or leave it unset) to prevent conflicts with the automatic update mechanism. See [Choose an update strategy](/docs/cloud/live-updates/update-strategies/).

## Check for updates[¶](#check-for-updates "Permanent link")

Check for a new bundle without downloading it:

CapacitorCordova

`[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-1)import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update";
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-2)
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-3)const result = await LiveUpdate.fetchLatestBundle({ channel: "production" });
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-4)if (result.bundleId) {
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-5)  console.log("New update available: " + result.downloadUrl);
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-0-6)}
`

`[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-1-1)const result = await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.fetchLatestBundle({ channel: "production" });
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-1-2)if (result.bundleId) {
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-1-3)  console.log("New update available: " + result.downloadUrl);
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-1-4)}
`

This returns information about the latest bundle, including its ID and download URL. Pass the `channel` to check a specific channel — see [Subscribe to a Channel](/docs/cloud/live-updates/channel-subscription/) for the available options.

## Download an update[¶](#download-an-update "Permanent link")

Download a bundle — the SDK extracts the files and moves them into place:

CapacitorCordova

`[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-2-1)import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update";
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-2-2)
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-2-3)await LiveUpdate.downloadBundle({ bundleId, url });
`

`[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-3-1)await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.downloadBundle({ bundleId, url });
`

## Apply an update[¶](#apply-an-update "Permanent link")

Stage a downloaded bundle as the next one to load:

CapacitorCordova

`[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-4-1)import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update";
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-4-2)
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-4-3)await LiveUpdate.setNextBundle({ bundleId });
`

`[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-5-1)await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.setNextBundle({ bundleId });
`

To apply it immediately instead of on the next launch, call `reload()`:

CapacitorCordova

`[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-6-1)import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update";
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-6-2)
[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-6-3)await LiveUpdate.reload();
`

`[](#%5F%5Fcodelineno-7-1)await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.reload();
`

June 8, 2026 

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