Getting Started

This guide will walk you through setting up Shipunk for your Mac app.

Prerequisites

• A Mac app using Sparkle for updates
• Node.js 18+ (for the CLI)
• A Shipunk account

Step 1: Create an account

1. Go to shipunk.dev
2. Sign up with your email
3. Create your first app in the dashboard

When you create an app, you'll get:

• A unique slug (e.g., myapp)
• An appcast URL: https://shipunk.dev/appcast/myapp.xml
• An EdDSA public key for Sparkle

Step 2: Install the CLI

# Using npm
npm install -g shipunk

# Or using npx (no install needed)
npx shipunk --help

Step 3: Authenticate

Get your API key from the dashboard settings, then:

shipunk login
# Enter your API key when prompted

Or pass it directly:

shipunk login --key sk_live_xxxxx

Step 4: Upload your first release

shipunk release upload MyApp-1.0.0.dmg \
  --app myapp \
  --version 1.0.0 \
  --notes "Initial release"

You can also use a release notes file:

shipunk release upload MyApp-1.0.0.dmg \
  --app myapp \
  --version 1.0.0 \
  --notes-file CHANGELOG.md

Step 5: Configure Sparkle

In your app's Info.plist, add:

<key>SUFeedURL</key>
<string>https://shipunk.dev/appcast/myapp.xml</string>

<key>SUPublicEDKey</key>
<string>YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY_HERE</string>

Get your public key from the app settings in the Shipunk dashboard.

Verifying the setup

After uploading, visit your appcast URL to verify:

https://shipunk.dev/appcast/myapp.xml

You should see an XML feed with your release.

Next steps

• CLI Reference - All CLI commands
• Sparkle Integration - Advanced Sparkle configuration
• CI/CD Integration - Automate releases with GitHub Actions