AddonUpdaterMod (Add-on Updater with Russian Community Catalog)

AddonUpdaterMod is a modified version of the Add-on Updater add-on with an added server of the Russian-speaking community - for automatic or manual updating of installed add-ons.

Add-on page in the catalog

Download add-on

Note:
This modified version adds the "Russian add-on server" to the list of sources.
Do not install it alongside the original version, as they will conflict.
If you already have the original Add-on Updater add-on installed, disable or remove it.
The modified version is practically no different from the original add-on.

To check for updates after installing the AddonUpdaterMod add-on, go to NVDA menu / Tools / Check for add-on updates (if NVDA detects updates, the menu item will change to "Review add-on updates", followed by the number of available updates). If updates are available, a list of add-on updates will be shown, each entry consisting of the add-on name, current version, new version, and update channel. Select Update, and NVDA will download and apply the updates sequentially, after which you will be prompted to restart NVDA.

The Spanish community server is also available in the list of additional sources.

You can change the source as follows:

• NVDA menu (NVDA+N).
• Preferences submenu.
• Settings...
• In the dropdown list, navigate to the Add-on Updater panel.
• In the "Add-on update source" dropdown, select "Spanish community add-ons catalog".
• Click the "OK" button.

After clicking the save button, you will hear the following message:

"Add-on update source change. You are about to switch to a different add-on update source. Are you sure you wish to change update source to Spanish community add-ons catalog?"

Click "Yes", after which the NVDA settings dialog will close.

You can return to the Russian community source in the same way.

Original Documentation

Original authors:

• Joseph Lee, Luke Davis
• This is a potentially obsolete add-on: Starting with NVDA 2023.2, add-on update checking is included via the add-on store.
• As of April 2025, support for the original add-on has been officially discontinued.

This add-on implements NVDA Core issue 3208: the ability to check for, download, and apply add-on updates.

To check for updates after installing this add-on, go to NVDA menu / Tools / Check for add-on updates (if NVDA detects updates, the menu item will change to "Review add-on updates", followed by the number of available updates). If updates are available, a list of add-on updates will be shown, each entry consisting of the add-on name, current version, new version, and update channel. Select Update, and NVDA will download and apply the updates sequentially, after which you will be prompted to restart NVDA.

The following add-ons have built-in update functionality, so update checks via this add-on are not performed:

• Braille Extender
• Tienda NVDA (Spanish NVDA community store)

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Once the corresponding feature is included in NVDA as an add-on store with automatic updates and update notifications, this add-on will be gradually phased out. The add-on store (NVDA 2023.2) and basic update notifications (NVDA 2024.3) are currently available, but the full range of features, including automatic add-on updates and related notifications, only became part of NVDA 2025.1.
• This add-on requires Windows 10 version 22H2 or later.
• This add-on is not intended for use on secure screens. If add-ons are installed on secure screens, even if Add-on Updater is copied to the secure screen mode, Add-on Updater will not work.
• If new add-on updates specify a compatibility range (minimum and last tested NVDA versions) and your NVDA version is not within the compatibility range according to NVDA, the add-on update will not be performed.
• Not all add-ons come with development releases. If you are not receiving updates after setting development releases for add-ons, switch to the stable channel for the relevant add-ons.
• In the NVDA settings window when editing Add-on Updater settings, you may notice that the title indicates editing settings for a specific configuration profile (the profile that was active before entering settings). This is not significant. Settings for this add-on are always global.
• On some systems (particularly computers connected to a corporate domain), the add-on update check feature may not work correctly, so add-on updates must be downloaded manually.
• Some features require NVDA to be installed on the computer.
• Some add-on versions include SHA256 hash values for add-on package integrity verification (all add-ons published in the add-on store contain SHA256 values), and if the hash value does not match, the add-on update will not proceed.

Add-on Updater Settings

Add-on Updater settings can be configured in the NVDA settings screen (NVDA menu, Preferences, Settings) in the Add-on Updater category. The add-on settings are as follows:

• Automatically check for add-on updates: if checked, NVDA will check for add-on updates once a day. Automatic update checking is enabled on Windows client systems and disabled on server systems.
• Add-on update notification: you can choose how to receive update notifications - as a dialog or as a toast notification. On server systems or when using a portable copy of NVDA, the update notification will be displayed as a dialog.
• Update add-ons in the background (update notification must be set to toast): if checked, Add-on Updater will apply updates in the background. A notification will appear informing about the download and installation of updates, followed by another message reporting the update results. The same limitations apply as with the add-on update notification setting, and for background updates to work, toast notification must be selected from the above option.
• Do not update add-ons: you can select add-ons that should not be updated.
• Prefer development releases: all add-ons checked in this list will receive development releases (pre-releases).
• Development release channel (the selected add-on must be checked in the prefer development releases list): allows you to choose development updates from the dev or beta channel.
• Add-on update source: you can choose where to receive updates from. Add-on Updater currently supports downloading updates from the sources listed below. After changing the update source, a confirmation message will be shown.

The available add-on update sources are:

• Russian community add-ons catalog (default)
• Spanish community add-ons catalog

Translation

• Valentin Kupriyanov: Russian language
• Continued translation support, as well as translated the documentation and released the modification.

Changelog

Version 26.07

• Fixed some bugs.
• Added interval selection for automatic update checking in settings.
• Updated translations.

Version 26.06

• Restored compatibility with NVDA 2026.1 API.
• Removed non-working sources (Russian and Spanish community servers remain available).
• Changed configuration filename from nvda3208.pickle to addonUpdaterMod.pickle where settings are stored.
• Updated translations.

Version 26.02

• Release compatible with NVDA 2026.1.
• Removed NVAccess store servers, as well as Chinese and Taiwanese community servers (not working or no longer exist) from the additional server list.
• Russian community server set as default.

Version 25.04

Update from April 15, 2025.

Hello everyone, Add-on Updater version 25.04 is now available. This is the final update for the add-on — with the introduction of automatic add-on updates in NVDA 2025.1, support for Add-on Updater is being discontinued. Thank you for your support.

Version 25.1

• Removed community add-ons website as an add-on update source.

Version 24.3/24.08

• When starting NVDA, Add-on Updater will not display the update dialog if using NVDA 2024.3 or later and the NVDA add-on store is set to "notify" for update notifications.

Version 24.2.4

• Fixed a regression related to the fix in version 24.2.1: this issue was not completely fixed in NVDA 2023.X, as the fix relied on a change introduced in NVDA 2024.1. This situation has now been detected and fixed (josephsl/addonUpdater#22).
• Update interval changed to 12 hours.
• Added notice about the update notification available in NVDA 2024.3 to the readme.
• Added comments about an unfixable but harmless error in the NVDA settings panel to the readme (josephsl/addonUpdater#8).

Version 24.2.2

• Reduced update interval to 6 hours.

24.2.1

• Fixed an issue where Updater updates appearing on an external channel were still shown as updatable in the store via the stable (or other) channel. The cause was leftover JSON files from old non-external installations. They are now removed.

Version 24.2.0

• Release compatible with NVDA 2024.1.

Version 24.01.1

• A short-lived release that removes the obsolete status introduced in late 2023.

Version 23.12

Hello everyone, After more than five years, Add-on Updater development has come to an end (at least according to Joseph Lee) with the release of version 23.12. Although add-on development has ended (officially), Luke Davis will continue to maintain it until features such as add-on update notification become available in NVDA. Thank you for your support and feedback over the past five years.

Version 23.10

• Changed the update message mentioning the NV Access add-on store if NVDA 2023.2 or later is used and the add-on update source is the add-on store.

Version 23.09

• Requires Windows 10 version 22H2 or later.

Version 23.08

This is the final version to support Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and Windows 10 21H2 and earlier.

• After closing the add-on store, the add-on update results dialog or toast message will be shown.
• If the add-on update dialog was shown and then closed without installing add-ons, NVDA will no longer report that there are no add-on updates when checking for add-on updates.
• When updating a portable copy of NVDA, Add-on Updater will no longer show startup messages and perform update checks.

Version 23.07

• If using an NVDA release with the add-on store included, a message will be shown at startup informing users about the new add-on store. In this case, the add-on update results dialog will not be displayed. Add-on Updater will continue to work.
• Improved performance when checking for add-on updates from the NV Access add-on store and community add-ons website update sources, especially when no updates are available.

Version 23.06

• Requires NVDA 2023.1 or later.
• Changed the default add-on update source from the community add-ons website to the NV Access add-on store.

Version 23.05

• The add-on update channel will be displayed when viewing available add-on updates.
• When using NVDA releases with the add-on store included, NVDA will display a message about the add-on store.

Version 23.04

• Added development update channel setting, allowing users of development add-ons to choose between dev and beta update channels. This option is displayed if the selected add-on from the development releases list is checked.
• NV Access add-on store widely available as an update source from Add-on Updater.

Version 23.03

• Due to changes made to the website used by some update sources, installation must be done manually.
• Added NV Access add-on store as an experimental update source.

Version 23.02

• Requires NVDA 2022.4 or later.
• NVDA will no longer offer outdated updates for most add-ons after checking for updates. This applies to add-ons with version numbers in the format number.number.

Version 23.01

• NVDA will check the minimum Windows version for add-on updates if the update source is the NVDA community add-ons website.
• Improved performance when downloading a large number of updates simultaneously. As a result, the download order of add-ons displayed in the download progress dialog will be random.
• Parts of the add-on now use the Python concurrent.futures module for improved performance, particularly update checking and download processes.

Version 22.11

• Requires NVDA 2022.3 or later.

Version 22.10

• Added NVDA community catalogs for China and Taiwan as add-on update sources (author: Woody Tseng).

Version 22.09

• Requires NVDA 2022.2 or later.
• NVDA will check SHA256 hash values when downloading add-on updates if the update source contains hash values for add-on packages. If the hash value is invalid, the add-on update will fail.

Version 22.08

• Significant internal code reorganization and rewriting.
• Automatic add-on update checking is disabled by default on Windows Server systems (affects new installations).
• Added the ability to choose different add-on update sources. Add-on Updater can check for updates hosted on the community add-ons website (addons.nvda-project.org) or the Spanish community add-ons catalog (nvda.es). A new combo box has been added to the add-on settings panel for selecting the add-on update source.
• On Windows 10 and later, you can allow Add-on Updater to check, download, and install updates in the background, provided that NVDA is actually installed and update notification is set to toast.
• Redesigned the download and installation process for multiple add-ons, including using a single dialog to display the download progress for all add-ons and updating add-ons after all of them have been downloaded.
• If toast notifications are configured in NVDA, when updates are available, the "check for add-on updates" menu item changes to "review add-on updates", with the new name including the number of add-on updates.
• In NVDA 2022.1 and later, Add-on Updater can handle command-line switches for this add-on (currently none).
• In the add-on update dialog, user-disabled add-ons are unchecked by default, and when checking disabled add-ons and attempting to update them, a confirmation message will be shown, as this will enable them.

Version 22.07

• URLs used by the add-on are now constants located in a new module (author: Luke Davis).
• The add-on download dialog is now centered on the screen.

Version 22.03

• Security improvement: the add-on does not load if NVDA is running in secure mode.

Version 22.02

• Requires NVDA 2021.3 or later.
• In Windows 10, add-on update toast notifications are localized.

Version 22.01

• Requires NVDA 2021.2 or later.
• On server systems running Windows Server 2016 and later, add-on updates will be displayed in a dialog instead of toast notifications.

Version 21.10

• On some systems, particularly after a clean Windows installation, it is once again possible to check for add-on updates.

Version 21.09

• Requires NVDA 2021.1 or later.
• On Windows 10 and later, you can choose between add-on update notification as a toast or as an update dialog. This can be configured in Add-on Updater settings located in the NVDA settings screen.
• Add-on Updater will no longer check minimum Windows release information for add-ons, as add-ons such as Windows App Essentials provide more comprehensive Windows compatibility information.

Version 21.07

• On Windows 10 and later, a toast notification will appear when add-on updates are available. Note that this notification cannot be clicked - to view updates, you must open NVDA menu / Tools / Check for add-on updates.
• When the legacy add-ons dialog is displayed at startup, you can now view legacy add-ons and the reasons for them, similar to add-on updates.
• Improved internal add-on update checking, including using the community-provided add-on metadata collection to check add-on compatibility. Among other things, this eliminates the need to release updates to add update checks for new add-ons.

Version 21.05

• NVDA will no longer play error sounds when attempting to check for updates while using NVDA 2021.1 alpha snapshots, due to changes in the wxPython GUI toolkit.

Version 21.03

• Requires NVDA 2020.4 or later.
• When errors occur while checking for add-on updates, such as loss of Internet connection, NVDA displays an error dialog.

Version 20.11

• Requires NVDA 2020.3 or later.
• Resolved more coding style issues and potential errors with Flake8.
• NVDA will no longer play error sounds or appear unresponsive when using the add-on while NVDA is running from source code. Instead, a message will be logged about this fact.

Version 20.07

• Requires NVDA 2020.1 or later.
• If one or more legacy add-ons are installed (e.g., Screen Curtain), Add-on Updater will display a message suggesting disabling or removing the listed add-ons.
• Save, reload, or reset Add-on Updater settings can now be done by pressing Control+NVDA+C, Control+NVDA+R once, or Control+NVDA+R three times respectively.

Version 20.06

• Resolved many coding style issues and potential errors with Flake8.

Version 20.04

• When attempting to update add-ons through Add-on Updater, NVDA will no longer appear to do nothing or play error sounds.
• Resolved an issue where the "Check for add-on updates" item was missing from the NVDA Tools menu.

Version 20.03

• Requires NVDA 2019.3 or later.
• When installing add-on updates, Add-on Updater will no longer check the compatibility range. NVDA itself will check add-on compatibility.

Version 19.11

• When add-on updates are available, NVDA reports how many updates are available.

Version 19.09

• Requires NVDA 2019.2 or later.
• Fixed a timeout error when attempting to download some add-on updates (particularly add-on files hosted on GitHub).

Version 19.04

• Requires NVDA 2019.1 or later.
• When installing add-on updates, the minimum and last tested versions are checked.

Version 19.01

• Requires NVDA 2018.4 or later.
• Improved responsiveness when checking for add-on updates.
• Improved add-on compatibility with Python 3.

Version 18.12.2

• Python 3 readiness.
• Fixed compatibility with the latest NVDA alpha snapshots where add-on updates were not being downloaded.

Version 18.12.1

• Added localizations.

Version 18.12

• Updates for disabled add-ons can be checked. After updating, they will remain disabled.
• During an update, if an add-on requires a specific NVDA version and/or Windows release, they will be checked, and if either does not match, an error message will be displayed and the update will be aborted, resulting in the already installed add-on version remaining unchanged.
• When automatic update checking is enabled and updates are ready, NVDA will display a list of updates rather than asking whether you want to view updates.

Version 18.10

• Initial stable release (still marked as proof of concept).