Skip to content

Name changes

Packages require a variety of names that are used for different purposes. Conveyor will do its best to derive all these names for you from whatever is provided, however, be aware that changing names can break updates.

All platforms

Changing the app.site.base-url is now supported. You'll need to configure Conveyor to update the old site to redirect existing installs to look at the new URL. Notice that upon changing the app.site.base-url your license key will be associated with the new URL, and you cannot go back.

Changing the app.fsname key can break updates because this is used to identify the program to the operating system's package manager when there is one. If you aren't specifying an app.fsname explicitly, it will be derived from the app.display-name and app.vendor keys. In some cases it is safe to change this name, but it must be done with care.

Windows

When distributing outside the app store updates may stop working in the following cases:

  • Renaming your organization.
  • Changing the location of your organizational headquarters.
  • Going from an OV to an EV certificate or vice-versa.
  • Changing your personal name, if not using an organizational certificate.
  • In some cases, changing from one certificate authority to another.

This is a Windows design issue: it identifies packages by using a hash of the verified identity in the signing certificate. Certificate authorities refuse to issue certificates to old identities, so once your code signing certificate expires your signing identity will change if the underlying legal identity has changed.

Conveyor provides a new escape hatch mechanism that allows you to circumvent those issues by forcing a reinstallation of the app when there's a change in the package family name or the location of the .appinstaller file. That mechanism makes a best effort approach to back up local app data, so the app keeps its state after a reinstallation. Starting from Conveyor 10, that mechanism is enabled by default.

When changing the app.fsname you can keep your previous package identity names by changing the following keys:

  • app.windows.store.identity-name (when doing in-store distribution)
  • app.windows.manifests.msix.identity-name (when doing out-of-store distribution)

These keys default to the value of app.fsname, re-capitalized to match Windows platform conventions. You might want to keep the package identity name so users don't need to reinstall the app unnecessarily.

macOS

Changing the app.display-name key should work as expected, except the name of the app in the file system (the one users will see in Finder) doesn't change after an update. It can be renamed manually.

The app.rdns-name key (reverse DNS) controls the bundle identifier. Combined with your signing "team ID" this is how macOS identifies an application. Changing the rdns-name will therefore make macOS perceive your app as totally new and it will forget any granted permissions.

Changing your Apple Developer ID can be done as long as you don't change your Conveyor root key at the same time, as that is used to sign the update feeds. This is due to Sparkle's support for key rotation.

Linux

The package / fsname can't be changed without breaking updates. Other names are safe to change.