Cocos Creator hot update: manifests, AssetsManager and safe releases

The manifest and AssetsManager

A Cocos hot update is driven by a manifest file that lists the content version and the md5 hash of every file.

When the game starts, AssetsManager compares the local manifest with the one on the server, downloads only the files that changed, verifies their md5 and restarts the game to run the new content.

What you would have to build yourself

• A server to host update packages
• A new manifest for every release
• Version numbering and release channels
• A way to roll back when a release goes wrong

What the HotUpdate edition includes

The HotUpdate edition at ShopWebview ships with this infrastructure and an admin portal to release, test and roll back — so a content change becomes a portal action instead of a project.

Before you ship an update

• Test it in the test channel on real devices
• Keep the change inside scripts and assets the game downloads
• Release to everyone once it is stable, roll back if it is not