ServiceWorkerRegistration.update()

This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.

The update method of the ServiceWorkerRegistration interface attempts to update the service worker. It fetches the worker's script URL, and if the new worker is not byte-by-byte identical to the current worker, it installs the new worker. The fetch of the worker bypasses any browser caches if the previous fetch occurred over 24 hours ago.

Note: This feature is available in Web Workers.

Syntax

ServiceWorkerRegistration.update();

Parameters

None.

Returns

Void.

Example

The following simple example registers a service worker example, an then adds an event handler to a button so you can explicitly update the service worker whenever desired:

if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
  navigator.serviceWorker.register('/sw-test/sw.js', {scope: 'sw-test'}).then(function(registration) {
    // registration worked
    console.log('Registration succeeded.');
    button.onclick = function() {
      registration.update();
    }
  }).catch(function(error) {
    // registration failed
    console.log('Registration failed with ' + error);
  });
};

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Service Workers
The definition of 'ServiceWorkerRegistration.update()' in that specification.
Working Draft Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support 45.0 [1] [2] 44.0 (44.0)[3] No support ? No support
Available in web workers No support 44.0 (44.0)[3] No support ? No support
Feature Android Android Webview Firefox Mobile (Gecko) Firefox OS IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile Chrome for Android
Basic support ? No support 44.0 (44.0) (Yes) No support ? No support 45.0 [1] [2]
Available in web workers ? No support (Yes) ? No support ? No support 45.0 [1] [2]
  • [1] Starting with Chrome 46, update() returns a promise that resolves with 'undefined' if the operation completed successfully or there was no update, and rejects if update failed. If the new worker ran but installation failed, the promise still resolves. Formerly, it raised an exception.
  • [2] Before Chrome 48, this method always bypassed the browser cache. Starting with Chrome 48, it only bypasses the cache when the previous service worker check was more than twenty-four hours ago.
  • [3] Service workers (and Push) have been disabled in the Firefox 45 and 52 Extended Support Releases (ESR.)

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: chrisdavidmills, rolfedh, jpmedley, mattto, pubatee, fscholz, kscarfone
 Last updated by: chrisdavidmills,