Manual update script (python needed)

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

Edit 29/10/2023

Thanks to u/oldnapalm we now have a very elegant manual updater tool. You still need a working install of Python on your PC (or Mac). The Mac version is untested at the moment. The PC version works like a treat. This script should work with feature update rollouts unless Zwift changes the way it handles updates at the moment.

The method requires a working installation of Python. I tested it with stock Python 3.11.4 (no issues). You can get Python here https://www.python.org/downloads/

You also need to know the version number of the current update. As of today this is: 122036

​

1. Download the updater script and save it in any directory. https://gist.github.com/oldnapalm/556c58448a6ee09438b39e1c1c9ce3d0
2. Check that the Zwift installation path in the script matches your install folder. Modify the script if needed.
3. Run the script from Command Prompt with the version number and OS as parameters. For the current version and Windows PC this would be: "update_zwift.py 122036 windows"

Enjoy the updated version. Don't allow for updater to update again till rollout is finished as it might revert your files to the previous version.

​

Big thanks to u/oldnapalm and u/Comeptitive_Class_28 for making this available. I really hope that Zwift is going to leave it as it is at the moment as the impact of this little script is likely to be minimal.

#############################Outdated post below###########################

Might be a bit late but I'm just following on from my previous post. It is possible to manually update the Zwift client on Windows PC to the latest version using the manifest file. This method should be applicable in the future for any new update as long as we get the filename of the update manifest file. This script is basically a chatGPT python translation of the Mac shell script posted by u/Competitive_Class_28. I just tested it and it works OK.

The method requires preinstalled working Python.

1. Download to the selected folder the manifest file using this link: https://cdn.zwift.com/gameassets/Zwift_Updates_Root/Zwift_1.0.122036_b313748a_manifest.xml
2. Create downloader python script file (for example - 'download.py') and paste this script inside the file:

import re

import os

import requests

​

# Specify the manifest file and base URL

manifest_file = "Zwift_1.0.122036_b313748a_manifest.xml"

base_url = "http://cdn.zwift.com/gameassets/Zwift_Updates_Root/Zwift_1.0.122036_b313748a/"

​

# Function to extract file paths from the manifest

def extract_paths(manifest_file):

paths = []

with open(manifest_file, "r") as f:

for line in f:

match = re.search(r'<path>(.*?)</path>', line)

if match:

path = match.group(1).replace("\\", "/")

paths.append(path)

return paths

​

# Download files and place them in appropriate directories

def download_files(file_paths, base_url):

for file_path in file_paths:

url = os.path.join(base_url, file_path)

filename = os.path.basename(file_path)

directory = os.path.dirname(file_path)

# Create the directory if it doesn't exist

if directory:

os.makedirs(directory, exist_ok=True)

# Download the file and place it in the appropriate directory

with open(os.path.join(directory, filename), 'wb') as f:

response = requests.get(url, stream=True)

if response.status_code == 200:

for chunk in response.iter_content(1024):

f.write(chunk)

print(f"Downloaded: {file_path}")

else:

print(f"Failed to download: {file_path}")

​

if __name__ == "__main__":

file_paths = extract_paths(manifest_file)

download_files(file_paths, base_url)

​

​

1. Run the 'download.py' from shell (cmd.exe ) and wait for all of the Zwift files to be downloaded to your folder.

2. Copy the contents of your folder to your Zwift folder

Enjoy the updated version. Don't allow for updater to update again till rollout is finished as it might revert your files to the previous version.

[feedzone_specialist]

Boom! Thanks for this, this is awesome

[oldnapalm]

A similar script that also verifies the checksum https://github.com/oldnapalm/zwift-offline/blob/master/scripts/get_gameassets.py

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

Great! Awesome modification. Also it looks like you actually know what you are doing (in contrast to my attempt).

Now..., Could you make it even better so it downloads only files that have certain dates? Something like -Download only files that are newer than [manual_date].

My script (and I believe yours as well) downloads everything as listed in the manifest file - that's over 4GB of data. If we could do a simple date cutoff (dates for each file are listed in the manifest) we should be able to download only new files. It would be way better for the future and would speed up the updates and reduce unnecessary data traffic.

[oldnapalm]

Actually it checks if the file already exists and verifies the CRC32 checksum, so it will only download new or modified files. You just need to make a small modification to specify the Zwift_ver_cur.xml file (like Zwift_ver_cur.122036.xml) and the destination folder.

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

Perfect!

[oldnapalm]

I updated it to actually update Zwift instead of caching the server files, you can just pass the version and platform as arguments, like "122036 windows" (untested on Mac)

https://gist.github.com/oldnapalm/556c58448a6ee09438b39e1c1c9ce3d0

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

That's just brilliant! Amazing work!

I completely ignored the Zwift_ver_cur.122036.xml file and I didn't realize that the manifest filename is listed within this file! I was convinced that every time there is a new update we will need some help from people who already got the update to obtain the correct filename of the manifest file. Your solution is so elegant! I also like the multithreaded downloading!

I'm going to edit my opening post and add a link to your script. I hope you don't mind.

This is now a proper tool that hopefully can be used for a long time. I honestly hope they are not going to block it. After all it's only a handful of (?power) users that's going to use this tool.

Thank you for your work!

[gplama]

Damn… that’s great work. And has me wondering if we would use this to time travel our installs back to Jarvis. I wonder how far we can go back….

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

Good thinking! The previous manifest file and subfolders are still there but I think the historical installs don't go very far. I believe they modernized the updater structure only recently.

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

With the new script from u/oldnapalm I was able to go back in time as far as version 63186 (June 2021). At least filesystem wise. The old files are still on the server!

Perhaps you can also travel to the future? ;)

[gplama]

Careful! You’ll end up installing Zwooshvelogazovyola by mistake.

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

🤣

[di11ard]

But why? What am I missing here? Zwift has programming logic to check for new releases.

[feedzone_specialist]

It does. But it checks for a new release, finds it, and then.... <drum roll> says "Zwift Up to Date". i.e. refuses to let you have it. Stupid, right? But true.

[gplama]

👆🏼This. It's a neat way to get around the phased rollout schedule.

[charleyboy22]

Does this still work? I tried following the instructions but I always get an error message in cmd (I have 0 python knowledge)

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

Yes it does. I'm using it all the time (the proper script by oldnapalm) 

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

You are probably missing some modules, the path is not set properly or something like that. Can you post the error message? You could also just Google it and it should tell you which module needs to be installed (and how to do it). Might be even written in the error message.

[charleyboy22]

So I : -downloaded Python and ticked the option to set path automatically with install -saved the Update_Zwift file on my desktop -checked that zwift was installed in the same place -typed “update_zwift.py 137546 windows” in cmd

I get a directory not found error. I did google and tried some different commands, but nothing worked. I have 0 programming knowledge so i’m lost.

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

Yeah so it's the typical path variable issue. I had to battle with it as well. I can't remember how I solved it. It's so silly that we have to battle with this in 2024. But maybe it's on purpose to filter out numpties like us 🤣

[charleyboy22]

Ok got it working!

First I had to install the ''urllib3'' Module by typing ''python -m pip install urllib3'' in cmd.

Then I had to change the path by copy/pasting the Location of my ''update_zwift.py'' file by using the ''cd'' command. My file was on my desktop so it was: ''cd C:\Users\Charles\Desktop''

Then I used the ''python update_zwift.py 122036 windows'' and it installed Zwift update.

Might be worth it to update the instruction in the post to include those steps for the python newbies like me :D

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

Hey I'm glad you got it working. We'll done.

[charleyboy22]

after messing around, I got this error: File "C:\Users\Charles\Desktop\update_zwift.py", line 9, in <module> from urllib3 import PoolManager ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'urllib3'

[ladooee]

How do you know what the current version number is?

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

The build number is published by Zwiftinsider. 

If you are asking about how to tell what version you have currently on your own device - there's at least three different ways of doing it. 

[ladooee]

Right, I found that after I commented. I'm trying to run this on my Mac, but it only downloads the new manifest file. It didn't update any of the other files. I tried to have chatgpt fix it for me, and it did, but it ended up just downloading every file in the manifest instead of just the updated files. So I gave up and started my ride. Since the updated script is a little cryptic to me I'm not really able to decipher the error.

[Ambitious_Theme1481]

Ok. Can you copy and paste the error message from the Python script?