Skip to main content
Version: v4

Update FAQ

Before reading, we recommend getting familiar with the TapTap PC Game Update Mechanism. Most questions can be located once you understand the update mechanism.

Update prompts​

The game has finished updating, so why does TapTap still show "Update game"?​

For a game that has placed .taptap/meta.json, TapTap decides whether an update is needed by comparing the .taptap/meta.json version with the live package version. If it is still prompting, it means the .taptap/meta.json version TapTap reads is still lower than the live package version. Common causes:

  • The game did not report the version after self-updating: the self-update changed files but did not write .taptap/meta.json to the target version, so its version number is stuck at the old value. This is the most common cause.
  • A high-version package is left in the Developer Center: a package with a version higher than the official live release is still attached in the Developer Center, raising the live package version so that the .taptap/meta.json version is lower than the live package version.
  • The .taptap/meta.json path or format is wrong: the path was renamed / moved, or the version is not in vX.X.X format, so TapTap cannot read a valid version number and treats it as "needs update."

For troubleshooting and integration steps, see Game Self-Update Version Reporting.

Can games updated only by TapTap distribution get duplicate prompts?​

Generally no. A TapTap-distributed update installs exactly the current live package, after which the local copy is the live package — the two are naturally identical. Duplicate prompts almost only occur in the game self-update scenario.

How is the .taptap/meta.json version compared with the live package version?​

Segment by segment from left to right in vX.X.X form, e.g., v1.2.3 < v1.2.4 < v1.3.0 < v2.0.0. No prompt when the .taptap/meta.json version is not lower than the live package version; prompt and update when it is lower. For format requirements, see Version number format.

Update package size​

Why is the incremental patch still nearly the size of the full package?​

Usually because TapTap could not reuse the old files. Check:

  • Whether old-version files were rewritten at runtime (once rewritten, they cannot serve as a diff baseline).
  • Whether resource paths or filenames changed (a path change is treated as a new file and triggers a full download).

See File rules.

For the same version, the update is large during self-testing but smaller after going live — is that normal?​

Yes. Before approval it uses incremental updates (block-level); after approval it automatically upgrades to delta updates (binary diff), which are smaller. See Incremental and Delta Updates.

Files and data​

Will logs / caches / saves generated at runtime be deleted?​

It depends on whether the directory still exists in the new version:

  • The directory still exists in the new package → runtime files inside are not deleted or modified.
  • The directory is removed entirely in the new version → TapTap recursively deletes the whole directory, and runtime files inside are cleared along with it.

We recommend placing logs, caches, and user saves in a dedicated directory outside the package, to fundamentally avoid accidental deletion during version changes. See Directory rules and Developer best practices.

Integration and release​

What should I watch out for when integrating self-update version reporting for the first time?​

Before release, be sure to check the version numbers of packages already uploaded to the Developer Center, and do not keep any package with a version higher than the current official release — otherwise the live package version is raised and triggers false prompts. See After first integration: clean up high-version packages.

What installer formats are supported? Can large games (>50GB) use this?​

Supported formats are zip (recommended) and 7z; large games are fully supported — the larger the package, the more pronounced the distribution advantage. For more capabilities, see Game Distribution System.