An error encountered while checking for updates on latest alpha

[nidza07]

Steps to reproduce:

1. Run the latest alpha and try to check for updates.

Actual behavior:

The following error dialog appears:
Error checking for update.
Make sure you are connected to the internet and try again.

The following error is logged:
Error checking for update
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "updateCheck.pyc", line 256, in checkForUpdate
File "updateCheck.pyc", line 148, in parseUpdateCheckResponse
ValueError: Missing required key(s): version, apiVersion, launcherUrl

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "updateCheck.pyc", line 378, in _bg
File "updateCheck.pyc", line 258, in checkForUpdate
RuntimeError: The update response is invalid. Ensure the update mirror returns a properly formatted response.

Expected behavior:

A successful update check is performed.

NVDA logs, crash dumps and other attachments:

NVDA update check fail.txt

System configuration

NVDA installed/portable/running from source:

Portable

NVDA version:

alpha-35622,495dee36 (2025.1.0.35622)

Windows version:

Windows 11 24H2 (AMD64) build 26100.3194

Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

None

Other information about your system:

None

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

Yes

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

Works as expected with alpha-35536,b6897d11 (2025.1.0.35536)

If NVDA add-ons are disabled, is your problem still occurring?

Yes

Does the issue still occur after you run the COM Registration Fixing Tool in NVDA's tools menu?

Yes

[amirsol81]

I can duplicate it with an installed copy of NVDA - the same Alpha release on Windows 11 24H2.

[LeonarddeR]

Cc @christopherpross I'm afraid #17310 regressed this.

[christopherpross]

@LeonarddeR How could this have happened? I'll take care of it immediately.

[LeonarddeR]

At first glance, it looks like the parseUpdateCheckResponse method checks for required keys that are not required when there is no update available.

[christopherpross]

Yes, it seems to be because the request in a recent version responds with an empty body. My code doesn't handle that since I somehow didn't have it on my radar.
The URL:
"https://api.nvaccess.org/nvdaUpdateCheck?autoCheck=False&allowUsageStats=True&version=alpha-35622,495dee36&versionType=snapshot:alpha&osVersion=10.0.22631+workstation&x64=True&osArchitecture=AMD64"
returns 200 but an empty body.
Should I revert my changes or implement a fix? Should an empty string be considered valid?
cc @LeonarddeR @SaschaCowley

[OzancanKaratas]

@christopherpross I think you should implement a fix. Create a pull request so we can test it before merging it. If nothing works, we revert everything in the same pull request.