An installation of an application program is updated by use of a stored configuration of the application program corresponding to a particular user of the local application. In response to a user request, a determination is made that the stored configuration corresponds to the requesting user. The stored configuration is checked to determine if any items described in the stored configuration have been updated. If an item has been updated, then the updated item is retrieved, and the application program is built with the updated item. This stored configuration may also be encrypted and stored in a manifest file which may be decrypted to produce a decrypted configuration responsive to a user authentication. The decrypted configuration is checked to determine if any items described in the decrypted configuration have been updated. If an item has been updated, then the updated item is retrieved, and the application program is built with the updated item. Either or both of the manifest file and updated item may be stored on and downloaded from a remote data processing system.