diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9886db3a..34349225 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+## [4.5.0] 6/1/2024
+
+**Spire Auto Updates** Add ability to disable auto updates on bootup via **eqemu_config.json** option **spire.disable_auto_updates** if set.
+
 ## [4.4.0] 6/1/2024
 
 **Zone Log Streaming** Fix minor issue where unauthenticated users could not stream zone logs.
diff --git a/internal/eqemuserverconfig/config.go b/internal/eqemuserverconfig/config.go
index 2c4514ff..3d15e928 100644
--- a/internal/eqemuserverconfig/config.go
+++ b/internal/eqemuserverconfig/config.go
@@ -150,9 +150,10 @@ type EQEmuConfigJson struct {
 		ServerCodePath string `json:"serverCodePath,omitempty"`
 	} `json:"web-admin,omitempty"`
 	Spire struct {
-		EncryptionKey string `json:"encryption_key,omitempty"`
-		HttpPort      int    `json:"http_port,omitempty"`
-		LauncherStart bool   `json:"launcher_start"` // starts server launcher
+		EncryptionKey      string `json:"encryption_key,omitempty"`
+		HttpPort           int    `json:"http_port,omitempty"`
+		LauncherStart      bool   `json:"launcher_start"`                 // starts server launcher
+		DisableAutoUpdates bool   `json:"disable_auto_updates,omitempty"` // disable auto updates
 	} `json:"spire,omitempty"`
 }
 
@@ -165,8 +166,12 @@ var lock = &sync.Mutex{}
 // We utilize a cache to prevent reading the file on every call
 func (e *Config) Get() EQEmuConfigJson {
 	configFile := e.pathmgmt.GetEQEmuServerConfigFilePath()
+	stat, err := os.Stat(configFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return EQEmuConfigJson{}
+	}
+
 	if len(configFile) > 0 {
-		stat, _ := os.Stat(configFile)
 		if stat.ModTime().After(lastModifiedTime) || lastModifiedTime.IsZero() {
 			e.logger.Debug().Any("path", configFile).Msg("Reading eqemu config file")
 			body, err := os.ReadFile(e.pathmgmt.GetEQEmuServerConfigFilePath())
@@ -194,6 +199,38 @@ func (e *Config) Get() EQEmuConfigJson {
 	return EQEmuConfigJson{}
 }
 
+// GetIfExists returns the eqemu config json if the file exists
+// This function shouldn't really exist and the original getter should have bubbled errors up
+// Clean all of this up another time
+func (e *Config) GetIfExists() (EQEmuConfigJson, bool) {
+	configFile := e.pathmgmt.GetEQEmuServerConfigFilePath()
+	stat, err := os.Stat(configFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return EQEmuConfigJson{}, false
+	}
+
+	if len(configFile) > 0 {
+		if err == nil && stat.ModTime().After(lastModifiedTime) || lastModifiedTime.IsZero() {
+			e.logger.Debug().Any("path", configFile).Msg("Reading eqemu config file")
+			body, _ := os.ReadFile(e.pathmgmt.GetEQEmuServerConfigFilePath())
+
+			config := EQEmuConfigJson{}
+			_ = json.Unmarshal(body, &config)
+
+			lastModifiedTime = stat.ModTime()
+			lock.Lock()
+			cachedConfig = &config
+			lock.Unlock()
+
+			return config, true
+		} else if cachedConfig != nil {
+			return *cachedConfig, true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return EQEmuConfigJson{}, false
+}
+
 // Exists will return true if the eqemu_config.json file exists
 func (e *Config) Exists() bool {
 	return len(e.pathmgmt.GetEQEmuServerConfigFilePath()) > 0
diff --git a/internal/updater/updater.go b/internal/updater/updater.go
index ff47278b..bc60a678 100644
--- a/internal/updater/updater.go
+++ b/internal/updater/updater.go
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/Akkadius/spire/internal/download"
 	"github.com/Akkadius/spire/internal/env"
+	"github.com/Akkadius/spire/internal/eqemuserverconfig"
 	"github.com/Akkadius/spire/internal/logger"
+	"github.com/Akkadius/spire/internal/pathmgmt"
 	"github.com/Akkadius/spire/internal/unzip"
 	"github.com/google/go-github/v41/github"
 	"github.com/mattn/go-isatty"
@@ -23,15 +25,22 @@ import (
 // Updater is a service that checks for updates to the app
 type Updater struct {
 	// this is the package.json embedded in the binary which contains the app version
-	packageJson []byte
-	logger      *logger.AppLogger
+	packageJson  []byte
+	logger       *logger.AppLogger
+	serverconfig *eqemuserverconfig.Config
 }
 
 // NewUpdater creates a new updater service
 func NewUpdater(packageJson []byte) *Updater {
+	appLogger := logger.ProvideAppLogger()
+	pathmgr := pathmgmt.NewPathManagement(appLogger)
 	return &Updater{
 		packageJson: packageJson,
-		logger:      logger.ProvideAppLogger(),
+		logger:      appLogger,
+		serverconfig: eqemuserverconfig.NewConfig(
+			appLogger,
+			pathmgr,
+		),
 	}
 }
 
@@ -67,6 +76,11 @@ func (s *Updater) getAppVersion() (error, EnvResponse) {
 
 // CheckForUpdates checks for updates to the app
 func (s *Updater) CheckForUpdates(interactive bool) bool {
+	config, exists := s.serverconfig.GetIfExists()
+	if exists && config.Spire.DisableAutoUpdates {
+		s.logger.Info().Any("spire.disable_auto_updates", config.Spire.DisableAutoUpdates).Msg("Auto updates are disabled via config")
+		return false
+	}
 
 	// get executable name and path
 	executableName := filepath.Base(os.Args[0])
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index fb6ca007..27d062f4 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "spire",
-  "version": "4.4.0",
+  "version": "4.5.0",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/Akkadius/spire.git"