Updates
The check
About a second after the window opens, the app asks GitHub releases for the newest version, once per run, silently if it fails. A newer version raises a popup over whatever screen is up: Update available, the version, "You are on X. Hosts on a newer version may not open in an older app, so it is worth taking now", and two buttons, Later and Update. Nothing downloads until you press it.
What Update does, by install
| Install | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Windows installer | Downloads the new installer, shows progress, and replaces the app. Relaunch when asked. |
| Linux AppImage | Downloads and replaces the AppImage file in place. |
| Linux .deb, .rpm | Downloads the matching package and installs it through your package manager, which asks for your password: "Installing version X. Your system may ask for your password." Without a password prompt available, it hands the package to the system's installer instead. |
| Linux tarball | Downloads the archive and unpacks it over the running copy, asking for a password if the folder needs one, then restarts. If it cannot, the archive is left in Downloads to unpack by hand. |
| macOS | Downloads the build for your chip and swaps it in, asking for your administrator password if needed, then restarts. A copy run from Downloads or a disk image installs into Applications. |
| Flatpak | Installs the next bundle with the host's flatpak, into the installation it came from, and restarts. A 0.15.x Flatpak hands 0.16.0 to the software center once; updates after that install in the app. |
| Snap, distribution package, AUR | "Update through your package manager." |
Why it matters
The app draws a host's screens itself when the host runs server 0.21.0 or newer. A host that moves to a server the app does not yet know can fall back to the host's own pages in a web view, which works but looks and behaves like the older build. Taking the update keeps the app and the servers it visits in step. See Version compatibility.
The bundled server
Each app release carries a specific server version inside it for the device world. Updating the app updates your world's server; its data, uploads, generated pictures and the downloaded sound library are preserved across the upgrade. On a Steam Deck, the restart keeps the shortcut's launch option.
Checking by hand
Settings, This app, shows the version and a Check for updates control with the releases link. Release notes for every version are on the releases page.