Updates and betas

Canto and Tulip check for new versions by themselves, tell you when one is ready, and install it when you restart. Neither ever moves you to an older version.

Which version you're on#

A beta is an early version for people who want the new app now and don't mind telling us what goes wrong. Keep a backup, and expect a few rough edges.

Canto#

• Where it checks. Canto's releases are published on GitHub. At launch and every 6 hours, Canto asks GitHub whether there's a newer version. That's all it sends: no notes, no license.
• Settings. Settings › Updates has Check now, Check automatically, Download updates automatically (it waits for Check automatically) and, on a beta install, Get beta versions. Canto › Check for Updates… opens the same page and checks.
• Turning checks off. Turn off Check automatically (or Settings › Memory & privacy › What leaves this Mac › Update checks; it's the same switch). Canto then asks GitHub only when you press Check now.
• When an update is ready, a small notice at the bottom of the window says so, with Restart, and the Settings sidebar marks Updates.
• What's new. After an update, Canto shows what changed once. Read it again in Settings › About › What's new or Help › Release Notes.
• Finishing the upgrade. The first launch after an update can have one-time work to do, such as updating the database or building the search index. The status dot in the toolbar says Finishing the upgrade while it runs, and its panel lists each step. All of it happens on your Mac.

Canto betas#

A Canto beta is a separate download. Once you install a beta, Canto keeps you on beta updates, and moves you to the stable release when it's newer. A copy of Canto 0.10 never receives a beta.

To stop getting betas, turn off Get beta versions in Settings › Updates. You stay on the version you have until a newer stable release comes out.

Going from Canto 0.10 to the 1.0 beta changes your notes database. Read Upgrading from Canto 0.10 first; it also explains how to go back.

Tulip#

• Where it checks. About every 6 hours, Tulip asks lonelyduck.io whether there's a newer version, with no install id and nothing about your library, and tells you when one is ready. It downloads an update only when you press Download, then Restart to Update installs it.
• Settings. Settings › General › Updates has Releases (Automatic, Stable or Beta), Check automatically and Check for Updates.
• What's new. After updating, What's New lists the changes. Every version's notes are on lonelyduck.io/tulip/changelog.

Tulip betas#

Releases: Automatic follows betas while you run a beta, and stable releases otherwise. Choose Beta to get betas on a stable install, or Stable to stop getting them. Tulip never moves to an older version.

Tulip 2 is in beta. If you use Tulip 1.0, see Older apps.

If an update fails#

• Canto: a check that fails says so in plain words in Settings › Updates. Press Check now to try again, or download the newest version from the app's page and install it over the old one. Your notes stay where they are.
• Tulip: Settings says "The update didn't work." Try again, or use Open Download Page and install the newest version over the old one.

Still stuck? Write to support@lonelyduck.io with the app, the version you have, and what the update said.