Updates¶
Octa checks once per launch whether a newer version has been released, and offers to show you what changed. Both halves are optional and both live under Settings > Updates.
Check for updates at start¶
On by default. One request goes to GitHub asking for the latest release. It reads a version number and nothing else: the check never downloads a binary and never installs anything on its own.
If GitHub cannot be reached, or you already have the newest version, Octa stays quiet. A failed check at launch is not worth a pop-up, and neither is "you are up to date".
Turn the setting off and Octa never contacts GitHub unless you ask it to through Help > Check for Updates, which is unchanged.
Show what a new release brings¶
On by default. After an upgrade, Octa opens a window titled What's new in Octa x.y.z with the notes for the version you are now running, rendered as Markdown.
The notes are built into Octa. They are the same text the release page carries, shipped inside the binary, so the window costs no request, works offline and works on a Microsoft Store copy. It is also independent of the update check: turning "check for updates at start" off does not silence it.
The window opens at every start until you dismiss it:
| Action | What happens next |
|---|---|
| Close | It opens again the next time you start |
| Do not show these notes again, then Close | Silent for this version; the next release opens it again |
| Setting turned off here | Silent for every version |
So the tick box answers "I have read these", not "never show me release notes". Only the setting does the latter.
With the start-up check left on, an available new version is mentioned once in the status bar. Its notes are on the release page, and inside Octa once you have upgraded.
What the check sends¶
A single HTTPS GET to api.github.com/repos/thorstenfoltz/octa/releases/latest,
identifying itself with Octa's version in the User-Agent header. No account,
no token, and nothing about your files or your machine. See the
privacy policy.
Microsoft Store copies¶
A copy installed from the Microsoft Store is updated by the Store itself. Octa
cannot replace its own files inside WindowsApps, so the update dialog leaves
the install button out and names the Store as the thing that will do the
updating. Help > Check for Updates is still there and still works; only the
install is missing.
The release notes are unaffected: they ship inside the copy the Store installed, so an upgrade announces itself there like anywhere else.
Installing an update¶
The in-app updater downloads the release archive for your platform, verifies it
against the release's SHA256SUMS, and replaces the binary in place. A mismatch
aborts the update rather than installing anything.
On Linux, if Octa lives somewhere your user cannot write (/usr/local/bin, for
example), it stages the new binary first and then asks for a password through
pkexec. Nothing is downloaded twice.
Restart Octa once the update finishes; the running process keeps the old code until you do.