> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gcaplabs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Updating Headmaster

> Automatic and manual update options — stable and prerelease channels, offline updates, rollback, and portable vs. installer behavior.

# Updating Headmaster

Headmaster ships updates regularly with two channels:

| Channel              | Description                                                                                    |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Stable** (default) | Recommended. Released after the prerelease channel has been running clean for at least a week. |
| **Prerelease**       | Opt-in. Newer features, smaller audience, occasional rough edges.                              |

Switch to Prerelease from **Settings → About → Include prerelease updates**.

***

## How updates work

<Steps>
  <Step title="Update check">
    The desktop app checks the Headmaster release endpoint on launch and every few hours after that.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Download banner">
    When a new version is found, a banner appears with a **Download** button. Download runs in the background.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restart to install">
    When the download finishes, the app prompts you to **Restart to update**. Restarting quits the app, swaps the binaries in place, and relaunches with the new version.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Your data — sessions, memory, settings, files — is always preserved across an update. There is no migration step.

***

## When the runtime also changes

Some updates ship with a runtime change. In that case, **Restart** also tears down the old runtime and starts a fresh one with the new version. This takes a few seconds. The status indicator in the sidebar footer shows the runtime coming back up.

***

## Release notes

After updating, click the **Update Log** link in **Settings → About** to view release notes on the Headmaster site.

***

## Offline updates

If your machine is air-gapped:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download the installer on a connected machine">
    Get it from the Headmaster site.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Transfer to the air-gapped machine">
    USB, network share, or any transfer method.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the installer">
    It detects the existing install and upgrades in place. Your data is preserved.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Rollback

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download the previous installer">
    Get it from the Headmaster site.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run it over the current install">
    The installer downgrades only the binaries — not data formats.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Rollback is manual — there's no automatic "revert to previous version" button. Your data is always preserved.
</Note>

***

## Installer vs. portable

| Type          | Update behavior                                                                                                                         |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Installer** | Automatic — the app checks, downloads, and installs with your approval.                                                                 |
| **Portable**  | Manual — the app notifies you, but you download and extract the new version yourself. Your data folder is separate from the executable. |

***

## If the update check fails

If the app shows "Update check failed" in the About panel:

1. Check your network connection.
2. On corporate networks, the release endpoint (`gcaplabs.com`) may be blocked — ask your network admin to allow it.
3. You can always update manually by downloading the installer from the Headmaster site.

***

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Troubleshooting" icon="wrench" href="/troubleshooting">
    If an update causes problems, see the troubleshooting guide.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Data privacy" icon="shield" href="/data-privacy-security">
    Your data is always preserved across updates.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>