---
title: "Updates and release channels"
description: "How GitLane updates itself, and the difference between the stable and beta channels."
---

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

# Updates and release channels

GitLane ships desktop builds through the Tauri v2 updater. It checks GitHub
Releases for a newer **signed** build, downloads and installs it, then
relaunches.

Switch channels in **Settings → About**.

## The two channels

| Channel | What it tracks |
| --- | --- |
| **Stable** (default) | The newest non-pre-release GitHub release |
| **Beta** | A rolling manifest updated after every release, including pre-releases |

Both channels are signed with the same updater key. Only the update endpoint
differs, and the endpoint is baked into a build at compile time — so a stable
build and a beta build are genuinely different artifacts, not the same binary
with a setting.

Tags drive releases: `vX.Y.Z` publishes a stable release, and
`vX.Y.Z-beta.N` publishes a GitHub pre-release built against the beta
endpoint.

## Signing

Updater artifacts are signed with a Tauri updater (minisign) key. This is
**separate** from Apple code signing and notarization — which GitLane does
not have yet, and which is why the *first* launch of a downloaded build shows
a Gatekeeper or SmartScreen warning.

> **The warning is one-time**
>
> Updates delivered by the in-app updater don't retrigger Gatekeeper or
> SmartScreen. Only the initial manual download does. See
> [Install](/getting-started/install) for the one-time fix on your platform.

## Source builds don't auto-update

The updater is disabled in builds you compiled yourself. Settings → About
identifies them as source builds. To update one, pull and rebuild:

```sh
git pull
bun install
bun run tauri build
```

> **The version in the tree isn't a release**
>
> The version recorded in the repository is a development baseline, not a
> release name — release tags stamp their own version at build time. Don't
> read the checked-in version as "what's currently shipping."

## Release assets you can ignore

Each release carries `.sig`, `.app.tar.gz`, and `latest.json` assets. Those
are for the updater. Downloading by hand, you only ever want the `.dmg`,
`.exe`, `.deb`, `.rpm`, or `.AppImage`.

Source: https://docs.gitlane.space/reference/updates-and-channels/index.mdx