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Updates and Releases

The KubeStellar Console follows a regular release schedule with two update channels.

Release Channels

Stable (Weekly)

The stable channel receives tested releases every week:

  • Version format: v0.x.y-weekly.YYYYMMDD
  • Release day: Every Monday
  • Recommended for: Production environments

Weekly releases include:

  • Bug fixes from the previous week
  • Performance improvements
  • Security patches
  • Tested new features

Nightly

The nightly channel provides the latest development builds:

  • Version format: v0.x.y-nightly.YYYYMMDD
  • Release frequency: Daily at midnight UTC
  • Recommended for: Testing and development

Nightly releases include:

  • Latest features and improvements
  • Experimental functionality
  • May contain bugs or incomplete features

Developer

The developer channel tracks the main branch by commit SHA:

  • Version format: Tracks latest commit SHA on main
  • Release frequency: Every commit to main
  • Recommended for: Console developers and contributors

Developer channel features:

  • Environment prerequisites checklist (kc-agent, coding agent, OAuth, install mode, git status)
  • Collapsible list of recent commits between your build and latest main HEAD
  • Commit list items link to their GitHub PRs
  • 2-step manual update instructions (Pull & Build, then Restart)

Auto-Update System

Settings - Updates
Settings - Updates

The console includes a built-in auto-update system:

  • Automatic Updates toggle: Enable/disable in Settings > System Updates
  • Update Now button: Manually trigger an update check and apply
  • Real-time progress: WebSocket-powered progress banner during updates
  • Safety features:
    • Uncommitted changes detection before updating
    • Health check after restart with configurable timeout
    • Automatic rollback on failure
    • Graceful shutdown of running processes before update
    • Progress reporting via WebSocket with percentage steps
  • Resilience (New in March 2026):
    • Retry logic with exponential backoff for git pull and build steps
    • Process cleanup ensures no orphan Go or npm processes after update
    • Health check verifies the backend responds on the expected port before declaring success
    • Detailed error messages when updates fail, with instructions to recover manually
  • Install method detection: dev (source), binary (downloaded), helm (in-cluster — auto-update disabled)

kc-agent Self-Update

The local agent (kc-agent) can self-update:

  1. Pulls latest source from GitHub
  2. Rebuilds itself
  3. exec()s into the new binary seamlessly
  4. No manual restart required

Checking for Updates

Settings Page - Updates
Settings Page - Updates

From the Settings Page

  1. Navigate to Settings in the sidebar
  2. Scroll to the System Updates section
  3. View current version and latest available
  4. Click Check Now to manually check for updates

The settings page displays:

  • Update Channel: Current release channel
  • Current Version: Installed version with commit hash
  • Latest Available: Newest version in your channel
  • Status: Whether you’re up to date
  • Last Checked: When updates were last checked

Automatic Checks

The console automatically checks for updates:

  • On startup
  • Every 6 hours while running
  • When switching release channels

Switching Channels

To switch between stable and nightly:

  1. Go to Settings > System Updates
  2. Click the Update Channel button
  3. Select your preferred channel
  4. The console will check for the latest version in that channel

Note: Switching from stable to nightly may introduce newer (potentially unstable) features. Switching from nightly to stable may require waiting for the next weekly release.

Version Information

The version is displayed in multiple locations:

  • Settings page: Full version with commit hash
  • Footer: Abbreviated version
  • About dialog: Complete version details

Example version: v0.3.6-nightly.20260127 (71e4039)

  • v0.3.6: Semantic version
  • nightly: Release channel
  • 20260127: Release date (January 27, 2026)
  • 71e4039: Git commit hash

Update Notifications

When a new version is available:

  1. A notification badge appears in the header
  2. The settings page shows “Update Available”
  3. Release notes are displayed for major changes

Manual Installation

To manually update or install a specific version:

Using npm

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/kubestellar/console.git
cd console/web
 
# Install dependencies
npm install
 
# Start in development mode
npm run dev -- --port 5174

Using Docker

# Pull the latest image
docker pull quay.io/kubestellar/console:latest
 
# Or a specific version
docker pull quay.io/kubestellar/console:v0.3.6-weekly.20260127

Release Notes

Release notes are published:

Rollback

If you encounter issues with a new version:

  1. Note your current version
  2. Check out the previous tag from Git
  3. Rebuild and restart the console
# List available versions
git tag -l
 
# Checkout a specific version
git checkout v0.3.5-weekly.20260120
 
# Rebuild
npm install && npm run build

Support

For update-related issues: