Updates and migration#

How updates work#

VOOL checks for updates in the background and never takes the running app down. When an update is ready you choose to install it; the installer is gesture-gated.

Every update runs a verified pipeline with automatic rollback:

1. Download — verified against a signed manifest.
2. Staged install — the new version is installed beside the old one.
3. Migration — your data is migrated to the new store version. If migration fails, your data is restored to the previous version and the app restarts on it: "Your data was restored to the previous version."
4. Health check — the new version must prove it can serve before the old one is retired.
5. Swap — atomic; the previous version is kept as the rollback target.

If any stage fails, the app is left as it was — the failure message names the stage (verification_failed, insufficient_disk_space, …) and each stage has its own recovery sentence.

Data compatibility#

• Your profile, chats, receipts and settings live outside the app bundle, so replacing the app never replaces your data.
• The local store refuses to open downgrade: a database written by a newer VOOL will not be silently read by an older one — it says so and refuses, because guessing an unknown store layout would corrupt it. Reinstall the newer version to read new data.
• Update-installed files and the update state itself are recorded under your profile with receipts, so "what version touched my data" is answerable after the fact.

Beta channel#

The current release line is a beta (see Release status). Beta updates are unsigned on macOS — the OS will ask you to confirm on first launch of each new version.