Updates & Channels

vord updates itself through Sparkle, the standard updater framework for apps distributed outside the Mac App Store. Here’s what actually happens when a new version ships, and what the beta/live split means for you.

Automatic checks, opt-in installs

vord checks for new versions automatically in the background. It does not install them silently — a new version is downloaded and offered, but nothing changes on disk until you click through Sparkle’s own update dialog. If you’d rather not be interrupted, you can ignore the prompt; vord keeps running the version you have.

This only works in builds that ship with a working updater. If the app you’re running has no valid update key baked in (an unofficial or misconfigured build), the check silently does nothing — no crash, no error, just no updates. That’s a build problem, not a settings toggle: reinstall an official build from vord-app.dev if you hit it.

Checking manually

If you don’t want to wait for the background check, trigger one yourself:

1. Open the vord menu in the menu bar.
2. Click Check for Updates….
3. If a newer version exists, Sparkle’s native update dialog appears with release notes and an Install button.

The menu item is only meaningful in beta and live builds — see below.

Beta and live channels

vord ships from two separate feeds:

Channel	Who gets it	Feed
beta	Users on the beta track	separate appcast, ahead of live
live	Everyone else	separate appcast, stable releases

The two feeds are entirely independent, so a beta build never accidentally reaches a live user, and vice versa. Both live in the public lass-machen/vord-releases repository, signed with EdDSA — vord verifies every downloaded update against that signature before offering to install it.

There’s a third, internal channel — dev — used only for local development builds. Dev builds have no updater at all: they never contact a feed and update only by being rebuilt from source. If you’re a regular user, you’re always on beta or live, never dev.

Note

Which channel you’re on is fixed at build time, not something you switch in Settings. It’s baked into the app you downloaded and doesn’t change unless you install a build from a different channel.

Updates pause when a paid license expires

If your yearly license lapses, vord does not stop working — the desktop app stays fully usable, and you can keep running sessions indefinitely. What stops is updates: the updater refuses to install new versions and shows “Updates are paused because your vord license has expired. vord keeps working — renew to receive updates again.”

This is separate from the 14-day trial, which has a stricter consequence (new sessions get locked, not just updates). See Account, License & Trial for the full breakdown of trial vs. license expiry and what each one blocks.

During an active trial, updates are always allowed — the update pause only kicks in once a paid license has expired.