Client Automatic Updates

The Automatic Updates feature allows the NetBird client to automatically update itself when a new version is available. This ensures that users always have the latest features and security patches without needing to manually download and install updates.

Enable Automatic Updates

Automatic Updates

To enable client auto updates, navigate to Settings » Clients and enable 'Automatic Updates'.

You can either:

  • Update to latest stable version.
  • Update to a specific version.

Once enabled, NetBird clients will automatically check for updates when connecting via the UI and install the specified version if the current version is older than the specified version.

How it works

  1. User-Initiated Connection: When a Peer connects to Management, it will receive the current Automatic Updates settings.
  2. Version Check: The Peer will compare its current version with the version specified in the Automatic Updates settings.
  3. Update Process:
    1. If the Peer is running an older version than specified, it will show a notification to the user indicating that an Automatic Update is under way.
    2. Client will then download the update package from the official NetBird repository.
    3. The Peer will then install the update and restart itself to apply the changes.

Supported Platforms

Automatic Updates are supported on the following platforms only:

  • Windows
  • macOS (with PKG installer)

Linux support is not available at this time due to the variety of distributions and package managers. A future release may include support for popular distributions.

Backward and Forward Compatibility

  • If Management server version < v0.61.0, clients will not automatically update.
  • If Management server version >= v0.61.0, NetBird clients with version >= v0.61.0 will automatically update according to the Automatic Updates settings.

Notes

  1. Automatic Updates will be set to "disabled" by default.
  2. If the Peer is unable to download or install the update (e.g., due to network issues), it will show an error notification but will not retry until the next restart.
  3. For long-running Peers, a future release may include support for periodic update checks during runtime.
  4. All notifications related to Automatic Updates will be shown only if NetBird UI is running and Notifications are enabled.

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