How FUTO Notes updates (and when it can't update itself)
On macOS, Windows, and the Linux AppImage, FUTO Notes checks for new versions itself and installs them when you click. Everywhere else, the thing you installed it with does the updating: apt or dnf for the Linux packages, and the App Store, Google Play, F-Droid, or Obtainium on mobile.
Updates by platform
| Installed from | How it updates |
|---|---|
| macOS DMG | In the app |
| Windows installer | In the app |
| Linux AppImage | In the app |
Linux .deb (apt) | sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade |
Linux .rpm (dnf) | sudo dnf upgrade futo-notes |
| iPhone and iPad | The App Store |
| Android, Google Play | Google Play |
| Android, FUTO F-Droid repo | The F-Droid client |
| Android, Obtainium | Obtainium |
| Android, APK from GitLab | Download the new APK and install it over the old one |
How in-app updates work on desktop
When the app starts, and then once an hour while it runs, FUTO Notes checks whether a newer release exists. When one does, a button appears in the bottom-right corner of the window with the new version number, for example Install v1.8.0.
Nothing downloads until you click it. Then the app:
- Downloads the update and shows its progress.
- Checks the update’s signature, and refuses it if the signature doesn’t match.
- Installs it and restarts. On Windows, the app closes, the installer runs with only a progress bar, and FUTO Notes reopens.
You can also do this from Settings → Updates. The button there reads Check for updates, or Update & restart when a new version is waiting, and below it the app shows which version you are running.
If a download or install fails, the corner button says Update failed. Click it to try again, or use Retry update in Settings.
Turn off automatic update checks
Open Settings → Updates and switch off Automatically check for updates. The app then stops checking in the background.
Switching it off also hides the Check for updates button, so the app will not look for updates at all. To check again, switch the setting back on, which checks right away, or download the new version from the download section on the homepage.
When the app can’t update itself
- Linux
.deband.rpminstalls. The package manager owns these files, so the app leaves them alone and there is no Updates section in Settings. Update with apt or dnf. See Install FUTO Notes on Linux. - An AppImage in a folder you can’t write to. The update replaces the AppImage file where it sits, so keep it in a folder your user owns, such as one in your home directory.
- A Mac app run from inside the DMG. A disk image is read-only. Drag the app into Applications first. See Install FUTO Notes on macOS.
- iOS and Android. The mobile apps have no updater of their own. Updates by platform lists what updates each one.
How updates are verified
Each release is signed with FUTO’s update key, and the matching public key is built into the app. Before installing anything, the app checks the download against that key and rejects it if it doesn’t match. A tampered file or a wrong file fails the check.
The update check fetches one small file, latest.json, from FUTO’s GitLab server at gitlab.futo.org. It lists the newest version and where to download it for each desktop platform. The downloads come from the same GitLab release. No note content is sent. You can see every release on the GitLab releases page.
What changed in each release
Every release has a post in the changelog.
Next steps
- Download FUTO Notes: the latest version for every platform.
- Network requests: the update check and every other request the app can make.