Keep Wingman up to date

Wingman updates from the title bar with explicit Download and Install clicks, signed packages at every stage, and an automatic reopen after a verified install.

Watch: update from the title bar

Update from the title bar

A small green dot in the title bar appears only after the signed update channel confirms that Wingman is current. Before the first check, or when updates are intentionally managed or off, the dot is neutral. It expands only when a new version is ready, the signed channel is paused, or the updater needs attention. Review the version, save your work, and choose when to download and install. Wingman closes only after you approve the administrator prompt, then reopens the verified installed version automatically.

Watch the title bar
The green status dot expands to Download update when a signed update is available. Hover it to see the target version and the matching Wingman notes embedded in the signed application build. Wingman never substitutes similarly numbered Visual Studio Code notes, and it does not download package bytes until you click. When automatic update checks are enabled, Wingman re-reads the signed channel every hour while an offer waits and refreshes it when the channel targets a different release. Manual and startup-only update modes keep their configured schedule.
Download and verify
Click Download update when you are ready. Wingman downloads the exact immutable release package and verifies its signature, checksum, product, version, and architecture before the pill advances.
Install and authorize
Click Install update and Wingman first confirms that the signed channel still targets the downloaded version. If the channel has moved to another release since the download, Wingman removes that download and offers the current release to download instead. If the signed channel pauses updates, Wingman removes the withdrawn download and shows that updates are paused. Otherwise Linux asks for administrator authorization through the standard system prompt. Cancel it and the app stays open with the verified download ready. Approve it and Wingman starts a protected update handoff.
Let Wingman close and reopen
Wingman closes before application files change and reopens the installed version automatically only after the package database and root update transaction both confirm success. If the package state is doubtful, it stays closed, shows a desktop notification, and records a recovery-required result for the next launch instead of guessing.

What the pill states mean

Pill state	What it means	What to do
Neutral dot	The first signed check has not completed, or updates are intentionally managed or off.	Click to check now or to review the configured update policy.
Green dot	The update channel is healthy and this Wingman version is current.	Nothing — click the dot only when you want version and update details.
Download	A signed update is available, and no package bytes have been downloaded. With automatic checks enabled, the offer follows the signed channel while it waits.	Review the version and release notes, then click Download update.
Install	The update is downloaded and its signature verified.	Save your work, click Install update, and approve the administrator prompt. Wingman closes and reopens automatically.
Fix update	The update check or package state needs attention, or this Wingman version is older than the update channel accepts.	Click for the exact recovery guidance, Check again, or Open verified downloads. Wingman does not install or relaunch through an uncertain package state. If the details say this version is older than the update channel accepts, follow If Wingman says update by hand below.

Signing and interrupted updates

Updates are signed end to end. Before anything installs, Wingman verifies the release signature and package checksum against the pinned Axelera release key — a package that fails verification never reaches your system.

Interruptions are safe too. If a download drops, it retries. If an install is cut off — shutdown, power loss — the next launch checks the real package state and either finishes cleanly or shows a recovery path. Wingman never guesses that an update succeeded.

If Wingman says update by hand

Recognise the message
When the update details say this version of Wingman is older than the update channel accepts and cannot update itself (older versions word it as "This updater must be upgraded manually"), the installed app is below the minimum version the signed channel admits. One manual install of the current release fixes it, and in-app updates resume afterwards.
Quit Wingman completely
The update helper waits for every Wingman process to exit before it changes a file, so a second window or a stuck process blocks the install. Quit Wingman, then confirm from a terminal that nothing is left running.
check
```
pgrep -fa /usr/share/wingman/wingman   # nothing listed means Wingman is closed
pkill -f /usr/share/wingman/wingman    # ends anything still running
```
Install the current release
Paste the install block from Install the desktop app into a terminal, with REPLACE_WITH_VERSION replaced by the current version shown on the Downloads page, where the same block appears with the version filled in. It downloads the package for this machine and installs it with apt, which resolves the dependencies. If apt refuses because of the ownership of /, repair it as described in Install the desktop app, then paste the block again.
bash
```
(
  set -e
  d=$(mktemp -d); chmod 755 "$d"; cd "$d"
  sudo apt-get update || echo "Some package sources could not be refreshed; continuing." >&2
  sudo apt-get install -y curl ca-certificates
  v=REPLACE_WITH_VERSION; a=$(dpkg --print-architecture)
  curl -fsSLO --retry 3 "https://github.com/axelera-ai-hub/wingman/releases/download/v$v/wingman_${v}_$a.deb"
  sudo apt-get install -y "./wingman_${v}_$a.deb"
  dpkg-query -W wingman
)
```
Confirm and reopen
The last line the block prints confirms the installed version, and wingman --version prints it again at any time without opening the app. Releases before 1.7.51 open the app instead, or stop with a display error over SSH; on those, dpkg-query -W wingman prints the installed version. Start Wingman again: the title-bar dot goes back to checking the signed channel, and the next release installs from the title bar as usual.
confirm
```
wingman --version
wingman
```

Keep Wingman up to date

Update from the title bar

Watch the title bar

Download and verify

Install and authorize

Let Wingman close and reopen

What the pill states mean

Signing and interrupted updates

If Wingman says update by hand

Recognise the message

Quit Wingman completely

Install the current release

Confirm and reopen

Where release notes come from

Fleet and manual updates