Updates

DroneField automatically monitors the portal for new releases. A banner at the top of the application alerts you to a new stable version — and a couple of clicks updates everything.

The app updates itself

Current versions of DroneField perform the update in place: the new build downloads in the background, installs itself, and the application restarts automatically. No manual installer steps are needed — the sections below describe the details and the manual fallback.

Automatic background polling

The app polls /api/v1/builds/latest on the portal every 4 hours. This is an unauthenticated call — it works even while signed out.

The poll is tiny — about 1 KB per call. Invisible on mobile internet.

New version banner

When a new stable build is available, a green banner appears at the top of the main screen:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ⬇ New version available: v26.2 — click to download      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Clicking:

1. Downloads the installer in the background (~200 MB).
2. A progress bar shows the download state.
3. The installer starts automatically when ready (DMG / EXE / AppImage).
4. Drag the new DroneField onto Applications (macOS), or run the installer (Windows / Linux).
5. Restart the application.

The update preserves:

• The signed-in session (Keychain token survives)
• Your projects
• Your settings
• Installed plug-ins / templates (if any)

Manual check

Settings → Updates → Check for updates queries immediately. Useful when:

• You know a hotfix was just released (Slack / newsletter)
• You filed a bug and were asked to test a fix
• You just want to verify

Suppressing the banner

The banner cannot be hidden permanently — we feel updates are too important to ignore. But it can be postponed:

• The banner has an ✕ on the right — dismisses for a week
• Background polling continues, the banner just doesn’t bother you

To fully disable background polling (e.g. you’re on metered mobile internet in the field):

• Settings → Updates has a Disable background polling toggle (roadmap; in a future build)

Manual update

If the in-app updater can’t work (firewall, etc.), download manually:

1. Sign in to my.dronefield.app
2. Downloads menu
3. Get the latest stable installer
4. Install per Installation

Rolling back to an older version

If a new release has a problem (e.g. specific drone model):

1. Portal → Downloads → scroll to Older versions
2. Pick the version you want
3. Download and install over the current
4. Report the issue to us so we can fix the new build

Beta channel

If you want to try beta builds:

• Portal → Downloads → channel selector (Stable / Beta) at the top
• Choose Beta
• The latest beta installer appears in the list

The beta channel is not the default — you must opt in. The app shows a banner when you’re on stable → beta (“You’re on the beta channel”).

What does the version mean?

DroneField uses year-based versioning:

v26.1
 │  │
 │  └─ minor   — new feature or significant fix
 └──── major   — release year (2026 → 26)

v26.1 is the first public, cross-platform (macOS / Windows / Linux) release. Future releases (v26.2, v26.3, …) refine it with new features and fixes. All updates are safe to apply — your projects remain compatible.

Release notes

Every new release has release notes — reach them via the banner or the portal Downloads page. Worth a quick scan to see what’s new.