Before submitting

• I searched existing issues and did not find a duplicate.
• I am describing a concrete problem or use case, not just a vague idea.

Area

apps/desktop

Problem or use case

Today, when a new version is available, there is no clear in-app way for users to know that they are running an outdated build or update from the UI. This makes updates easy to miss and can lead to users staying on older versions longer than expected. It also increases confusion when behavior changes between versions or when bug fixes have already been released but the user is still on an older build.

Proposed solution

Add a simple in-app update flow. The app should check whether a newer version is available and surface that state in the UI. At minimum, this could be a visible “Update available” badge, banner, or button. Clicking it should either start the update flow directly or take the user to the correct release/download action. If auto-update is supported, even better: download/apply the update and prompt the user to restart once ready.

Why this matters

This would improve usability and reduce friction for staying up to date. It helps users adopt fixes and improvements faster, reduces support/debugging issues caused by version drift, and makes the product feel more complete and production-ready. It is especially useful when releases include important fixes or compatibility changes.

Smallest useful scope

A first useful version would be:

• check for a newer version on app launch
• show a clear “Update available” indicator in the UI
• provide an “Update” button that opens the latest release/download flow
  That alone would solve the main problem, even without full background auto-update support.

Alternatives considered

Right now, the workaround is manually checking releases and reinstalling/updating outside the app. That works, but it is easy to forget and does not scale well for regular usage.

Risks or tradeoffs

This adds some platform-specific update logic and edge cases, such as:

• handling failed or interrupted updates
• deciding how often to check for updates
• ensuring the UI does not become noisy
• handling cases where the user is already on the latest version
  If full auto-update is too much initially, a manual UI-based update prompt would still provide strong value with much lower implementation complexity.

Examples or references

A lot of desktop apps handle this well with a lightweight “Update available” banner or menu action, then a restart/apply flow once the new version is ready.

Contribution

• I would be open to helping implement this.