fix update notifications and schedule periodic packaged checks

Author: charlesrhoward

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ and this project follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.ht
   `/download` now scans recent releases for the newest available `.dmg`.
 - Release automation now uploads `latest-mac.yml` and `.dmg.blockmap` metadata
   assets required by in-app auto-updates.
+- Packaged builds now re-check for updates periodically after startup, and the
+  in-app update banner appears as soon as an update is available/downloading.
 
 ## [1.1.0] - 2026-02-15
 

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "agent-observer",
-  "version": "1.2.1",
+  "version": "1.2.4",
   "description": "Agent Office — 3D observability for AI agents",
   "main": "./out/main/index.js",
   "scripts": {

src/main/app-updates.ts

@@ -8,15 +8,17 @@ const GITHUB_OWNER = 'webrenew'
 const GITHUB_REPO = 'agent-observer'
 const UPDATE_CHECK_TIMEOUT_MS = 7_000
 const UPDATE_CHECK_CACHE_MS = 30 * 60 * 1_000
+const PACKAGED_UPDATE_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS = 30 * 60 * 1_000
 
 let handlersRegistered = false
 let cachedStatus: AppUpdateStatusResult | null = null
 let cacheTimestampMs = 0
 let pendingStatusPromise: Promise<AppUpdateStatusResult> | null = null
 let liveStatus: AppUpdateStatusResult = baseStatus(getAppVersion())
 let updaterInitialized = false
-let updaterCheckStarted = false
 let updaterCheckPromise: Promise<void> | null = null
+let lastPackagedUpdateCheckStartedAtMs = 0
+let periodicPackagedUpdateCheckTimer: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null
 
 function getAppVersion(): string {
   try {
@@ -51,6 +53,14 @@ export function __testOnlyIsUpdateAvailable(currentVersion: string, latestVersio
   return __testOnlyCompareSemver(latestVersion, currentVersion) > 0
 }
 
+export function __testOnlyShouldStartPackagedUpdateCheck(
+  nowMs: number,
+  lastCheckStartedAtMs: number,
+  checkIntervalMs: number
+): boolean {
+  return (nowMs - lastCheckStartedAtMs) >= checkIntervalMs
+}
+
 function baseStatus(currentVersion: string): AppUpdateStatusResult {
   return {
     currentVersion,
@@ -257,11 +267,27 @@ function initializeAutoUpdaterIfNeeded(): void {
       downloadPercent: null,
     })
   })
+
+  if (!periodicPackagedUpdateCheckTimer) {
+    periodicPackagedUpdateCheckTimer = setInterval(() => {
+      ensureAutoUpdaterCheckStarted()
+    }, PACKAGED_UPDATE_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS)
+    periodicPackagedUpdateCheckTimer.unref?.()
+  }
 }
 
-function ensureAutoUpdaterCheckStarted(): void {
-  if (updaterCheckStarted || updaterCheckPromise) return
-  updaterCheckStarted = true
+function ensureAutoUpdaterCheckStarted(options?: { force?: boolean }): void {
+  if (updaterCheckPromise) return
+  const now = Date.now()
+  if (
+    !options?.force
+    && !__testOnlyShouldStartPackagedUpdateCheck(
+      now,
+      lastPackagedUpdateCheckStartedAtMs,
+      PACKAGED_UPDATE_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS
+    )
+  ) return
+  lastPackagedUpdateCheckStartedAtMs = now
   updaterCheckPromise = autoUpdater.checkForUpdates()
     .then((result) => {
       if (!result?.updateInfo) {
@@ -287,7 +313,6 @@ function ensureAutoUpdaterCheckStarted(): void {
       }
     })
     .catch((err) => {
-      updaterCheckStarted = false
       publishStatus({
         phase: 'error',
         error: normalizeUpdateError(err),
@@ -333,4 +358,9 @@ export function setupUpdateHandlers(): void {
       return false
     }
   })
+
+  if (app.isPackaged) {
+    initializeAutoUpdaterIfNeeded()
+    ensureAutoUpdaterCheckStarted({ force: true })
+  }
 }

src/renderer/App.tsx

@@ -83,6 +83,10 @@ export function App() {
     updateStatus?.releaseUrl || 'https://github.com/webrenew/agent-observer/releases/latest'
   ), [updateStatus?.releaseUrl])
 
+  const openUpdateDownloadPage = useCallback(() => {
+    window.open(updateDownloadUrl, '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer')
+  }, [updateDownloadUrl])
+
   const handleInstallUpdate = useCallback(() => {
     if (installingUpdate) return
     setInstallingUpdate(true)
@@ -91,15 +95,36 @@ export function App() {
         const accepted = await window.electronAPI.updates.installAndRestart()
         if (!accepted) {
           setInstallingUpdate(false)
-          window.open(updateDownloadUrl, '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer')
+          openUpdateDownloadPage()
         }
       } catch (err) {
         setInstallingUpdate(false)
         console.warn('[App] install update failed:', err)
-        window.open(updateDownloadUrl, '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer')
+        openUpdateDownloadPage()
       }
     })()
-  }, [installingUpdate, updateDownloadUrl])
+  }, [installingUpdate, openUpdateDownloadPage])
+
+  const normalizedLatestVersion = updateStatus?.latestVersion
+    ? updateStatus.latestVersion.replace(/^v/i, '')
+    : null
+
+  const updateBannerMessage = useMemo(() => {
+    if (!updateStatus) return null
+    const versionSuffix = normalizedLatestVersion ? ` (v${normalizedLatestVersion})` : ''
+    if (updateStatus.canInstall) return `Update ready${versionSuffix}.`
+    if (!updateStatus.updateAvailable) return null
+
+    if (updateStatus.phase === 'downloading') {
+      const progress = updateStatus.downloadPercent
+      const progressText = typeof progress === 'number' && Number.isFinite(progress)
+        ? ` ${Math.round(progress)}%`
+        : ''
+      return `Update available${versionSuffix}. Downloading…${progressText}`
+    }
+
+    return `Update available${versionSuffix}. Downloading…`
+  }, [normalizedLatestVersion, updateStatus])
 
   return (
     <div className="w-full h-full" style={{ display: 'flex', flexDirection: 'column' }}>
@@ -108,7 +133,7 @@ export function App() {
           <WorkspaceLayout />
         </ErrorBoundary>
       </div>
-      {updateStatus?.canInstall ? (
+      {updateBannerMessage ? (
         <div
           style={{
             position: 'fixed',
@@ -127,27 +152,44 @@ export function App() {
             fontSize: 12,
           }}
         >
-          <span>
-            Update ready{updateStatus.latestVersion ? ` (v${updateStatus.latestVersion.replace(/^v/i, '')})` : ''}.
-          </span>
-          <button
-            type="button"
-            onClick={handleInstallUpdate}
-            disabled={installingUpdate}
-            style={{
-              border: '1px solid rgba(84, 140, 90, 0.6)',
-              background: installingUpdate ? '#2a2f2a' : '#1E2920',
-              color: installingUpdate ? '#9A9692' : '#d8dfd3',
-              borderRadius: 6,
-              fontSize: 11,
-              fontWeight: 600,
-              padding: '6px 10px',
-              cursor: installingUpdate ? 'default' : 'pointer',
-              opacity: installingUpdate ? 0.75 : 1,
-            }}
-          >
-            {installingUpdate ? 'Restarting…' : 'Install update and restart'}
-          </button>
+          <span>{updateBannerMessage}</span>
+          {updateStatus?.canInstall ? (
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              onClick={handleInstallUpdate}
+              disabled={installingUpdate}
+              style={{
+                border: '1px solid rgba(84, 140, 90, 0.6)',
+                background: installingUpdate ? '#2a2f2a' : '#1E2920',
+                color: installingUpdate ? '#9A9692' : '#d8dfd3',
+                borderRadius: 6,
+                fontSize: 11,
+                fontWeight: 600,
+                padding: '6px 10px',
+                cursor: installingUpdate ? 'default' : 'pointer',
+                opacity: installingUpdate ? 0.75 : 1,
+              }}
+            >
+              {installingUpdate ? 'Restarting…' : 'Install update and restart'}
+            </button>
+          ) : (
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              onClick={openUpdateDownloadPage}
+              style={{
+                border: '1px solid rgba(84, 140, 90, 0.6)',
+                background: '#1E2920',
+                color: '#d8dfd3',
+                borderRadius: 6,
+                fontSize: 11,
+                fontWeight: 600,
+                padding: '6px 10px',
+                cursor: 'pointer',
+              }}
+            >
+              Open release
+            </button>
+          )}
         </div>
       ) : null}
       {isSettingsOpen ? (

tests/smoke/app-updates.spec.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { expect, test } from '@playwright/test'
 import {
   __testOnlyCompareSemver,
   __testOnlyIsUpdateAvailable,
+  __testOnlyShouldStartPackagedUpdateCheck,
 } from '../../src/main/app-updates'
 
 test('semver comparison handles v-prefix and major/minor/patch ordering', () => {
@@ -25,3 +26,10 @@ test('update availability is true only when latest is newer than current', () =>
   expect(__testOnlyIsUpdateAvailable('not-semver', '1.2.0')).toBe(false)
   expect(__testOnlyIsUpdateAvailable('1.2.0', 'not-semver')).toBe(false)
 })
+
+test('packaged updater cadence helper enforces interval boundary', () => {
+  expect(__testOnlyShouldStartPackagedUpdateCheck(30_000, 0, 30_000)).toBe(true)
+  expect(__testOnlyShouldStartPackagedUpdateCheck(29_999, 0, 30_000)).toBe(false)
+  expect(__testOnlyShouldStartPackagedUpdateCheck(100_000, 75_000, 30_000)).toBe(false)
+  expect(__testOnlyShouldStartPackagedUpdateCheck(105_000, 75_000, 30_000)).toBe(true)
+})