> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alginte.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Update notifications

> Alginte's optional, privacy-preserving check for newer releases.

Alginte can tell you when a newer version is available. The check is **opt-in, anonymous,
and fail-silent** — it never blocks startup or the UI, and it sends no license key,
instance identifier, or usage data.

## How it works

When enabled, Alginte periodically (roughly once a day, cached) fetches a small static
manifest and compares its advertised version to the running build. If the manifest lists
a newer release, an **"update available"** notice appears in the app's About panel. That
is the entire mechanism — an anonymous `GET` of a public JSON file.

## Enabling it

Set the manifest URL. Empty (the default) means **disabled**, so source, dev, and test
runs stay silent:

```shell theme={null}
-e ALGINTE_UPDATECHECK_URL=https://www.alginte.com/latest.json
```

<Note>
  Builds marked `-SNAPSHOT` never show the notice, even with the URL set. The published
  Docker image is where the check is meant to be switched on.
</Note>

## Why not license expiry?

Alginte's free edition is **keyless and does not expire** — an update notification is the
deliberate "stay current" mechanism instead of a hard expiry that could brick an offline
install. See [Editions & licensing](/editions/licensing).