← Design · c139

prior-art.md

c139 Phase 0: prior art

Contents
  1. 1. Zed
  2. 2. VS Code
  3. 3. Firefox
  4. 4. 1Password
  5. 5. Slack
  6. 6. The Claude desktop app
  7. 7. Raycast
  8. 8. VS Code Insiders
  9. 9. Chrome's channels
  10. 10. TestFlight
  11. 11. Staged percentages: Sparkle, the App Store, Google Play
  12. 12. Early access in B2B: Slack's desktop beta and Microsoft 365 Frontier
  13. What the reading says about our model
  14. What we copy
  15. What we refuse
  16. Open questions, each with a default
  17. Sources (all read 2026-11-11)

Use this file to check the update model in plan.md (its states, three-value preference, trace and two eras) against how twelve others show and stage updates. Part A covers seven desktop apps' update settings: Zed, VS Code, Firefox, 1Password, Slack, the Claude desktop app and Raycast, each in the same eight rows. Part B covers five ways of giving some people a build before everyone: VS Code Insiders, Chrome's channels, TestFlight, staged percentages (Sparkle, the App Store, Google Play) and B2B early access (Slack's beta, Microsoft 365 Frontier), each in the same six rows. Every section ends with what we copy and what we refuse, in the plan's terms: rules R1 to R7, decisions D1 to D12 and dependencies T1 to T6. The last four sections test the model, list what we copy and refuse, and give each open question a default.

Every source was read on 2026-11-11. This session reached GitHub, developer.apple.com, developer.android.com, support.claude.com and code.claude.com. So Zed, VS Code, Firefox, Chromium and Sparkle are quoted from their own repositories (exact UI strings, main as of today), and Apple, Android and Anthropic from their pages. Other vendor hosts were blocked; claims from them rest on search excerpts and are marked "(search excerpt)". Zed's updater internals are in c130 platform §5 and are not repeated. Linear, Arc and Figma were too thin for a table. Linear's app turns off updates only with a defaults write … AutoUpdateDisabled key; Figma shows an in-app message when behind and ships a separate "Figma Beta" app; nothing citable was found for Arc. Firefox takes the seventh slot.
https://linear.app/docs/get-the-app.md (search excerpt, 2026-11-11)
https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406787442711-Beta-features (search excerpt, 2026-11-11)

Part A. Desktop apps' update settings

1. Zed

What it is. An editor built on GPUI, qnative's toolkit, so its updater is the nearest code to ours. The update lives in a title-bar button whose label is the state, a menu item, and one setting.

Update modelZed
Where it livesA title-bar button shown with the state; "Check for Updates" in the app menu; "Restart to update Zed" in the user menu. No Settings pane.
Versions shownThe new version in the tooltip; "Updated to Zed 1.3.0" afterwards. No commit or date.
ChannelStable, Preview (a week ahead), Nightly: separate apps with separate data.
Preferenceauto_update, default true. On or off.
Release notesA page per version and channel; Nightly links to the commit list; a local Markdown view. The PR author writes each line.
Restart promptThe button reads "Restart to Update". No dialog, no deadline.
Silent behaviourHourly check (15 minutes on Nightly), install in place, one toast on next launch with "View Release Notes".
Managed elsewhereZED_UPDATE_EXPLANATION stops the checks; Check then says "Zed was installed via a package manager." with the explanation.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • The label is the state (R4). The six labels map onto our states, in the tray line and the footer.
  • The packager's sentence, verbatim (T5). One string set at build or run time covers Homebrew, Nix or MDM with no code change.
  • Notes that follow the channel, written at the change (D6, D7): a page for a release, the commit trail for a nightly, the line drafted in the PR.

Refuse.

  • On or off. We need three values.
  • The toast after a quiet install. D2 and c137 row 24 put the trace in the footer.
  • Channels as separate apps (see section 8).

2. VS Code

What it is. An Electron editor whose title bar now carries an update indicator. Its tooltip is the closest thing in this document to our Updates page: both versions with commits, the date, notes, one action, and a sentence for every reason updates are off.

Update modelVS Code
Where it livesTitle-bar indicator and tooltip (update.titleBar, on); the Manage menu; Help › Check for Updates; the update.mode setting.
Versions shown"Current Version: 1.x (commit)", "Latest Version: 1.y (commit)", "Released {date}", "Copy".
ChannelStable and Insiders as separate installs; an in-app switch exists only on the web.
Preferenceupdate.mode: default · start · manual · none, default default. Windows: "Enable Background Updates".
Release notesOpened after an update (update.showReleaseNotes, on); an experiment shows a tooltip instead. One page per weekly release.
Restart prompt"Restart to Update"; an experimental macOS restart when idle, under strict conditions.
Silent behaviourBackground download (and Windows install); a reminder when the build is two months old.
Managed elsewhereUpdateMode policy; "Updates are disabled by your organization." and a sentence per other cause.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • The tooltip as the Updates page's skeleton: current and latest with commits, release date, notes, one button naming the next step, Copy (D5, Copy version info).
  • A sentence per reason updates are off (D10): never just "disabled".
  • The idle-restart guard (D3): everything restorable, no agent session running, no focus taken (question 11).
  • The age reminder and the organisation's minimum version (questions 10 and 15).

Refuse.

  • A notes tab that opens itself. VS Code is testing a quieter tooltip; D2's footer mark is that.
  • A preference named after check timing. Ours names the outcome for the person.

3. Firefox

What it is. A browser with a full Settings section for updates, a history of installs, public enterprise policies and an escalation clock. Its strings are the most exact here.

Update modelFirefox
Where it livesSettings, "Firefox updates"; the About dialog; an app-menu banner.
Versions shown"Version 1xx What's new"; Nightly adds its build date.
ChannelShown, not switched: "You are currently on the {channel} update channel." Each channel is its own build (cited from memory, not re-read today).
Preference"Automatically install updates (recommended)" · "Check for updates, but choose when to install".
Release notes"What's new" per version, written by Mozilla.
Restart prompt"Update and restart" · "Dismiss": "Open tabs and windows will be restored." Badge after 4 days, full prompt after 8.
Silent behaviourChecks every 6 hours; a background service installs while closed (Windows); "Update History".
Managed elsewhereDisableAppUpdate, AppAutoUpdate, ManualAppUpdateOnly, AppUpdatePin; "Updates disabled by your organization".

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • "(recommended)" on the default (D1).
  • The restart sentence that says what survives (R2): "qcontrol keeps watching while the app restarts."
  • Update History with a state column, so failures show too (R5).
  • Two managed sentences: by your organisation, by your operating system (D10); and the pin as an organisation's policy (R6).

Refuse.

  • "The big UI" after eight days. R1 has no modal at any age; the age is said instead (question 9).

4. 1Password

What it is. A security tool on work laptops, managed by employers: the closest in kind to us. The channel is a setting in the one app, and the organisation can limit it. Most facts are search excerpts.

Update model1Password
Where it livesSettings › Advanced ("Release channel"); "Install updates automatically"; "Check for updates" in the menu bar and About.
Versions shownFull build numbers, e.g. "8.12.44-24" for a beta.
ChannelProduction · Beta · Nightly in place; a new channel applies at its next newer release; Nightly to Production needs a reinstall.
Preference"Install updates automatically" on or off; off means no checks until "Check for updates" (community answer).
Release notesreleases.1password.com per platform and channel, with RSS.
Restart promptNot verified today.
Silent behaviourWindows: weekly check, install only while the app is locked (community answer).
Managed elsewhereMDM keys; a 1Password.com channel policy ("Production only") that overrides MDM; a policy requiring the latest version.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • The channel inside the one install, and "newer in the chosen channel, or nothing" when leaving Beta (later era; no downgrade).
  • The organisation limits the channels, overriding the device (plan §Two eras).
  • Install while nobody is using it (D3): for us, the window closed to the tray.

Refuse.

  • Off means no checks. The plan checks whatever the preference (D10).
  • A channel kept in two places. The reported drift is why D12 keeps it in the feed.

5. Slack

What it is. A B2B Electron app with no preference for the person: updates arrive automatically, show as a badge, and apply on restart. Administrators turn them off by configuration.

Update modelSlack
Where it livesA badge on the help icon, then an update card; Help › Check for updates.
Versions shownPer-version notes pages; nothing more verified.
ChannelA desktop beta (section 12).
PreferenceNone.
Release notesPages per OS, stable and beta.
Restart prompt"Restart Slack"; "Restart to apply update" after a manual check.
Silent behaviourAutomatic download; applies at the next restart.
Managed elsewhereAutoUpdate (4.31 and later, enforceable); store installs update through the store.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • A badge on something the person already opens (D4): our tray dot and footer mark.
  • Say where updates come from when a store or manager owns them (D10).

Refuse.

  • No preference at all. Mark's prompt asks for one.

6. The Claude desktop app

What it is. Anthropic's Electron app: automatic updates, a menu item, an MDM key and a forced-restart window. Public issues describe what happens when an app hosting long-running agent sessions restarts itself. That is the nearest thing in this document to our own risk.

Update modelClaude desktop
Where it lives"Claude › Check for Updates…" (macOS), "Help › Check for Updates…" (Windows); an in-app "Relaunch to update".
Versions shownNumbers like v1.2581.0; the docs gate features by version.
ChannelNone visible.
PreferenceNone for the person; an organisation toggle.
Release notesA running article across the Claude apps; none at the restart control.
Restart prompt"Relaunch to update" applies at once.
Silent behaviourA "stealth update" relaunch after an idle timeout; only a log line.
Managed elsewheredisableAutoUpdates; autoUpdaterEnforcementHours 1 to 72, default 72.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • Policy can stop the automatic path and keep Check now (question 7).
  • A per-user install updates without an administrator: the app's half of T4.

Refuse.

  • A forced restart on a timer (R1). If an organisation wants a deadline later, it is a window shown in advance (section 9).
  • An idle relaunch traced only in a log (R3), and one that cuts live sessions (R2).
  • A restart control with no notes and no "later". Each complaint in #61582 is a row of our model.

7. Raycast

What it is. A menu-bar launcher, a tray app like ours. It ships weekly, checks daily, offers updates inside its own search, and shows notes after the relaunch.

Update modelRaycast
Where it livesSettings › About; the menu bar icon; a Check for Updates command; the update at the top of root search.
Versions shownThe version in About; a dated changelog per version.
ChannelThe v2 beta was a separate app until v2 replaced v1.
PreferenceNone found.
Release notesChangelog per version, shown after the relaunch.
Restart promptOffered in root search; the new build starts when the old one quits.
Silent behaviourDaily check; on Windows, background updates "without interrupting your work".
Managed elsewhereNot found.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • The update where the person already is (D4, D11): the tray menu.
  • Notes on the first open after any restart, not only after a quiet install.

Refuse.

  • No "not now" and no "only when I click".

Part B. Early access against staged general release

8. VS Code Insiders

What it is. A second VS Code built nightly, installed beside Stable with its own settings: the open-door fast track.

TrackVS Code Insiders
Who is in the trackAnyone who installs it.
How they join and leaveInstall the second app; leave by using Stable. On the web only, a switch with a reload.
What they seeNightly builds; separate settings, extensions and sync.
CadenceNightly; Stable weekly.
How rollout is controlled and haltedNot documented to users.
How the mature version differsStable: weekly, per-version notes, UpdateMode policy.

The facts behind the table.

Copy. Say what the track gives: "the fixes from the day before" is the honest first line of our partner notes.

Refuse. The second app. For us it means a second inbox and footer over one sensor (question 13).

9. Chrome's channels

What it is. Canary, Dev, Beta and Stable, plus Extended Stable for enterprises, on a fixed calendar, with a staged Stable rollout and the most detailed restart policy here.

TrackChrome
Who is in the trackCanary, Dev, Beta: anyone. Stable: everyone. Extended Stable: enterprises, by policy.
How they join and leaveInstall the channel's build, side by side; going back can mean deleting a profile.
What they seeEach channel's builds; Stable rolls out as two identical builds that differ only in build number.
CadenceA milestone to Stable every two weeks, weekly refreshes, two weeks in Beta, Extended Stable every eight weeks.
How rollout is controlled and haltedEarly Stable to "a small percentage"; all users "within one to two weeks unless major issues arise".
How the mature version differsEnterprise policy: Extended Stable, RelaunchNotification recommended or required, with a period.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • "Available for # days" (question 9).
  • "Update when your screen is unused" as the person's choice (question 6).
  • A calendar, and the organisation's relaunch window, later: shown with the days counting down.

Refuse.

  • Required relaunch. Nothing restarts Qpoint on our say-so (R1).

10. TestFlight

What it is. Apple's beta service, and the model for a small, named early cohort: an internal team, invited external testers, a note per build, builds that expire.

TrackTestFlight
Who is in the trackInternal: up to 100 App Store Connect users. External: up to 10,000 by invitation or public link.
How they join and leaveAccept an invitation or link; the developer removes testers or expires builds.
What they seeThe group's builds, with test information and a "What to Test" note per build.
CadencePer upload; internal groups can receive every build automatically.
How rollout is controlled and haltedBy group; the first external build needs App Review; any build can be expired; all stop after 90 days.
How the mature version differsThe App Store, with phased release (section 11).

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • "What to try" with each partner build, added to D6's three parts.
  • Audiences as groups: notes.audience can grow from partners | public to team | partners | public.

Refuse.

  • Expiry as a hard stop. A sensor that stops is a hole in governance (question 14).
  • Third-party review before the cohort sees a build. The gate is the person who cuts it (D7).

11. Staged percentages: Sparkle, the App Store, Google Play

What it is. Three ways of offering one version to a growing share of installs. Sparkle does it in the client, Apple over seven fixed days, Google by percentage with a halt.

TrackSparkleApp Store phased releaseGoogle Play staged rollout
Who is in the trackSeven groups; a random id kept on the install, never sent."A random sample of users with automatic updates on", not told.A percentage the developer sets.
How they join and leaveAssigned; a manual check skips the wait.Assigned; anyone can download it manually.Assigned; test tracks first (internal, up to 100).
What they seeAn alert with notes; Skip This Version, except for critical updates.The update and its notes.The update; an in-app prompt by priority, 0 to 5.
CadenceOne group per phasedRolloutInterval.1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100% on days 1 to 7.As the developer raises it.
How rollout is controlled and haltedEdit the feed; critical and manual checks bypass.Pause up to 30 days in total; Release to All Users.Halt: nobody new gets it; those who have it keep it.
How the mature version differsThis is it; channels branch off the default and return.This is it.This is it, with priority and staleness.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • The share drawn on the install and never sent (Sparkle): the plan's stable number per install, with the privacy sentence.
  • A manual check bypasses the stage (Apple, Sparkle), as the plan says.
  • Apple's curve from published_at, so CI never edits the feed daily.
  • Halt as "nobody new" (Play): the plan's pulled.
  • Priority set once per release; critical unskippable and unstaged (Play, Sparkle): question 12 and min_version.

Refuse.

  • Skip This Version (R6, D8).
  • The second-launch question. A default with a setting instead (D1).

12. Early access in B2B: Slack's desktop beta and Microsoft 365 Frontier

What it is. Two ways a business product lets some people go first. Slack's is personal: anyone opts in. Microsoft's is organisational: the administrator chooses who is in Frontier, and the rest stay on Standard or Deferred. Frontier replaces Targeted release, which retires in January 2027. No design-partner update track was found to cite; c62's partner era is our own.

TrackSlack desktop betaMicrosoft 365 Frontier · Standard · Deferred
Who is in the trackAnyone who opts in.The users an admin enrols; others Standard or Deferred.
How they join and leave"Opt into beta" on slack.com/beta; leave in Preferences › Advanced.The admin centre's release preferences.
What they seeBeta builds; separate beta notes per OS.Features early (Frontier); major updates held about 30 days (Deferred).
CadenceThe latest beta within 6 hours.Per feature; Deferred about 30 days behind.
How rollout is controlled and haltedBy Slack; not documented to users.By the tenant's preferences.
How the mature version differsThe stable app with AutoUpdate.This is it: a speed per group.

The facts behind the table.

Copy.

  • Leaving early access is a setting in the app, beside the preference (D11, D12).
  • A speed per group, chosen by the organisation: first, with everyone, a month later.
  • The default stated in the policy's own words, so early access stays a choice.

Refuse.

  • Early access as an opt-in download. In the partner era every install is a partner's; the one channel is theirs.

The reading against the model

What the reading says about our model

Each part of the model against what the precedents do. "Stricter" means ours asks more; "thinner" means a precedent carries something ours does not yet.

Part of the modelWhat the precedents doOurs
The states (up to date · checking · available · downloading · ready to restart · installed · failed · offline · managed)Zed six, VS Code over a dozen, Firefox about ten, each with its own label; VS Code, Firefox and Zed name the managed cause.Equal on states, stricter on sentences (R4). Thinner: no state column in the history (Firefox).
The preference (Automatically · Ask me first · Only when I click)On or off (Zed, 1Password), two values (Firefox), check timing (VS Code), none (Slack, Claude, Raycast). Default automatic everywhere but Sparkle.Stricter: three outcomes, checks always run.
Installed silently, then what's newZed: a toast. VS Code: a notes tab, or a title-bar tooltip under test. Raycast: notes after the relaunch. Firefox: history only. Claude: a log line.Between VS Code's experiment and Firefox's history (D2). Stricter than Claude.
Restart"Restart to Update" everywhere. Escalation by clock: Firefox (4 and 8 days), Sparkle (a week), Claude (72 h, forced), Chrome (a period). Idle restarts: VS Code (guarded), Chrome (chosen), Claude (unguarded).Stricter: no modal, no deadline (R1). Thinner: D3 has no guard; Ask me first has no age.
Notes and versionVS Code: version, commit, date, Copy. Zed: a page per version, commits for Nightly. TestFlight: a note per build.Equal (D5, D6). Thinner: no "what to try".
Managed elsewhereA sentence per cause (VS Code, Firefox); the packager's sentence (Zed); an organisation minimum (VS Code); Check now kept (Claude).Equal now (D10, T5).
Now: one channel, internal notes, trail, no skipFast tracks are separate apps (Insiders, Canary, Zed Preview, Raycast Beta, Slack beta) or groups (TestFlight). Skip only in Sparkle.Stricter: one install, one channel, no skip (R6).
Later: channels, staged %, public notes, policyIn-place channels (1Password, Sparkle); a 7-day curve, pause and halt (Apple, Play); priority (Play); organisation limits, pins, minimums, windows, speeds (section 12).Equal in shape (rollout, pulled, min_version). Thinner: no priority, no curve, no "wait 30 days".

Where ours is stricter: no restart while the window is open or on a timer (R1); the restart says the sensor keeps watching (R2); a quiet install leaves a visible trace (R3); no skip (R6); the channel in one place (D12). No precedent does all five. VS Code is nearest, and its two experiments move the way the plan points.

Where ours is thinner, and should not stay so:

  1. No guard on the idle relaunch (VS Code names one; the Claude issues show the cost). Question 11.
  2. No age line for an install that has stopped updating (VS Code two months, Firefox 63 days, Chrome "for # days"). Question 10.
  3. No clock in Ask me first. It should not escalate, but it can say how long the update has waited. Question 9.
  4. No state in the history (Firefox).
  5. No priority per release (Play, Sparkle), to map onto c137's modes. Question 12.
  6. No "what to try" in partner notes (TestFlight).
  7. No organisation "wait" beside the pin (Microsoft's Deferred). Question 15.

What we copy

  • The Updates page as VS Code's tooltip: both versions with commits, release date, notes, one button naming the next step, Copy (VS Code).
  • The label is the state (Zed, VS Code, Firefox).
  • A sentence per reason updates are managed (VS Code, Firefox), and the packager's sentence verbatim (Zed's ZED_UPDATE_EXPLANATION).
  • The restart sentence that says what survives (Firefox's "Open tabs and windows will be restored").
  • "(recommended)" on the default (Firefox).
  • Notes per version with the trail behind them, written at the change (Zed's notes page, commit list and PR line).
  • "What to try" with each partner build (TestFlight).
  • Update history with a state (Firefox).
  • The idle-restart guard (VS Code's restartWhenIdle, Sparkle's background-app rule), and "restart when I'm away" as a choice (Chrome).
  • The update where the person already is: the tray menu and a badge, not a window (Raycast, Slack, Sparkle's gentle reminders).
  • An age line, at most monthly (VS Code, Firefox, Chrome).
  • The channel inside the one install; newer-or-nothing when leaving Beta (1Password, Sparkle).
  • A local, unsent rollout share; manual checks bypass it; Apple's seven-day curve (Sparkle, Apple).
  • Halt as "nobody new" (Play); priority set once; critical unskippable and unstaged (Play, Sparkle).
  • The organisation's controls, later: allowed channels (1Password), a pin (Firefox), a minimum (VS Code), a relaunch window shown in advance (Chrome), a speed per group (Microsoft), Check now kept when automatic is off (Claude).

What we refuse

  • A forced restart on a timer (Claude, Chrome's required relaunch).
  • An idle relaunch traced only in a log (Claude's stealth update).
  • A restart control without notes or "later" (Claude).
  • Skip This Version (Sparkle).
  • A modal at any age (Firefox's "big UI", Sparkle's second-launch question, Play's immediate flow).
  • A notes tab or toast that opens itself after a quiet install (VS Code's default, Zed).
  • Channels as separate apps (Insiders, Chrome, Zed Preview, Raycast Beta, Figma Beta, Slack beta).
  • A boolean preference, or none (Zed; Slack, Claude, Raycast).
  • Off meaning no checks (1Password, VS Code none).
  • A channel stored in two places (1Password's reported drift).
  • Build expiry as a hard stop (TestFlight); a downgrade that costs data (Chrome).
  • A Terminal key as the only off switch (Linear, Slack's legacy key).

Open questions, each with a default

The plan's decisions are in its §Decisions. These are the questions the reading raised, with the plan's default where it has one and what the reading adds.

  1. The preference's default. Automatically, labelled "(recommended)", with no first-run question (D1). Zed, VS Code, Firefox, Slack and Claude update automatically by default. Sparkle asks on the second launch and leaves automatic installs off.
  2. Silent: no notice, or a quiet trace? A quiet trace (D2): the footer mark for seven days, the Updates page leading with what's new, the history. The precedents range from a toast (Zed) to a log line (Claude); ours sits beside VS Code's tooltip experiment and Firefox's history.
  3. Internal notes inline, or behind a link? Inline, with the trail one link away (D6). VS Code, Sparkle, Zed's local view and TestFlight all show notes in the app. Add "what to try".
  4. Skip this version. None; "Not now" defers (D8). Only Sparkle offers a skip, and it withdraws it for critical updates. In a product whose sensor is the evidence, a skipped version is a gap the organisation did not choose. Holding a version is the organisation's pin, later.
  5. Who owns release notes. The person who cuts the release owns the facts and the gate; the draft comes from the record; design owns the template and the voice (D7). Zed's PR line and TestFlight's note put the writing at the change.
  6. Restart timing. Automatically: at quit, at the machine's restart, or idle with the window closed (D3, guarded by question 11). Ask me first: Restart now · When I quit · When I'm away (Chrome). No prompt and no deadline.
  7. What "managed elsewhere" says. Who manages it and how to update there: "Updates are managed by Homebrew." with the command. Later: "Updates are managed by your organization." with what the policy allows. The preference is shown disabled with the reason (D10). If policy stops only the automatic path, Check now stays (Claude).
  8. Semver tag or SHA in the partner era. The tag, with the 7-char SHA beside it (D5), every partner build tagged (T3). VS Code shows "1.x (commit)" for both versions. Later, the tag alone, with the SHA in Copy version info.
  9. Does Ask me first escalate? No prompt, ever; the age is said instead. After three days the tray line and the footer read "ready since Tuesday" (Chrome's "available for # days").
  10. What does an install that has stopped updating say? After 60 days, one tray line at most once a month ("Qpoint 0.1.0 is 2 months old"), under any preference, managed included (VS Code, Firefox). The Updates page always shows the age.
  11. What guards the idle relaunch? Only when everything comes back as it was: no developer stream (c138), no mechanic session (c136), no open required message (c137), no tour or capture running, the window closed, no focus taken (VS Code, Sparkle). The history records "while you were away". T6 may narrow D3 to quit and restart only.
  12. Does a release carry a priority mapped to c137's modes? Not now. Later, a field set once per release (Play, Sparkle): quiet for a normal release (the trace), normal (the tray dot) when it fixes a sharp edge the person reported, never priority. The floor is min_version.
  13. Channels later: a setting, or a second app? A setting in the same install, under Updates. Leaving Beta waits for Stable to pass it; the organisation can limit the channels (1Password, Sparkle, Slack's opt-out). A second app puts a second inbox over one sensor.
  14. Does a partner build expire? No (against TestFlight's 90 days). The age line (question 10) and, later, min_version do the work.
  15. What does the organisation's policy hold, later? Allowed channels, a pin, a minimum, a wait of about 30 days, an update window shown in advance, and who goes first (1Password, Firefox, VS Code, Microsoft, Chrome). Designed with c134; the native page leaves a slot for each.
  16. Does the staged rollout tell the person anything? No. An update not yet offered to this install is not shown, and Check now gets it (Apple, Sparkle), so nothing is hidden from someone who asks. The share is drawn locally and never sent.

Sources (all read 2026-11-11)

Read directly: the GitHub repositories of Zed, VS Code and vscode-docs, Firefox and its policy templates, Chromium, and Sparkle; developer.apple.com; developer.android.com; support.claude.com; code.claude.com; two anthropics/claude-code issues. Read as search excerpts, the pages being blocked: zed.dev, 1Password's support, blog and community, slack.com, manual.raycast.com, medium.com, support.google.com, chromium.org, learn.microsoft.com and a Microsoft 365 message-centre mirror, help.figma.com, linear.app, helm-app.com, pcworld.com. Cited from memory: Firefox's channel list and Chrome Canary's daily cadence.

To re-read from a laptop before the mocks are final: 1Password's Settings labels and restart prompt; Slack's update card; Raycast's macOS behaviour today (the post is from 2020); TestFlight's "What to Test" limit; Play's halt at 100%; Microsoft 365 Frontier's group rules; whether VS Code's two experiments have shipped.

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