Updating

The update check is the only network request MLabel is capable of making. Everything else is denied at the network layer, in every configuration.

How it works

Installed builds — the macOS app in /Applications and the Windows installer — check GitHub Releases on startup, download any new version in the background, and apply it the next time you restart. You are never interrupted mid-record.

The chrome bar shows where things stand:

State	Meaning
Checking…	Asking GitHub whether a newer release exists.
Up to date	You have the latest version.
Downloading…	A new version is being fetched, with progress.
Restart to update	Downloaded and staged. Quit and reopen to apply it.
Update available	Portable builds only — click to open the download for your version.
Error	The check failed. Click to retry.

On macOS you can also check manually: MLabel → Check for Updates…

When updates can’t install

Two cases, both covered in the install guides:

• A portable Windows build has no installer to hand off to, so it cannot replace itself. It links you to the right asset instead. See Install on Windows.
• A macOS app running outside /Applications is subject to App Translocation and cannot rewrite itself. Move it, and updates start working. See Install on macOS.

Turning it off

Add this to your config:

{
  "version": 2,
  "network": { "updateChecks": false },
  // …
}

With updateChecks: false, MLabel makes no network requests of any kind. The check is not merely skipped: the network layer refuses the request outright, and the updater is never started.

This is the right setting for air-gapped machines and for any environment where outbound traffic has to be justified. See Network policy for what is and is not permitted, and Deploying to labelers for rolling it out.

Caution

network is validated strictly, like every other object in the config. A misspelled updateCheck (no s) is a load error, not a silently ignored key — precisely so that a config which reads as opting out cannot quietly leave checks running.

Which versions the policy allows

Even with checks enabled, the only destinations permitted are the MLabel releases path on github.com and the GitHub asset hosts it redirects downloads to. Everything else, including anything the window itself might attempt, is denied.