Auto-Updates
Vesper Mosaic checks for new versions automatically and downloads them silently in the background. You never have to visit the website to check for updates.
How update checks work
Mosaic uses an electron-updater generic provider feed at https://vesperapps.com/releases/mosaic/. The feed publishes a small latest-mac.yml manifest alongside each release zip, and the app polls it on the following schedule:
- 15 seconds after launch - first check, so a long-idle install picks up updates promptly.
- Every 4 hours thereafter - while the app stays open.
Each check is a single tiny HTTP request. If the manifest's version is newer than the running version, Mosaic downloads the update zip in the background.
The restart banner
When a downloaded update is ready to install, a slim violet banner appears at the top of the Mosaic window with a Restart now button. Click it to restart Mosaic on the new version. The banner does not interrupt anything - your panes keep working, and you can restart whenever it suits you.
Dismissing the banner with the × hides it for that update. The download is still there, and you can install it at any time from Vesper Mosaic → Check for Updates....
Installing is always something you do. If you quit Mosaic with an update staged, it waits rather than applying itself, and the banner returns the next time you launch.
Manually checking for updates
From the menu bar, click Vesper Mosaic → Check for Updates.... A dialog confirms whether you are on the latest version, or kicks off a download if a newer version is available.
This is useful if you suspect the auto-check missed a release - for example, if your machine was offline at the scheduled check time.
The About window
Click Vesper Mosaic → About Vesper Mosaic to open a small window showing your current version, the Vesper logomark, and links to vesperapps.com and the support email. Use this to confirm exactly what version you're running.
What gets downloaded
Mosaic downloads a zip of the new app, not the DMG installer. The zip is staged in a temporary location and swapped in at restart. The disk footprint of an update is roughly the size of the app itself during the brief window between download and restart.
Mosaic will not install an older version
Updates only ever move forward. If the version offered by the update feed is older than, or the same as, the one you are running, Mosaic declines it and says so rather than installing quietly. The same check runs against anything already downloaded and waiting, so a package that has been sitting in the cache since before your last manual install can never roll you backwards.
If auto-updates fail
If you are behind a corporate proxy or firewall that blocks the update feed, automatic checks will fail silently. You can always download the latest .dmg manually from the Vesper Mosaic page and install over the existing app. Your shared session - cookies and logins across the three panes - survives the manual upgrade because it lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Vesper Mosaic/, separate from the app bundle.