Updates

NeverLapse Cert 1.9.0 or newer can see new versions and install them from inside the app: Settings > Updates. It backs up first, and if the new version doesn't start it puts the old one back by itself.

Older versions don't have the page. Upgrade them once by hand to 1.9.0 or newer (Upgrade to a new version); after that, updates can come from the app.

The Updates page

  • The version that's installed, and the latest version out now, with its release date and what's new.
  • Check for updates asks right away. NeverLapse also checks by itself once a day.
  • A link to all releases, with the notes for each version.
  • A release that fixes a security problem is marked as a security update. Install those soon.

When a newer version is out, a banner shows at the top of every page (red for a security update), so you don't have to go looking.

Checking for updates needs no license. Downloading one needs a working license (below).

Install an update

Click Install <version> on the Updates page. Every NeverLapse Cert user is an administrator, so anyone who can sign in can do this. Then NeverLapse:

  1. Downloads the new version from neverlapse.live with this server's license key.
  2. Checks the file: its SHA-256 must match the one neverlapse.live published. On Windows it must also carry a valid signature from Live Information Technology Consulting Group, LLC and the right version number. Anything else is refused and nothing is installed.
  3. Backs up the program, its data and the database:
    • Windows: the program and data folders to C:\ProgramData\NeverLapse-Updates\ (administrators only) and a SQL Server copy-only backup in the SQL instance's backup folder.
    • Linux: to /var/backups/neverlapse-cert-updates, with a PostgreSQL dump.
    The last 2 update backups are kept.
  4. Installs it silently, the same way the installer would.
  5. Checks the new version: both services running, the right version, and the sign-in page answering. If any of that fails, it restores the files and the database and starts the old version again.

The web page is restarted during the update, so expect it to be away for a minute or two; reload it afterwards. Certificates already deployed keep working the whole time.

Agents are updated separately: see Agent updates.

License needed to download

Updates come from neverlapse.live and are downloaded with this server's license key. If the license has run out, was removed or was replaced, the download is refused and the page tells you to renew or fix the license under Settings > License. See Your license.

Windows with your own SQL Server

To roll back, NeverLapse must be able to restore its database. With the SQL Server Express that Setup installed this always works. On your own SQL Server, if NeverLapse's SQL login is only db_owner of its database (and the Windows SYSTEM account isn't a SQL sysadmin), the update is refused before anything changes. Either give that login the dbcreator server role, or run the new installer by hand after your own database backup.

Linux

Same steps, run as root by a systemd service the package installed. It fetches the published SHA-256 from neverlapse.live again itself before installing. If your server must use a different address to reach neverlapse.live, set UPDATE_SERVER in /etc/neverlapse-cert-server/update.conf (default https://neverlapse.live).

Docker

A Docker install can't replace its own container, so there's no Install button. The Updates page still shows when a new version is out, and the commands to run on the Docker host. See Upgrade in Docker.

NeverLapse Cert 1.9.0 shows docker compose pull there. That doesn't work: there's no published image. Build the image from the new package instead, as in Upgrade in Docker. Newer versions show the right steps.

Updating by hand

You can always skip the Updates page and run the new installer yourself, from your account: Upgrade to a new version.

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