Auto Updates
GRAX releases security, performance patches, bug fixes, and feature improvements multiple times a day on average. With automatic software updates, GRAX updates itself to the latest safe and tested release every weekday so that you never have to deal with the frustration of running into an already known and fixed bug or being told to "update and try again" by GRAX Support.
This feature cannot be disabled.
Warning for Slug-based Platforms
On platforms like Heroku or Docker, applications can be configured in such a way that they always boot from a pre-selected image or slug. In these cases, if GRAX updates itself on disk, the latest version is newer than that of the slug. GRAX's internal schema management is such that reverting to old versions may prove fatal to an app and require manual intervention. Updating on boot helps prevent this issue, always keeping the code on the latest release. If this update fails on boot, the app won't be allowed to boot to an old version.
How Does it Work?
The GRAX app checks in with hq.grax.com
every weekday to verify the latest version. If a newer version than the local code exists, the app downloads the latest version and install it in place over the previous version. It then restarts the app in place. The data operations (backup, archive, restore) of the app, if running, won't be harmed by these restarts or downloads. The app resumes processing tasks when it comes back online.
The app also performs a version and update check on every boot to avoid accidentally reverting to older versions. See note above about slug-based platforms.
Can I Manually Update?
Yes; the General Settings page contains a manual "Update Now" button. When pressed, the GRAX app performs version checks against hq.grax.com
and replaces the running app if necessary.
Further Reading
See also the Auto Updates FAQ.
GRAX recommends Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations as scientific study on how faster and more frequent deploys lead to higher reliability.
Updated about 4 hours ago