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[QoL] Add an in-app updater and clearly distinguish Stable and Beta versions #16783
Description
I would like to suggest a QoL improvement for Subtitle Edit's update process.
Currently, when an update is available, the application redirects users to GitHub to download the new version. While this works well for users who are familiar with GitHub, it can be a little confusing for users who simply use Subtitle Edit and are not familiar with GitHub or its release system.
It would be great to have an in-app updater that allows users to check for and install updates directly from Subtitle Edit.
It would also be helpful to make the distinction between Stable and Beta releases more explicit during the update process. For less advanced users, Stable should ideally be the default or recommended option, since most users will probably prefer a stable release unless they specifically want to test new features.
For example, the updater could clearly show:
Stable: recommended for most users
Beta: for users who want to test upcoming features
This would make the update process much simpler and more user-friendly, especially for users who are not familiar with GitHub.
Thank you for considering this!
Activity
AuroraMartell commentedon Nov 9, 2026
Seconded this since the SE4 days!
niksedk commentedon Nov 10, 2026
Thanks for the suggestion! Both parts are already in Subtitle Edit 5.4.0:
In-app updater: Help → Check for updates now shows an Install and restart button when a newer version is available. Subtitle Edit downloads the update, checks its SHA-256 against the GitHub release, installs it and restarts. This works for:
The Windows portable zip, Windows ARM64, and package-managed installs (Flatpak, AUR, AppImage) still open the download page. Those should be updated through their package manager or by downloading manually.
Stable vs. beta: Options → Settings → Updates → "Notify about" (or the gear button in the Check for updates dialog) has two choices: "Stable versions only" and "Stable and beta versions". If you have never changed this setting, stable builds only look for stable updates, and beta builds also look for betas.
Note: the button only appears when a version newer than the one you're running has been released. If you're on 5.4.0 or later, you'll see it with the next release.
Docs: https://subtitleedit.github.io/subtitleedit/features/check-for-updates.html