Updating the Plugin

Updating the Plugin

Volumio offers plugin updates in its own plugin list. The plugin can also be updated from the Station Manager under Maintenance > Plugin Update, which additionally gives access to versions that are still being tested.

From Volumio's plugin pages

An installed plugin is updated with Update. The button appears on the plugin's entry, in the plugin store's list and under Installed Plugins, when a newer version is offered.

The Install v... buttons in the plugin's Details dialog are for a first installation. For a plugin that is already installed, Volumio refuses them with "Plugin rtlsdr_radio already exists". Nothing has to be uninstalled to update: close the dialog and use Update.

Channels

Channel	Where the versions come from	For
Stable	Volumio plugin store, released versions	everyday use
Beta	Volumio plugin store, versions in testing	trying a version before it is released
Preview	the project's pre-releases on GitHub	trying a version before it goes to the store; may have faults

A channel includes the ones above it: Beta offers stable versions too, Preview offers whatever is newest.

flowchart LR
    github["GitHub<br/>pre-releases"] --> preview["Preview"]
    testing["Plugin store<br/>versions in testing"] --> beta["Beta"]
    released["Plugin store<br/>released versions"] --> stable["Stable"]
    preview --> manager["Station Manager<br/>Plugin Update"]
    beta --> manager
    stable --> manager
    manager --> backup["1. Backs up stations,<br/>settings and block list"]
    backup --> keep["2. Keeps the<br/>installed version"]
    keep --> install["3. Volumio installs<br/>the new version"]
    install --> restart["4. The player's<br/>software restarts"]

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Which channel is in force

Volumio has a switch for testing plugins: Plugins Test Mode on the player's /dev page (http://<player address>/dev).

• Off, which is how a player comes: the plugin stays on Stable, whatever is chosen in the Station Manager.
• On: the channel chosen in the Station Manager applies, Beta or Preview.

Switching test mode off again puts the player back on Stable; nothing else has to be undone.

Checking and installing

The section shows the installed version and the newest version the channel in force offers, with what is new in it. Check Now asks again. Install starts the update.

• The plugin store answers only players signed in to MyVolumio. A player that is not is still offered the stable version from GitHub.
• A version from GitHub is downloaded by the plugin and checked against the size and SHA-256 checksum GitHub publishes for it. A download that does not match is discarded.

What an update does

1. Backs up the station list, the settings and the block list.
2. Keeps the installed version as a ZIP file.
3. Hands the new version to Volumio's own plugin manager, which installs it the way it installs any plugin update.
4. Restarts the player's software so that the new version is loaded.

Playback stops and the player is unavailable for about a minute. When it is back, the section says which version is running. Your stations, settings, logos and backups are untouched.

Going back

After an update, Go Back to (version) reinstalls the version that was installed before, in the same way. One previous version is kept, in /data/rtlsdr_radio_backups/update.

What changed in each version

See the Changelog.