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Courier v0.5.2 (beta)

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@rpycroft rpycroft released this 25 Oct 14:46
v0.5.2
2ccbdd3

Courier v0.5.2 (beta)

Courier's first public beta: free, self-hosted, one-way messaging for schools. Write a notice, choose the computers or people it is for, and see how far it got. This is an early build and not an emergency system.

What you can do

  • Write, preview and send a notice. A title, a message and an expiry. The preview shows the notice as the computer will show it, who it reaches in words, when it expires, and a warning for a computer that is off, a computer without the Courier module, or a person no computer has reported signed in yet.
  • Computers or people. Tick computers, or name people by username or by Active Directory group.
  • Delivery reports that say only what is known. Waiting, Received, Displayed, Acknowledged, Expired, Failed. Displayed never means "read" and Expired never means "acknowledged". Download a notice's results, or the History list, as a CSV file.
  • Notices expire, and are not handed out again after that. History is kept for the period you choose, then deleted.
  • Senders and administrators. A sender can send only to the audiences an administrator gives them. Templates, your school's name and logo, and local Courier accounts that do not sign in to any other product.
  • Free, with no limit on the number of computers.

The RSJ Agent comes with Courier

Courier shows notices through the RSJ Agent, the same small agent Groundskeeper and Caretaker use. You do not have to find and download it separately: the Courier installer carries it, and the console makes a script that installs the agent on a computer and enrols it. Courier adds one small module to the agent and changes nothing else it does. If a computer already has the agent from Groundskeeper or Caretaker, Courier uses it.

What you will notice

  • Clearer wording when a notice may not have gone. If Courier cannot tell whether a send worked, it now says so ("Courier did not confirm whether the notice was sent. Open History to check before sending it again.") instead of inviting you to try again. After a send, Results opens with "Notice sent." Other buttons say what they do: Send a second copy now, Send rather than Send now.
  • Plainer reports. History says "Not collected by any computer yet" or "No computer collected it before it expired". Results says Expired, not Closed. The computers list says Not installed where it used to say "Not reported".
  • Shortening how long History is kept asks you first, because it deletes the older notices straight away.
  • Update channels. Settings > Updates > Update channel: Stable, Beta or Alpha. Beta offers betas like this one as well as every public release. Switching back to Stable never installs an older version. A reply Courier cannot read now shows as "could not check", never as "up to date".
  • Backup and restore, Settings > Backup. A nightly database backup (the newest seven kept), a restore that is checked first and applied the next time the service starts, and a password-protected settings file for moving to a new server.
  • An update that stops half-way starts Courier again instead of leaving it stopped.
  • A number of small problems with backups, restores and updates are fixed.

What has been seen working, and what has not

Please read this before you rely on Courier.

  • Seen working on real computers (a lab server and PC, October 2026): a notice sent to a computer, shown on screen and acknowledged, with each step recorded in the console, including on a locked screen and a signed-out screen; the server and the computer restarting; upgrading, uninstalling and reinstalling with the data kept. On 25 October the installer for this very build was run over the previous private build on the lab server: the service restarted once, came back as 0.5.2, kept its accounts, History and enrolled computer and its update task, and a notice sent before and another sent after the upgrade were both shown on the lab PC. Nobody was at the PC to acknowledge them this time, so acknowledgement was not tested in that run. The in-app Update now button was then tried on 25 October on the Beta channel, updating the lab server from the previous private build to this one: it found this release, installed it in about a minute, and settings, History and the enrolled computer were kept.
  • Not yet proven on real machines: one person signed in on two computers, signing out and another person signing in, Active Directory groups on a real school domain, and automatic updates.
  • Known issue: a notice waiting for someone to sign in may not appear when they do. Send it again. This is being fixed in the RSJ Agent.
  • The school name and logo do not show in the notice window on the computers yet, only in the console and the preview.
  • Not for emergencies. There is no promise that a notice reaches or interrupts anyone in time. Do not rely on Courier for a lockdown, a fire alarm or anything where a missed message is dangerous.

Help and documentation

Getting started

  1. Download CourierSetup.exe below and run it on a Windows Server that stays on.
  2. From the Start menu on that server choose Open Console and create the first administrator account.
  3. Put the RSJ Agent on your computers (the console's Deploy the RSJ Agent card makes the script), switch the Courier module on for them from the same page, and send a first notice to one of them.

Upgrading

Already on a private build? Run the new installer over it; your accounts, history and settings are kept. To be offered betas from then on, choose Beta under Settings > Updates > Update channel.

Download

File Description
CourierSetup.exe The whole Courier server -- install it on the Windows Server that will run Courier. The Courier module for your PCs is inside it and is handed to each PC by your own server. The RSJ Agent that runs the module on each PC is a separate install.

The two Source code links GitHub adds to every release hold only this repository's README and security policy, not the product.

SHA-256 checksum

Verify your download matches this before running it (PowerShell: Get-FileHash .\CourierSetup.exe):

File SHA-256
CourierSetup.exe B3E9ADCD3A2CE9650BCB00B2F49E04CF55F9BD9DAF950C77650B586FD948D579

Checked

The installer was scanned on VirusTotal before release:

About the beta

A beta build is newer than the public release, for trying new features before they reach everyone. It is tested by RSJ Software
but may still have rough edges. Install it over an existing Courier: your accounts, history and settings are kept.

To be offered betas, choose Beta under Settings -> Updates -> Update channel; you are also offered every public release as it
comes out. Tick Allow automatic updates there too if you want them installed without asking. To leave, choose Stable:
nothing older is ever installed, and the next public release arrives once it is newer than the beta you have.

What to expect when installing

Run the installer on the Windows Server that hosts Courier; it asks for administrator approval. The installer should name
RSJ Software Ltd as its publisher. If the publisher shows as unknown, do not run it -- tell us in an Issue on the main
repository. Take a copy of Courier's data folder first, with the Courier service stopped, as you would before any upgrade.

Help, questions and bug reports

Everything lives on the main repository, not here:

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