MatteLoop v0.4.0

MatteLoop can now update itself. This is the first release that can, and the last one you have to install by hand.

Updating from 0.3.0 — once, manually

A 0.3.0 installation has no updater and cannot reach this release on its own. Download it here and install it as you did before; from 0.4.0 onwards the application offers new versions itself. Your settings, model weights, cuts and exports are untouched — none of them live inside the application.

What is new

In-app updates. MatteLoop checks once at startup for a newer release and offers it in a dialog: the version, the download size, and one button. Dismiss it and a small arrow appears beside the gear, which reopens the offer whenever you want it. The download runs in the background and the update is applied when you quit, so nothing interrupts a preview, a render or a rebuild — if work is still running, the install is deferred rather than forced, and the downloaded package waits for the next launch.

Preferences carries a switch for the startup check and a manual Check for updates at any time.

A beta channel. Also in Preferences. Betas are ordinary releases marked as prereleases: a stable installation never sees them, and switching back leaves you where you are until a stable release overtakes it. There are no downgrades.

Windows gets an installer. MatteLoop-v0.4.0-windows-x64-Setup.exe installs to your user profile, adds a Start-menu entry, and updates itself in place. The portable archive is still there for anyone who prefers a folder — and it now extracts to MatteLoop-v0.4.0-windows-x64\, so two downloads no longer look identical (#134).

Correct launch instructions. The old advice to right-click and choose Open has not worked since macOS 15, which is the oldest version this project supports. See below for what actually works.

Installing

The builds are unsigned by decision, so both systems warn on first launch:

• Windows — SmartScreen: choose More info, then Run anyway.
• macOS — the first launch is refused. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, find the message naming MatteLoop, and choose Open Anyway. Move the application to your Applications folder before launching it; an app left in Downloads may run from a read-only copy and then cannot update itself. ~/Applications works just as well and is the better choice without administrator rights.

MatteLoop never needs administrator rights to update itself. If such a prompt ever appears, the application is installed somewhere you cannot write: cancel it and install the new version by hand.

Known issue

Quitting the application while work is still running can end in a crash report if that work does not stop within five seconds. Nothing is lost — it happens after you have asked to quit, once shutdown has done everything it can. It predates this release and is tracked in #142.

Assets

MatteLoop-v0.4.0-macos-arm64.zip for macOS 15+ on Apple Silicon; MatteLoop-v0.4.0-windows-x64-Setup.exe or MatteLoop-v0.4.0-windows-x64.zip for Windows x64. The .nupkg packages and releases.*.json feeds are what the updater reads — you do not need to download them.

The MatteLoop-*-sources-* archives are the complete corresponding sources for the LGPL libraries (FFmpeg, libwebp, Qt) inside the application, published here as their licences require. They are not needed to run MatteLoop.