Desktop App Updates
The Jetstream Desktop App keeps itself up to date. This page explains how that works, how to turn it off, and what IT teams can do to manage updates across an organization.
How updates normally work
Jetstream checks for a new version shortly after it starts and every four hours after that. When one is available it downloads in the background, and the update is applied the next time you close Jetstream. You can also check at any time from File → Check for Updates (Jetstream → Check for Updates on a Mac), or from the update icon in the top-right corner of the app.
Turning off automatic updates
Go to Settings and turn off Automatically Download Updates.
Jetstream will stop checking and downloading in the background, but File → Check for Updates still works whenever you want a new version. We recommend leaving automatic updates on so you get fixes and new features as they ship.
If the toggle is greyed out, your IT team manages updates for your organization. See managing updates for an organization below.
"Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?"
On Windows, you may see a User Account Control prompt asking for an administrator username and password when Jetstream installs an update. This happens when Jetstream was installed for all users of the computer — usually because your IT team deployed it — because updating it means writing to a location outside your own user profile.
If you see this prompt:
- If you have administrator rights, approve it and the update installs normally.
- If you do not, cancel it and contact your IT team. They will install the update for you. Jetstream keeps working on your current version in the meantime.
Jetstream never installs these updates silently in the background — the prompt only ever appears right after you choose to install an update, so you always know what it is for.
Not sure which kind of install you have? If Jetstream lives in C:\Program Files\Jetstream it was
installed for all users. If it lives under
C:\Users\<your-name>\AppData\Local\Programs\jetstream it was installed just for you, and updates
never require an administrator.
Managing updates for an organization
If you deploy Jetstream with an MDM or software-distribution tool (Intune, Jamf, SCCM, Group Policy, and so on), you probably want to own the update schedule yourself rather than have each copy update independently.
When updates are disabled by any of the methods below, Jetstream never checks for or downloads a new version, the in-app Automatically Download Updates toggle becomes read-only, and the Check for Updates menu item is replaced with Updates Managed by Your Organization. Deploying new versions is then entirely up to your distribution tool.
Setting the value to 0 instead of 1 does the opposite: it pins automatic updates on and
prevents users from turning them off.
Jetstream reads these in order and uses the first one that is set.
Command-line flag
Add --disable-auto-update to the shortcut or launch command used to start Jetstream.
"C:\Program Files\Jetstream\Jetstream.exe" --disable-auto-update
Environment variable
Set JETSTREAM_DISABLE_AUTO_UPDATE=1 in the environment Jetstream launches from.
Windows registry (Group Policy / Intune)
Create a DWORD value named DisableAutoUpdate set to 1:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Jetstream
DisableAutoUpdate REG_DWORD 1
This is per-machine and applies to every user who signs in to the computer.
macOS configuration profile
Deliver a configuration profile for the app.getjetstream preference domain with a
DisableAutoUpdate boolean set to true. Jetstream reads only the MDM-managed locations, checking
the computer-level profile first and then the signed-in user's:
/Library/Managed Preferences/app.getjetstream.plist(profile scoped to the computer)/Library/Managed Preferences/<username>/app.getjetstream.plist(profile scoped to the user)
A plist a user writes to their own ~/Library/Preferences is ignored, so nobody can mark their own
install as managed.
Policy file
If none of the above fit your tooling, write a JSON file containing
{ "DisableAutoUpdate": true } to:
| Platform | Path |
|---|---|
| Windows | C:\ProgramData\Jetstream\policy.json |
| macOS | /Library/Application Support/Jetstream/policy.json |
Avoiding the update prompt on managed Windows machines
If you deploy Jetstream for all users and do not disable updates, users without administrator rights will be prompted for administrator credentials whenever they choose to install an update, and they will not be able to complete it. On those deployments we recommend either:
- Disabling updates with one of the methods above and pushing new versions through your deployment tool, or
- Installing per-user so each user's copy can update itself with no administrator involvement.
There is also a portable Windows build that requires no installation at all, which is useful in locked-down environments. It never prompts for an administrator and never updates itself — you replace the executable to move to a new version. Look for Windows (Portable) on the download page.