Updating the app, step by step
A new version comes out every Saturday. Updating keeps all your invoices, clients and settings, and the app backs them up first. The easiest way is one button inside the app.
#The easy way: the Update button (Windows, Mac, Linux)
- Open the appWhen a new version is out, the sidebar shows Update to v… (you can also go to Settings → App Updates).
- Read what is new and click Update NowA window shows what changed. Click Update Now.
- Wait about a minuteA window shows the progress; it backs up your data first, then updates.
- Reload the pagePress F5 (on a Mac Cmd + R). The version at the bottom of the Dashboard shows the new number.
Changes still look the same? Press Ctrl + F5 (Mac: Cmd + Shift + R) to make the browser load the new version.
#The "Update available" window
It opens when you click Update to v… in the sidebar. At the top it shows the new version and the one you are on, with the date it was released.
| Part | What it means |
|---|---|
| Your data is safe. | Updating replaces only the app itself. Your data folder (invoices, clients, products, settings) and your Saved Invoices PDFs are never touched. |
| The release notes | What changed in this version. |
| Recommended: export a backup | Open Settings → Data Management takes you to Export Backup. Worth doing before any update, just in case. |
| Skip this version | Hides the Update to v… button for this version. The next version will be offered as usual, and you can still update from Settings → App Updates. |
| Remind me later | Closes the window; the sidebar button stays. |
| View on GitHub | Opens the release page in your browser. |
| Update Now | Backs up your data, then fetches and installs the new version. It takes about a minute: leave the window open, then reload the page when it finishes. |
If the update stops with an error, your data is still safe. See The update failed, or use one of the other ways on this page.
#Also easy: the install line again
The line that installs the app also updates it, and repairs it if it will not start. It finds your install, backs up your data first, replaces only the app's own files and opens the new version.
Windows: press Windows + R, paste this, press Enter:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c "[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol='Tls12'; irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IamRamgarhia/Free-GST-Billing-Software/main/install.ps1 | iex"Mac and Linux: open Terminal, paste this, press Return:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IamRamgarhia/Free-GST-Billing-Software/main/install.sh | bash#Windows: other ways
From the launcher: double-click Free GST Billing on your Desktop → More options → Update to the latest version → then Open App.
By hand, with the ZIP (if the app does not open at all):
- DownloadDownload Free GST Billing
- Stop the appLauncher → More options → Stop the app.
- Extract into the same place as beforeRight-click the ZIP → Extract All… → Browse… → choose the folder that contains your Free-GST-Billing folder (for example Documents) → Extract.
- Replace the filesWindows asks about files that already exist: choose Replace the files in the destination. On Windows this adds to your folder; your
_system\datafolder is not touched. - Open the appDouble-click Free GST Billing - WINDOWS → Open App. The first start after an update takes a minute.
If you extracted the new ZIP somewhere else and opened its launcher, it says Free GST Billing is already installed on this computer and offers Update the installed copy: use that, and delete the new folder.
#Mac: other ways
Use the Update button in the app. That is the safe way on a Mac.
On a Mac, Finder's Replace swaps the whole folder, including _system/data with all your invoices. (Windows merges folders; the Mac does not.)
If the app will not open and you need the new download:
- Back up firstIf the app opens: Settings → Data Management → Export Backup….
- Download and unzip the new versionIt appears as a new folder (macOS may call it Free-GST-Billing 2).
- Move your data acrossIn your old folder open
_system(if you cannot see it, press Cmd + Shift + . in Finder to show hidden folders) and copy thedatafolder. In the new folder open_systemand paste it (Cmd + V), choosing Replace for that data folder only. - Open the new launcherAs in Install on a Mac, Part 3. When everything works, you can delete the old folder.
#Linux: other ways
Use the Update button, or in the Terminal:
sh ~/Free-GST-Billing/_system/update-unix.shIt downloads the newest version, checks every file, keeps _system/data, and rolls back if anything fails. Restart the app afterwards.