Fix false update-available nags (#1819)

* Suppress false update-available nags on unstamped and unreleased-channel builds

A 0.0.0 build-time fallback compared as older than any release, and a
prerelease with no matching dist-tag (rc, alpha, ...) always lost the
compare against latest. Both cases now short-circuit to "no update"
before hitting the registry, via a shared resolveComparisonChannel /
isUpdateAvailable used by both the CLI check and the sidebar card.

* Add changeset for update-check false nags fix

Author: RhysSullivan

.changeset/update-check-suppress-false-nags.md

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+---
+"executor": patch
+---
+
+**Fix: stop the update check from claiming a newer version is available on builds it cannot compare**
+
+A build stamped with the placeholder 0.0.0 version always compared as older
+than the latest release, and a prerelease on a channel with no matching
+dist-tag (rc, alpha, and similar) always lost the comparison too. Both cases
+now short-circuit to "no update available" before the check reaches the
+registry.
+
+This applies wherever the update check runs, so the CLI check and the sidebar
+update card both stop showing an update prompt that a user could never act on.

packages/core/api/src/index.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@ export {
   checkForUpdate,
   resolveDistTags,
   resolveUpdateChannel,
+  resolveComparisonChannel,
   compareVersions,
+  isUnstampedVersion,
+  isUpdateAvailable,
   EXECUTOR_PACKAGE_NAME,
   type UpdateStatus,
   type UpdateChannel,

packages/core/api/src/update-check.test.ts

@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ import {
   __resetDistTagsCache,
   checkForUpdate,
   compareVersions,
+  isUnstampedVersion,
+  isUpdateAvailable,
+  resolveComparisonChannel,
   resolveDistTags,
   resolveUpdateChannel,
 } from "./update-check";
@@ -53,6 +56,73 @@ describe("resolveUpdateChannel", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("isUnstampedVersion", () => {
+  it("flags 0.0.0, with or without a prerelease suffix", () => {
+    expect(isUnstampedVersion("0.0.0")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isUnstampedVersion("0.0.0-dev")).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("leaves any published version alone", () => {
+    expect(isUnstampedVersion("1.5.22")).toBe(false);
+    expect(isUnstampedVersion("0.0.1")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("is false for unparseable input", () => {
+    expect(isUnstampedVersion("not-a-version")).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("resolveComparisonChannel", () => {
+  it("suppresses unstamped build-time fallback versions", () => {
+    expect(resolveComparisonChannel("0.0.0")).toBeNull();
+    expect(resolveComparisonChannel("0.0.0-dev")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("suppresses unparseable input", () => {
+    expect(resolveComparisonChannel("not-a-version")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("routes a release version to the latest tag", () => {
+    expect(resolveComparisonChannel("1.6.0")).toBe("latest");
+  });
+
+  it("routes a beta prerelease to the beta tag", () => {
+    expect(resolveComparisonChannel("1.6.0-beta.1")).toBe("beta");
+  });
+
+  it("suppresses prereleases with no matching dist-tag", () => {
+    // rc, alpha, next, dev, ... — none of these publish a dist-tag, so
+    // comparing against `latest` would nag forever.
+    expect(resolveComparisonChannel("1.6.0-rc.1")).toBeNull();
+    expect(resolveComparisonChannel("1.6.0-alpha.1")).toBeNull();
+    expect(resolveComparisonChannel("1.6.0-next.1")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("isUpdateAvailable", () => {
+  it("is false with no current version", () => {
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable(undefined, "1.6.0")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("is false with no comparison channel", () => {
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("0.0.0-dev", "1.6.0")).toBe(false);
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("1.6.0-rc.1", "1.6.0")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("is false with no published tag", () => {
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("1.5.22", null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("is false when already current", () => {
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("1.6.0", "1.6.0")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("is true when a newer version is published on the matching channel", () => {
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("1.6.0", "1.6.1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("1.6.0-beta.1", "1.6.0-beta.2")).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("resolveDistTags", () => {
   it("returns nothing when the check is disabled", async () => {
     const tags = await resolveDistTags({
@@ -126,6 +196,14 @@ describe("checkForUpdate", () => {
     expect(status.updateAvailable).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  it("flags a patch release on the latest channel", async () => {
+    const status = await checkForUpdate("1.6.0", {
+      env: { EXECUTOR_NPM_DIST_TAGS: JSON.stringify({ latest: "1.6.1" }) },
+    });
+    expect(status.updateAvailable).toBe(true);
+    expect(status.latestVersion).toBe("1.6.1");
+  });
+
   it("compares a beta build against the beta tag", async () => {
     const status = await checkForUpdate("1.6.0-beta.1", {
       env: { EXECUTOR_NPM_DIST_TAGS: JSON.stringify({ latest: "1.5.22", beta: "1.6.0-beta.2" }) },
@@ -136,10 +214,33 @@ describe("checkForUpdate", () => {
     expect(status.command).toBe("npm i -g executor@beta");
   });
 
-  it("treats the dev build as upgradeable to any release", async () => {
+  it("stays quiet on an unstamped dev build", async () => {
+    // 0.0.0-dev is the build-time fallback, not a real release. It must never
+    // claim an update is available, and — because there is no dist-tag it
+    // could legitimately compare against — must not even hit the registry.
     const status = await checkForUpdate("0.0.0-dev", {
       env: { EXECUTOR_FORCE_LATEST_VERSION: "1.5.22" },
+      fetchImpl: fetchThatFails(),
     });
-    expect(status.updateAvailable).toBe(true);
+    expect(status.updateAvailable).toBe(false);
+    expect(status.latestVersion).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("stays quiet on the desktop's unstamped fallback (plain 0.0.0)", async () => {
+    const status = await checkForUpdate("0.0.0", {
+      env: { EXECUTOR_FORCE_LATEST_VERSION: "1.5.22" },
+      fetchImpl: fetchThatFails(),
+    });
+    expect(status.updateAvailable).toBe(false);
+    expect(status.latestVersion).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("stays quiet on a prerelease channel with no matching dist-tag", async () => {
+    const status = await checkForUpdate("1.6.0-rc.1", {
+      env: { EXECUTOR_NPM_DIST_TAGS: JSON.stringify({ latest: "1.6.0" }) },
+      fetchImpl: fetchThatFails(),
+    });
+    expect(status.updateAvailable).toBe(false);
+    expect(status.latestVersion).toBeNull();
   });
 });

packages/core/api/src/update-check.ts

@@ -102,6 +102,53 @@ export const compareVersions = (left: string, right: string): number | null => {
   return comparePrereleaseIdentifiers(lv.prerelease, rv.prerelease);
 };
 
+/**
+ * True when `version` parses as `0.0.0`, with or without a prerelease suffix
+ * (e.g. `0.0.0-dev`). `0.0.0` is never a published release — it is the
+ * build-time fallback baked in when the real version was unavailable at
+ * build time — so a build carrying it must never claim an update.
+ */
+export const isUnstampedVersion = (version: string): boolean => {
+  const parsed = parseVersion(version);
+  return parsed !== null && parsed.major === 0 && parsed.minor === 0 && parsed.patch === 0;
+};
+
+/**
+ * The dist-tag channel `version` can legitimately be compared against, or
+ * `null` when there is none (the check should be suppressed, not run):
+ *   - an unstamped build (0.0.0*) never shipped, so there is nothing to
+ *     compare it against
+ *   - unparseable input has no meaningful channel
+ *   - no prerelease -> the `latest` tag
+ *   - a prerelease whose first identifier is `beta` -> the `beta` tag
+ *   - any other prerelease (rc, alpha, next, dev, ...) has no matching
+ *     dist-tag, so suppress rather than nag forever against a channel it can
+ *     never catch up to
+ */
+export const resolveComparisonChannel = (version: string): UpdateChannel | null => {
+  if (isUnstampedVersion(version)) return null;
+  const parsed = parseVersion(version);
+  if (!parsed) return null;
+  if (parsed.prerelease === null) return "latest";
+  return parsed.prerelease[0] === "beta" ? "beta" : null;
+};
+
+/**
+ * The single "should we nag?" verdict both the CLI and the web UpdateCard
+ * read. False whenever there is nothing to compare: no current version, no
+ * dist-tag channel this version could match (see `resolveComparisonChannel`),
+ * or no published tag for that channel.
+ */
+export const isUpdateAvailable = (
+  currentVersion: string | undefined,
+  latestVersion: string | null,
+): boolean => {
+  if (currentVersion === undefined) return false;
+  if (resolveComparisonChannel(currentVersion) === null) return false;
+  if (latestVersion === null) return false;
+  return compareVersions(currentVersion, latestVersion) === -1;
+};
+
 // ── dist-tags resolution ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 export type DistTags = Partial<Record<UpdateChannel, string>>;
@@ -223,9 +270,17 @@ export const checkForUpdate = async (
 ): Promise<UpdateStatus> => {
   const channel = resolveUpdateChannel(currentVersion);
   const command = `npm i -g ${EXECUTOR_PACKAGE_NAME}@${channel}`;
+
+  // No dist-tag can legitimately be compared against this version (unstamped
+  // dev build, or a prerelease channel that never gets published) — do not
+  // even hit the registry, since the answer is already known.
+  const comparisonChannel = resolveComparisonChannel(currentVersion);
+  if (comparisonChannel === null) {
+    return { updateAvailable: false, currentVersion, latestVersion: null, channel, command };
+  }
+
   const tags = await resolveDistTags(options);
-  const latestVersion = tags[channel] ?? null;
-  const updateAvailable =
-    latestVersion !== null && compareVersions(currentVersion, latestVersion) === -1;
+  const latestVersion = tags[comparisonChannel] ?? null;
+  const updateAvailable = isUpdateAvailable(currentVersion, latestVersion);
   return { updateAvailable, currentVersion, latestVersion, channel, command };
 };

packages/react/src/components/update-card.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "@effect/vitest";
+
+import { isUpdateAvailable } from "@executor-js/api";
+
+import { updateFetchChannel } from "./update-card";
+
+/**
+ * `updateFetchChannel` is what lets the hook skip the network call for a
+ * build that can never legitimately claim an update — the dev build's
+ * unstamped fallback, or a prerelease channel with no published dist-tag.
+ * Pinning it here is what keeps that decision testable without rendering.
+ */
+describe("updateFetchChannel", () => {
+  it("fetches nothing for the unstamped dev build", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel("0.0.0-dev")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("fetches nothing for the desktop's plain unstamped fallback", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel("0.0.0")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("fetches nothing when there is no version yet", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel(undefined)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("fetches the latest tag for a release build", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel("1.6.0")).toBe("latest");
+  });
+
+  it("fetches the beta tag for a beta prerelease", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel("1.6.0-beta.2")).toBe("beta");
+  });
+
+  it("fetches nothing for a prerelease channel with no matching dist-tag", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel("1.6.0-rc.1")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+/**
+ * The card's verdict is the shared `isUpdateAvailable`, so the fetch decision
+ * above and the "should we show the card?" decision can never disagree.
+ */
+describe("isUpdateAvailable through the card's fetch channel", () => {
+  it("stays quiet on the unstamped dev build even if a tag comes back", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel("0.0.0-dev")).toBeNull();
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("0.0.0-dev", "1.6.0")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("flags a real update on the latest channel", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel("1.6.0")).toBe("latest");
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("1.6.0", "1.6.1")).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("flags a real update on the beta channel", () => {
+    expect(updateFetchChannel("1.6.0-beta.1")).toBe("beta");
+    expect(isUpdateAvailable("1.6.0-beta.1", "1.6.0-beta.2")).toBe(true);
+  });
+});

packages/react/src/components/update-card.tsx

@@ -13,11 +13,17 @@
 //   - managed cloud (`"managed"`): nothing, it deploys itself.
 //
 // The "is a newer version published?" verdict comes from the same resolver as
-// the CLI notice (@executor-js/api) so the two can never disagree.
+// the CLI notice (@executor-js/api) — `isUpdateAvailable` — so the two can
+// never disagree.
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
 
 import { Effect, Exit } from "effect";
-import { compareVersions, resolveUpdateChannel, type UpdateChannel } from "@executor-js/api";
+import {
+  isUpdateAvailable,
+  resolveComparisonChannel,
+  resolveUpdateChannel,
+  type UpdateChannel,
+} from "@executor-js/api";
 
 import { Button } from "./button";
 import { toast } from "./sonner";
@@ -47,12 +53,31 @@ const UPGRADE_DOCS_URL: Partial<Record<UpgradeHint, string>> = {
 
 // ── useLatestVersion ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+/**
+ * The dist-tag channel to fetch for `currentVersion`, or `null` when there is
+ * nothing to check — no version baked in yet, or a build the check should
+ * stay quiet on (an unstamped `0.0.0*` fallback, or a prerelease channel with
+ * no published dist-tag; see `resolveComparisonChannel`). Returning `null`
+ * here is what lets the hook skip the network call entirely, so a dev build
+ * never even hits `/v1/app/npm/dist-tags`.
+ */
+export function updateFetchChannel(currentVersion: string | undefined): UpdateChannel | null {
+  if (currentVersion === undefined) return null;
+  return resolveComparisonChannel(currentVersion);
+}
+
 function useLatestVersion(currentVersion: string | undefined) {
-  const channel: UpdateChannel = currentVersion ? resolveUpdateChannel(currentVersion) : "latest";
+  // The channel shown in the upgrade command differs from the channel
+  // fetched for comparison: the command always names a real channel, while
+  // the fetch is skipped entirely for a version with nothing to compare.
+  const displayChannel: UpdateChannel = currentVersion
+    ? resolveUpdateChannel(currentVersion)
+    : "latest";
+  const fetchChannel = updateFetchChannel(currentVersion);
   const [latestVersion, setLatestVersion] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!currentVersion) return;
+    if (fetchChannel === null) return;
     let cancelled = false;
     void Effect.runPromiseExit(
       Effect.tryPromise({
@@ -65,20 +90,17 @@ function useLatestVersion(currentVersion: string | undefined) {
       }),
     ).then((exit) => {
       if (!cancelled && Exit.isSuccess(exit)) {
-        setLatestVersion(exit.value?.[channel] ?? null);
+        setLatestVersion(exit.value?.[fetchChannel] ?? null);
       }
     });
     return () => {
       cancelled = true;
     };
-  }, [channel, currentVersion]);
+  }, [fetchChannel]);
 
-  const updateAvailable =
-    currentVersion !== undefined &&
-    latestVersion !== null &&
-    compareVersions(currentVersion, latestVersion) === -1;
+  const updateAvailable = isUpdateAvailable(currentVersion, latestVersion);
 
-  return { latestVersion, updateAvailable, channel };
+  return { latestVersion, updateAvailable, channel: displayChannel };
 }
 
 // ── Card chrome ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────