Updating Ladle
Ladle keeps itself up to date. It checks once a day, downloads new versions in the background and installs them when you restart or quit.
- 2 min read
- Updated October 2026
How updates arrive
Section titled “How updates arrive”You don’t need to do anything to stay up to date:
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Once a day, Ladle checks whether there’s a new version.
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If there is, Ladle downloads it in the background while you carry on.
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A banner in Ladle’s window tells you it’s ready, for example “Ladle 1.1 is ready”, with Restart to Update and Later.
- Restart to Update installs the new version and reopens Ladle. If files are downloading, Ladle tells you first: they pause for the restart and pick up where they left off afterwards.
- Later leaves it for now. The update installs the next time you quit Ladle.
Check for updates now
Section titled “Check for updates now”Choose Ladle › Check for Updates…, or open Ladle › Settings › Updates and click Check Now. The Updates tab also shows which version you have and when Ladle last checked.
Update settings
Section titled “Update settings”Both are in Ladle › Settings › Updates and are on out of the box:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Check for updates automatically | Ladle looks for a new version once a day. |
| Download and install updates automatically | New versions download in the background and install when you restart or quit Ladle. Turn it off and Ladle asks you before installing anything. |
With both off, Ladle only looks for updates when you choose Check for Updates….
What an update check sends
Section titled “What an update check sends”Only Ladle’s version and your macOS version, to fetch the update feed from this website. There’s no account, no identifier and no usage data. See Privacy.
Each update is signed with Ladle’s own update key, and Ladle checks that signature before it installs anything, so it only installs updates that really come from Ladle. Because Ladle downloads and checks updates itself, macOS doesn’t ask you to approve them the way it did on the first launch.
What changed
Section titled “What changed”Every version’s release notes are in the changelog, newest first.
If an update won’t install
Section titled “If an update won’t install”- Make sure Ladle is in your Applications folder. Ladle can’t update itself while it runs from the disk image.
- If macOS asks for your password, it’s checking that you’re allowed to change apps in the Applications folder.
- Install it by hand. Download the latest Ladle, quit Ladle, and drag the new version into Applications, replacing the old one. Your list of downloads and your settings stay as they are. Because you downloaded this copy yourself, macOS asks you to approve it once more, as on the first launch.