Blog Huge update coming to the network this week
Jeremy Tunnell at
This week the team is releasing a new binary and also a very large OTA with many improvements, followed immediately by the launch of the new Groups app and migration. Here's the details:
New Urbit Binary
This release decrements the Zuse kelvin to 417 and the Lull kelvin to 328.
All app developers must update their apps to declare compatibility with Zuse 417.
Does this affect me?
If you make an Urbit application then yes, this affects you.
What’s the timeline?
November 30, 2022: The release is available to app developers so they can update their apps.
December 6, 2022: The release is publicly available.
Apps that do not declare compatibility with Zuse 417 will block the upgrade for their users, who may decide to suspend the app to allow the upgrade to go through.
Instructions on how to update your urbit binary are here.
New OTA
Landscape 1 delivers a more comfortable and complete experience. We updated the interface, refining its design, and expanded our suite of apps. Before, everything happened in Groups. Now, there's Talk (and Small Talk, an iOS app). Next, there'll be Notebook and Gallery.
Separating what used to be channels within Groups into individual apps lays the groundwork for a more composable ecosystem and pioneers new patterns for developers to build apps.
Talk is a messaging app, much like the current tools we use to chat with friends, but it can also access your channels on Groups, reading and writing data from across two different platforms. Imagine if you could send a message to your DAO's Discord from Telegram.
On a granular level, there's a lot to check out in the update. We added threading and reactions to Talk channels. We overhauled the front and back end in favor of a simpler, more efficient system that improves the reliability of notifications and reduces memory pressure.
Finding your friends on the network is a lot easier with nickname search (and autocomplete). You can even start a secret society using our overhauled visibility settings, which adds an extra layer of privacy by hiding your group from on-network searches and makes joining invitation-only.
So how soon is soon? Soon enough to fill you in on a few logistical considerations the imminent OTA presents. When we launch, we're going to migrate all data to the new system and tombstone the previous. Once the new system is installed, the old system will no longer be supported.
Most users won't have to do anything to receive the update. If you're hosted, enjoy the ride. If you're self-hosted, you'll probably still be in the clear, but the migration could put memory pressure on your ship, especially for those users who are members of many (150+) groups.
If you're self-hosted and concerned about your memory footprint, we recommend upgrading to a 4GB runtime, which you learn how to do here. While we plan to back everything up, if you're concerned about the stability of your data during migration, you can always do it on your own by following these instructions.
The launch OTA will hit ships at different times. As it rolls out across the network, prepare for the possibility of downtime. We expect this process to run smoothly and relatively quickly, but Give It A Minute just in case.