Navigator v5.5.0 Release Notes

Navigator v5.5.0 Release Notes

Release Date: 2025-01-22 Type: Minor Release (New Feature)

🎯 Headline: Auto-Update on Session Start

Navigator v5.5.0 introduces Auto-Update - automatically updates to the latest version when you start a session. No more manual nav-upgrade for daily releases.

Core principle: Zero friction updates. Say "start my session" → get latest version.

✨ What's New

Auto-Update on Session Start

With 2x daily releases, manual updates create friction. Auto-update removes this barrier entirely.

How it works:

1. Session start checks for newer version
2. If update available AND auto_update.enabled: true:
   • Runs claude plugin update navigator (60s timeout)
   • Falls back to uninstall/reinstall if needed
3. Shows result and continues session

UX Flow:

User: "Start my Navigator session"

[Checking for updates...]
[✅ Auto-updated to v5.5.1]

╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗
║  🚀 Navigator Session Started (v5.5.1) ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝

Smart Update Interval

Avoids excessive GitHub API calls:

{
  "auto_update": {
    "enabled": true,
    "check_interval_hours": 1
  }
}

• Checks at most once per hour (configurable)
• Stores last_check timestamp in config
• Skips if recently checked

Graceful Failure Handling

Auto-update never blocks your session:

• Network failure: Skip update, continue session
• Update timeout: Show warning, continue session
• Command failure: Try reinstall fallback, then continue
• Disabled in config: Respect setting, just show version notification

📦 Files Changed

New Files

• skills/nav-start/functions/auto_updater.py - Auto-update logic with version detection, update execution, and fallback reinstall

Modified Files

• skills/nav-start/SKILL.md - Added Step 1.5 for auto-update execution
• skills/nav-init/SKILL.md - Updated default config template
• .agent/.nav-config.json - Added auto_update section
• .claude-plugin/plugin.json - Version 5.5.0, updated description
• CLAUDE.md - Auto-update documentation and config examples

⚙️ Configuration

Add to .agent/.nav-config.json:

{
  "auto_update": {
    "enabled": true,
    "check_interval_hours": 1
  }
}

Options:

• enabled: Enable/disable auto-update (default: true)
• check_interval_hours: Minimum hours between checks (default: 1)

To disable:

{
  "auto_update": {
    "enabled": false
  }
}

You'll still see update notifications - just run nav-upgrade manually when ready.

🔄 Upgrade Path

1. Update plugin: nav-upgrade or wait for next session
2. New projects get auto_update.enabled: true by default
3. Existing projects: Add config manually or let defaults apply

Existing config? Add the auto_update section:

{
  "version": "5.5.0",
  "auto_update": {
    "enabled": true,
    "check_interval_hours": 1
  }
}

🎯 Use Cases

Daily Development

User: "Start my Navigator session"
→ Auto-update runs silently
→ Session starts with latest version
→ New features available immediately

Slow Networks

User: "Start my Navigator session"
→ Update check times out after 10s
→ "⚠️ Auto-update failed, run nav-upgrade manually"
→ Session continues normally

Controlled Updates

{
  "auto_update": {
    "enabled": false
  }
}

User: "Start my Navigator session"
→ Version check shows update available
→ Session starts with current version
→ Manual "nav-upgrade" when ready

⚠️ Known Limitations

• First session after install: No update needed
• Offline mode: Gracefully skips, continues session
• Rate limiting: GitHub API has limits (1 check/hour default avoids this)
• Plugin permissions: Requires claude CLI in PATH

📊 Impact

• Zero friction updates: Latest version without manual intervention
• Faster feature adoption: New skills available immediately
• Reduced support burden: Users always on latest version
• Graceful degradation: Never blocks session on failure

🙏 Credits

Inspired by the frustration of releasing 2x daily and asking users to run nav-upgrade each time.

Full changelog: v5.4.0...v5.5.0