Update Tilecast Player
Use Settings > Player updates to deploy signed Tilecast Player releases. Owners manage releases and the release source. Owners and Administrators can deploy updates. This updates the Player app; server, container, and operating-system updates have separate procedures.
Find or add a release
Section titled “Find or add a release”Choose Android, Linux Legacy, Tilecast Edge, or Windows in the Player family filter, then open Releases. Your family and view stay in the URL, so bookmarks and browser navigation restore them.
- Select Sync releases to import available Player artifacts from Tilecast releases. One coordinated release contains the Android and Edge artifacts for its version. Stable releases also contain Windows artifacts; Beta releases can omit them. See Releases and downloads.
- Open a version to read its notes and check verification and cache status.
- Select Prepare artifact from the artifact’s action menu if a verified GitHub release isn’t cached yet. Wait for it to become ready.
Edge and Windows versions can have both x86_64 and aarch64 artifacts. The library groups those variants under the GitHub version, but each deployment uses one architecture. Direct uploads remain separate entries.
If GitHub reports an error, the library keeps the releases it already has and shows the error. Use Sync releases to retry. Owners can open More > Configure source to configure GitHub’s OAuth App client ID, connect with a device code, or disconnect a local connection. An environment-managed token must be changed on the server.
Upload signed files directly
Section titled “Upload signed files directly”Open More > Upload release. Choose or drop the three files from the same signed release:
| Family | Player file | Manifest | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android | tilecast-player.apk |
tilecast-player-update.json |
tilecast-player-update.json.sig |
| Linux Legacy | tilecast-player.AppImage |
tilecast-player-update-linux.json |
tilecast-player-update-linux.json.sig |
| Tilecast Edge | tilecast-edge-<version>-<arch>.tar.zst |
tilecast-edge-update.json |
tilecast-edge-update.json.sig |
| Windows | tilecast-windows-<version>-<arch>.msix |
tilecast-windows-update.json |
tilecast-windows-update.json.sig |
Select Upload and verify. Transfer shows actual upload progress. Verification has its own waiting state, and the release becomes available only after the server verifies it.
Cache removal asks for confirmation and is unavailable while an active or paused deployment uses the release. A GitHub artifact can be downloaded again. A purged direct upload must be uploaded again.
Deploy an update
Section titled “Deploy an update”- Select Deploy update, or choose an artifact’s Deploy action in Releases.
- Choose a ready release in Release. Check the architecture for Edge or Windows, then select Continue.
- Search for screens or Display Groups in Targets. Add targets or use Select all eligible. Review the resolved screen count and warnings, then select Continue.
- Choose Install now, Download only, or Maintenance window in Rollout. For a maintenance window, choose a future date and time in your browser’s local timezone.
- Enable Canary rollout if you want a small cohort to update first. Choose a size smaller than the eligible fleet. Remaining screens wait until every canary succeeds.
- Review the version, architecture, screen count, mode, and optional canary size. Select Deploy update.
You can go Back without losing your draft. Changing Player family discards it.
Tilecast checks group membership, duplicate targets, Player family, architecture, and known Android SDK requirements before submission. Incompatible screen choices show the reason. A selected group containing an incompatible member blocks deployment and names the affected screen. Creation checks the current metadata again, so the preview is advisory.
Offline screens can receive queued commands after reconnecting, within the seven-day command expiry. Already-current screens receive no update command. They must be removed from a canary selection. Download only caches the artifact on the Player without requesting installation.
Follow a rollout
Section titled “Follow a rollout”Deployments opens by default. Active deployments and attention states appear before recent history. Each row shows a version, architecture, status, target count, and a sentence describing the outcome.
Select View rollout to inspect screens. Use Needs attention, In progress, Finished, or All, and search by screen name. Each screen shows its current and expected version, canary status, and last report. Downloading shows actual bytes and percentage; installation and reconnection show status without a percentage.
Failed and incompatible screens show their reported reason. Retry is available only for failed screens and only to Owners and Administrators. A screen waiting for permission or TV approval needs action at the display.
Cancel deployment asks for confirmation. It stops unfinished targets and leaves already-installed updates in place. An Android Player that is waiting for its maintenance window checks with the server before installing, so a cancelled update is discarded instead of installed. A Player that is offline at that time installs as scheduled.
Player limits
Section titled “Player limits”The operating system may require local installation permission or approval on each TV. Plan for someone to handle the prompt at the display.
Linux Legacy updates apply to Players running as a managed AppImage. Each Player restarts into the new version.
Choose the architecture reported by the Edge screen. Edge installs the release beside the current one, restarts into it, and keeps it only after it reconnects and shows content for two minutes. If it can’t confirm the release, or loses power before confirmation, it returns to the previous release and reports failure.
An Edge update never requires pairing again. See Update Tilecast Edge for rollback reasons and recovery.
Choose the architecture reported by the Windows Player. Windows uses a signed MSIX package and must permit installation. The PC must trust the package publisher certificate. The deployment settles after the new Player reconnects and meets the health checks. See Install Tilecast Player on Windows and Windows update troubleshooting.
See the Player update engineering contract for exact signed-file requirements, preflight rules, and deployment lifecycle.