Improve updater version selection and surface release dates

pikit-web/assets/releases.js

@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ export function initReleaseUI({ showToast, showBusy, hideBusy, confirmAction, lo
   const releaseClose = document.getElementById("releaseClose");
   const releaseCurrent = document.getElementById("releaseCurrent");
   const releaseLatest = document.getElementById("releaseLatest");
+  const releaseCurrentDate = document.getElementById("releaseCurrentDate");
+  const releaseLatestDate = document.getElementById("releaseLatestDate");
   const releaseStatusMsg = document.getElementById("releaseStatusMsg");
   const releaseProgress = document.getElementById("releaseProgress");
   const releaseCheckBtn = document.getElementById("releaseCheckBtn");
@@ -47,6 +49,21 @@ export function initReleaseUI({ showToast, showBusy, hideBusy, confirmAction, lo
   const logger = createReleaseLogger(logUi);
   logger.attach(releaseLog);
 
+  const fmtDate = (iso) => {
+    if (!iso) return "—";
+    try {
+      const d = new Date(iso);
+      if (Number.isNaN(d.getTime())) return "—";
+      return d.toLocaleDateString(undefined, {
+        year: "numeric",
+        month: "short",
+        day: "numeric",
+      });
+    } catch (e) {
+      return "—";
+    }
+  };
+
   function setReleaseChip(state) {
     if (!releaseFlagTop) return;
     releaseFlagTop.textContent = "Pi-Kit: n/a";
@@ -69,7 +86,9 @@ export function initReleaseUI({ showToast, showBusy, hideBusy, confirmAction, lo
     const msg = shorten(message, 80) || "";
     releaseFlagTop.title = msg || "Pi-Kit release status";
     if (releaseStatusMsg) {
-      releaseStatusMsg.textContent = status === "update_available" ? msg || "Update available" : "";
+      const isUrlMsg = msg && /^https?:/i.test(msg);
+      const safeMsg = isUrlMsg ? "Update available" : msg;
+      releaseStatusMsg.textContent = status === "update_available" ? safeMsg || "Update available" : "";
       releaseStatusMsg.classList.remove("error");
     }
     if (releaseLogStatus) {
@@ -133,6 +152,9 @@ export function initReleaseUI({ showToast, showBusy, hideBusy, confirmAction, lo
         auto_check = false,
         progress = null,
         channel = "dev",
+        current_release_date = null,
+        latest_release_date = null,
+        changelog_url = null,
       } = data || {};
       releaseChannel = channel || "dev";
       if (releaseChannelToggle) releaseChannelToggle.checked = releaseChannel === "dev";
@@ -143,14 +165,17 @@ export function initReleaseUI({ showToast, showBusy, hideBusy, confirmAction, lo
       lastReleaseLogKey = key;
     }
     releaseLastFetched = now;
-    if (status === "update_available" && message && message.startsWith("http")) {
+      lastChangelogUrl = changelog_url || null;
+      if (!lastChangelogUrl && status === "update_available" && message && message.startsWith("http")) {
         lastChangelogUrl = message;
-      } else if (latest_version) {
+      } else if (!lastChangelogUrl && latest_version) {
         lastChangelogUrl = `https://git.44r0n.cc/44r0n7/pi-kit/releases/download/v${latest_version}/CHANGELOG-${latest_version}.txt`;
       }
       setReleaseChip(data);
       if (releaseCurrent) releaseCurrent.textContent = current_version;
       if (releaseLatest) releaseLatest.textContent = latest_version;
+      if (releaseCurrentDate) releaseCurrentDate.textContent = fmtDate(current_release_date);
+      if (releaseLatestDate) releaseLatestDate.textContent = fmtDate(latest_release_date);
       if (releaseAutoCheck) releaseAutoCheck.checked = !!auto_check;
       if (releaseProgress) releaseProgress.textContent = "";
       if (status === "in_progress" && progress) {
@@ -317,8 +342,11 @@ export function initReleaseUI({ showToast, showBusy, hideBusy, confirmAction, lo
 
     releaseChangelogBtn?.addEventListener("click", async () => {
       const state = window.__lastReleaseState || {};
-      const { latest_version, message } = state;
+      const { latest_version, message, changelog_url } = state;
-      const url = (message && message.startsWith("http") ? message : null) || lastChangelogUrl;
+      const url =
+        changelog_url ||
+        (message && message.startsWith("http") ? message : null) ||
+        lastChangelogUrl;
       if (!url) {
         showToast("No changelog URL available", "error");
         return;

pikit-web/data/mock-update-status.json

@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@
   "last_check": "2025-12-10T22:00:00Z",
   "status": "update_available",
   "message": "New UI polish and bug fixes.",
+  "changelog_url": "https://git.44r0n.cc/44r0n7/pi-kit/releases/download/v0.1.1-mock/CHANGELOG-0.1.1-mock.txt",
+  "latest_release_date": "2025-12-09T18:00:00Z",
+  "current_release_date": "2025-12-01T17:00:00Z",
   "auto_check": true,
   "in_progress": false,
   "progress": null

pikit-web/index.html

@@ -148,10 +148,12 @@
             <div>
               <p class="hint quiet">Current version</p>
               <h3 id="releaseCurrent">n/a</h3>
+              <p class="hint quiet" id="releaseCurrentDate">—</p>
             </div>
             <div class="align-right">
               <p class="hint quiet">Latest available</p>
               <h3 id="releaseLatest">—</h3>
+              <p class="hint quiet" id="releaseLatestDate">—</p>
               <p id="releaseStatusMsg" class="hint status-msg"></p>
               <button id="releaseChangelogBtn" class="ghost small" title="View changelog">Changelog</button>
             </div>

pikit_api/releases.py

@@ -45,7 +45,11 @@ def load_update_state() -> Dict[str, Any]:
     UPDATE_STATE_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     if UPDATE_STATE.exists():
         try:
-            return json.loads(UPDATE_STATE.read_text())
+            state = json.loads(UPDATE_STATE.read_text())
+            state.setdefault("changelog_url", None)
+            state.setdefault("latest_release_date", None)
+            state.setdefault("current_release_date", None)
+            return state
         except Exception:
             pass
     return {
@@ -58,6 +62,9 @@ def load_update_state() -> Dict[str, Any]:
         "in_progress": False,
         "progress": None,
         "channel": os.environ.get("PIKIT_CHANNEL", "dev"),
+        "changelog_url": None,
+        "latest_release_date": None,
+        "current_release_date": None,
     }
 
 
@@ -119,32 +126,78 @@ def fetch_manifest(url: str | None = None):
         raise
 
 
-def fetch_manifest_for_channel(channel: str):
+def _try_fetch(url: Optional[str]):
+    if not url:
+        return None
+    try:
+        return fetch_manifest(url)
+    except Exception:
+        return None
+
+
+def fetch_manifest_for_channel(channel: str, with_meta: bool = False):
     """
     For stable: use normal manifest (latest non-prerelease).
     For dev: try normal manifest; if it points to stable, fetch latest prerelease manifest via Gitea API.
+    If a stable build is newer than the latest dev build, prefer the newer stable even on dev channel.
     """
     channel = channel or "dev"
     base_manifest_url = os.environ.get("PIKIT_MANIFEST_URL") or DEFAULT_MANIFEST_URL
+    dev_manifest_url = os.environ.get("PIKIT_DEV_MANIFEST_URL")
+    stable_manifest_url = os.environ.get("PIKIT_STABLE_MANIFEST_URL") or base_manifest_url
     manifest = None
+    version_dates: Dict[str, Optional[str]] = {}
     try:
-        manifest = fetch_manifest(base_manifest_url)
+        manifest = fetch_manifest(stable_manifest_url)
     except Exception:
         manifest = None
 
-    if manifest and channel == "stable":
+    def _norm_ver(ver):
-        return manifest
+        if ver is None:
-    if manifest:
+            return None
-        version = manifest.get("version") or manifest.get("latest_version")
+        s = str(ver).strip()
-        if channel == "dev" and version and "dev" in str(version):
+        if s.lower().startswith("v"):
-            return manifest
+            s = s[1:]
+        return s
+
+    def _newer(a, b):
+        try:
+            from distutils.version import LooseVersion
+
+            return LooseVersion(a) > LooseVersion(b)
+        except Exception:
+            return a > b
+
+    def _release_version(rel: Dict[str, Any]):
+        for key in ("tag_name", "name"):
+            val = rel.get(key)
+            if val:
+                v = _norm_ver(val)
+                if v:
+                    return v
+        return None
+
+    def _manifest_from_release(rel: Dict[str, Any]):
+        asset = next((a for a in rel.get("assets", []) if a.get("name") == "manifest.json"), None)
+        if not asset or not asset.get("browser_download_url"):
+            return None
+        mf = fetch_manifest(asset["browser_download_url"])
+        if mf:
+            dt = rel.get("published_at") or rel.get("created_at")
+            if dt:
+                mf["_release_date"] = dt
+            tag = rel.get("tag_name")
+            if tag:
+                mf["_release_tag"] = tag
+        return mf
 
     try:
         parts = base_manifest_url.split("/")
         if "releases" not in parts:
             if manifest:
-                return manifest
+                return (manifest, {"version_dates": version_dates}) if with_meta else manifest
-            return fetch_manifest(base_manifest_url)
+            mf = fetch_manifest(base_manifest_url)
+            return (mf, {"version_dates": version_dates}) if with_meta else mf
         idx = parts.index("releases")
         owner = parts[idx - 2]
         repo = parts[idx - 1]
@@ -157,25 +210,78 @@ def fetch_manifest_for_channel(channel: str):
         resp = urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=10)
         releases = json.loads(resp.read().decode())
 
-        def pick(predicate):
+        # Map release versions to published dates so we can surface them later
-            for r in releases:
+        for rel in releases:
-                if predicate(r):
+            v = _release_version(rel)
-                    asset = next((a for a in r.get("assets", []) if a.get("name") == "manifest.json"), None)
+            if v and v not in version_dates:
-                    if asset and asset.get("browser_download_url"):
+                version_dates[v] = rel.get("published_at") or rel.get("created_at")
-                        return fetch_manifest(asset["browser_download_url"])
+
-            return None
+        dev_rel = None
+        stable_rel = None
+        dev_ver = None
+        stable_ver = None
+        for rel in releases:
+            ver_str = _release_version(rel)
+            parsed = _norm_ver(ver_str) if ver_str else None
+            if parsed is None:
+                continue
+            if rel.get("prerelease") is True:
+                if dev_ver is None or _newer(parsed.replace("-", "."), dev_ver):
+                    dev_rel = rel
+                    dev_ver = parsed.replace("-", ".")
+            elif rel.get("prerelease") is False:
+                if stable_ver is None or _newer(parsed.replace("-", "."), stable_ver):
+                    stable_rel = rel
+                    stable_ver = parsed.replace("-", ".")
+
+        latest_dev = _manifest_from_release(dev_rel) if dev_rel else None
+        latest_stable = _manifest_from_release(stable_rel) if stable_rel else None
+
+        # If API didn't give us a dev manifest, try explicitly configured dev URL
+        if dev_manifest_url and latest_dev is None:
+            latest_dev = _try_fetch(dev_manifest_url)
+            if latest_dev and "_release_date" not in latest_dev:
+                latest_dev["_release_date"] = version_dates.get(
+                    _norm_ver(latest_dev.get("version") or latest_dev.get("latest_version")), None
+                )
+
+        # Attach publish date to the base manifest when possible
+        if manifest:
+            mver = _norm_ver(manifest.get("version") or manifest.get("latest_version"))
+            if mver and mver in version_dates and "_release_date" not in manifest:
+                manifest["_release_date"] = version_dates[mver]
 
         if channel == "dev":
-            m = pick(lambda r: r.get("prerelease") is True)
+            # Choose the newest by version comparison across stable/dev/base candidates
-            if m:
+            candidates = [c for c in (latest_dev, latest_stable, manifest) if c]
-                return m
+            best = None
-        m = pick(lambda r: r.get("prerelease") is False)
+            best_ver = None
-        if m:
+            for c in candidates:
-            return m
+                ver = _norm_ver(c.get("version") or c.get("latest_version"))
+                if not ver:
+                    continue
+                ver_cmp = ver.replace("-", ".")
+                if best_ver is None or _newer(ver_cmp, best_ver):
+                    best = c
+                    best_ver = ver_cmp
+            manifest = best
+        else:
+            # stable channel
+            manifest = latest_stable or manifest
     except Exception:
         pass
 
+    # As a last resort for dev channel, consider explicitly configured dev manifest even without API data
+    if channel == "dev" and manifest is None and dev_manifest_url:
+        manifest = _try_fetch(dev_manifest_url)
+
+    # If still nothing and stable manifest URL is set, try that once more
+    if manifest is None and stable_manifest_url and stable_manifest_url != base_manifest_url:
+        manifest = _try_fetch(stable_manifest_url)
+
     if manifest:
+        if with_meta:
+            return manifest, {"version_dates": version_dates}
         return manifest
     raise RuntimeError("No manifest found for channel")
 
@@ -303,10 +409,25 @@ def check_for_update():
     state["progress"] = "Checking for updates…"
     save_update_state(state)
     try:
-        manifest = fetch_manifest_for_channel(state.get("channel") or "dev")
+        manifest, meta = fetch_manifest_for_channel(state.get("channel") or "dev", with_meta=True)
         latest = manifest.get("version") or manifest.get("latest_version")
         state["latest_version"] = latest
+        state["changelog_url"] = manifest.get("changelog")
         state["last_check"] = datetime.datetime.utcnow().isoformat() + "Z"
+        version_dates = (meta or {}).get("version_dates") or {}
+        if manifest.get("_release_date"):
+            state["latest_release_date"] = manifest.get("_release_date")
+        elif latest and latest in version_dates:
+            state["latest_release_date"] = version_dates.get(str(latest))
+        else:
+            state["latest_release_date"] = None
+        state["current_release_date"] = None
+        current_ver = state.get("current_version")
+        if current_ver and current_ver in version_dates:
+            state["current_release_date"] = version_dates.get(str(current_ver))
+        elif current_ver and current_ver == latest and state["latest_release_date"]:
+            # If current matches latest and we have a date for latest, reuse it
+            state["current_release_date"] = state["latest_release_date"]
         channel = state.get("channel") or "dev"
         if channel == "stable" and latest and "dev" in str(latest):
             state["status"] = "up_to_date"
@@ -314,7 +435,7 @@ def check_for_update():
         else:
             if latest and latest != state.get("current_version"):
                 state["status"] = "update_available"
-                state["message"] = manifest.get("changelog", "Update available")
+                state["message"] = manifest.get("notes") or manifest.get("message") or "Update available"
             else:
                 state["status"] = "up_to_date"
                 state["message"] = "Up to date"
@@ -323,6 +444,7 @@ def check_for_update():
         state["status"] = "up_to_date"
         state["message"] = f"Could not reach update server: {e}"
         state["last_check"] = datetime.datetime.utcnow().isoformat() + "Z"
+        state["latest_release_date"] = None
         diag_log("error", "Update check failed", {"error": str(e)})
     finally:
         state["in_progress"] = False
@@ -371,7 +493,7 @@ def apply_update():
 
     try:
         channel = state.get("channel") or os.environ.get("PIKIT_CHANNEL", "dev")
-        manifest = fetch_manifest_for_channel(channel)
+        manifest, meta = fetch_manifest_for_channel(channel, with_meta=True)
         latest = manifest.get("version") or manifest.get("latest_version")
         if not latest:
             raise RuntimeError("Manifest missing version")
@@ -428,6 +550,9 @@ def apply_update():
 
         state["current_version"] = str(latest)
         state["latest_version"] = str(latest)
+        state["changelog_url"] = manifest.get("changelog")
+        state["latest_release_date"] = manifest.get("_release_date") or (meta or {}).get("version_dates", {}).get(str(latest))
+        state["current_release_date"] = state.get("latest_release_date")
         state["status"] = "up_to_date"
         state["message"] = "Update installed"
         state["progress"] = None
@@ -436,11 +561,13 @@ def apply_update():
     except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
         state["status"] = "error"
         state["message"] = f"No release available ({e.code})"
+        state["latest_release_date"] = None
         diag_log("error", "Update apply HTTP error", {"code": e.code})
     except Exception as e:
         state["status"] = "error"
         state["message"] = f"Update failed: {e}"
         state["progress"] = None
+        state["latest_release_date"] = None
         save_update_state(state)
         diag_log("error", "Update apply failed", {"error": str(e)})
         backup = choose_rollback_backup()