Introduction

1. Automatic and Manual Updates from NoMachine Repositories

NoMachine client and server side software has the automatic check for updates enabled by default. This means that the program will periodically check our repositories to verify if updates have been released, by default every two days. In this case, it will prompt a dialog informing that a new version is available. NoMachine may download updates in background in accordance with the fetch of repositories, but the current installation will never be updated automatically. The installation of software updates must be always approved.

Automatic updates require that the client or server host has access to the NoMachine Update Server on TCP port 4000. This port value cannot be changed. If port 4000 is not open in the router or firewall, automatic updates are not possible and the installation has to be upgraded by means of NoMachine packages.

2. Disabling or Enabling the Automatic Check for Updates

Checking for updates can be disabled/enabled at any moment and can be also performed manually.

2.1. From the Server UI

Launch the server UI: right click on the !M icon in the system tray and select 'Show server status'. In the list on the left, click on 'Updates' tab to open the panel. Otherwise, launch the NoMachine program and click on Settings -> Server -> Updates

Unselect the 'Automatic check for updates' option if you want to disable it.

If 'Automatically check for updates' is enabled, you can select to 'Download updates in background'. This means that software updates will be downloaded but not installed. Your approval is necessary to install them.

Disabling/enabling the automatic updates requires to authenticate with an account having administrator's privileges.

2.2. From the Client UI

Launch the client UI from the Application or Programs menu. Click on 'Settings' and open the 'Updates' panel. As for the server's Updates panel, you can manage the 'Automatically check for updates' and 'Download updates in background' options.

Disabling/enabling the automatic updates requires to authenticate with an account having administrator's privileges.

2.3. In the Server Configuration File

In case of a NoMachine server installation or the Terminal Server Node, the automatic check for updates can be disabled also via configuration file.

To disable it, edit the server.cfg file:
/usr/NX/etc/server.cfg on Linux
%PROGRAMFILES%\NoMachine\etc\server.cfg on Windows
/Applications/NoMachine.app/Contents/Frameworks/etc/server.cfg on Mac

Remove the pre-pending # from the key name, and set the following key to '0':
UpdateFrequency 0

Then restart NoMachine.
You can restart the server via server UI from the 'Server status' panel or via command line.

On Linux or macOS, open a terminal and execute:

sudo /etc/NX/nxserver --restart

On Windows, launch a CMD console as administrator and execute:

cd %PROGRAMFILES%\NoMachine\bin
nxserver --restart

3. How to Check for Updates

NoMachine programs check our repositories every two days to verify if updates are available, the periodic interval is configurable for server side software. It's also possible to launch a check manually via UI ('Updates panel' -> 'Check now')

3.1. Setting Frequency of Automatic Checks

In case of a NoMachine server installation or the Terminal Server Node, it's possible to change the periodic interval for automatic checks.

To do that, edit the server.cfg file, uncomment and set an appropriate for this key:
UpdateFrequency 172800

Frequency is in seconds, by default two days (172800).

Then restart NoMachine.

3.2. Checking Manually

It's always possible to check for updates on our repositories, even when the automatic check is disabled. To do that, access the 'Updates' panel in the server or client UI and click on the 'Check now' button.