Updating the agent

You do not SSH into a machine to update its agent. The Agent tab shows the installed version and the published one, and the update runs on request.

What happens when you press Update

Roughly 15 seconds, and your workloads are untouched

Only the agent process restarts. Running GPU workloads are not affected — a rental in progress does not notice.

The agent, in order:

1. downloads the published build,
2. checks it against the checksum this control plane issued, so a tampered or truncated download is refused rather than installed,
3. confirms the new build actually runs on this host, before anything is replaced,
4. swaps the binaries and restarts itself — about 15 seconds.

If the new build fails to come up, the previous one is restored automatically. A failed update leaves you with a working agent, not a silent machine.

When the button does nothing

• “Already running the published build” — there is nothing newer to move to. This is the normal state most of the time.
• Already queued — the update is waiting. A machine that is offline gets it on reconnect.
• The machine is busy — the panel warns you. The update itself is safe during a rental, but it is one more moving part while someone is paying.

Why updates are not automatic

An agent that updates itself without being asked changes the behaviour of a machine that is currently earning, at a time nobody chose. Making it a deliberate action means version changes happen when you are watching.

Very old agents

Agents from before the 0.1.48 layout change cannot migrate in place — the binaries, units and paths were renamed. Those need a reinstall with the installer, which is idempotent and keeps your credentials.

Installing the agentRe-running the installer: when it is the right tool and when it is not.