Skip to main content

Going back to a previous version

If an update breaks your installation, reinstall the previous version. Your agents, missions and projects stay where they are.

Before accepting an update​

When a newer desktop version opens existing data, Timon asks you to Update or Quit before changing your data or background service. The screen shows the release notes available in the installer. Quit leaves your data and installation state intact; reinstall the previous installer to return to that version. Electron may still create its own profile and cache.

Update records your approval, prepares the service, then backs up and migrates your data. Keep Timon open while the backup runs; a large copy can take several minutes. If the backup is partial or fails, Timon explains the result. A refused update does not automatically roll back the service or data: follow the displayed instructions before restarting.

Reinstall the previous installer​

Install the package of the version you want over the current one, the same way you installed it the first time, then open Timon.

  • Windows: run the previous .exe installer. It replaces the newer version without complaint.

  • macOS: open the previous .dmg and drag Timon to Applications, replacing the existing one, or run the previous .pkg.

  • Linux (.deb): install the previous package explicitly as a downgrade:

    sudo apt install --allow-downgrades ./Timon-<version>.deb
    # or
    sudo dpkg -i ./Timon-<version>.deb

On macOS and Linux, Timon moves its background service to the reinstalled version the next time you open it. When going back to 0.1.0 on Linux, the running service does it on its own within a minute of the installation; if the window was open during the switch and stays blank, quit Timon and open it again.

Restore your data from before the update​

From version 0.1.1 on, Timon keeps a copy of your data just before a new version opens them for the first time. Copies now include installed third-party plugins and their local data (plugins and plugins-data), including whether either folder was absent. The three most recent copies are kept in the backups folder of your data directory.

If that copy cannot be made, usually because the disk is full, Timon tells you so and tries again at its next start; free some disk space. When the new version would change your data in a way the previous version cannot read, it does not start at all without the copy, and your data are left untouched.

When you open an older version on data a newer version already used, Timon asks what to do before opening its window:

  • Continue with current data keeps everything. The older version may ignore what the newer one added. This is the default.
  • Restore data from… puts back your agents, missions, projects, settings, plugins and their local data as they were in that copy. Everything done in Timon since that date is lost. The data you are leaving are kept in backups/before-restore until the next restore.

Plugin backups are limited to 1 GiB combined, 100,000 entries and a 30-second processing budget to keep startup manageable. A slow filesystem operation may take longer to return. If a limit is exceeded, a plugin file cannot be copied, or there is only enough disk space for the database and configuration, Timon explicitly warns that the copy is partial. Plugin folders that could not be saved are left unchanged when restoring that copy. A folder recorded as absent is still removed on restoration if it has since been created. Older copies made without plugin support leave both current plugin folders unchanged; keep a separate copy of those folders if you need to restore them yourself. A pending destructive migration still requires a complete copy and refuses to start without one.

Copying and checking plugin data can take a little time during the update. Symbolic links are preserved as links; files outside these folders are not backed up. The safety copy in backups/before-restore includes the current plugin folders too. If restoration will replace or remove either plugin folder, a complete safety copy is required; if it cannot be made within the same limits, Timon explains why and cancels restoration without changing your current data. If neither plugin folder will be changed, the database and configuration can still be restored when the safety copy cannot include plugins; the current plugin folders remain untouched.

Nothing is restored unless you click the restore button. If the restore cannot complete, Timon says so and keeps your current data exactly as they were. Version 0.1.0 does not show this question: it opens your current data as they are.

Linux AppImage​

An AppImage cannot be watched for a reinstall, so going back from the AppImage of a newer version to an older AppImage that does not move the service itself (0.1.0) takes a few commands. Quit Timon, then:

# Find the Timon service of your data directory
systemctl --user list-unit-files 'timon-desktop-*'
# Stop and remove it (replace <id> with the name listed above)
systemctl --user disable --now timon-desktop-<id>.service
rm ~/.config/systemd/user/timon-desktop-<id>.service
systemctl --user daemon-reload
# Tell Timon the service is gone (adapt the path if you use another data directory)
rm ~/.timon/desktop-runtime/installed

Then start the previous AppImage. Timon runs its built-in daemon while its window is open, on the same data.

AppImages from 0.1.1 on move the service themselves when you open them: no command is needed.