Nightly vs stable

Nightly is for new Memtrace features as they land. Same memtrace command. It is not always stable. The default install is still stable, and those features still ship there.

Memtrace is one npm package with two tags. memtrace (stable) is the default, and it still gets new work. memtrace@nightly is for new features as they land. Same command. It is not always stable.

Why two channels#

Nightly is the early channel, the way most tools ship a nightly or insiders build. New features show up there first. Stable is what you want for everyday use. Those features still ship on stable after they have been on Nightly. Existing stable installs stay on stable until you opt in.

Channel	Install	Promise
Stable	`npm install -g memtrace`	The default. New features still ship here.
Nightly	`npm install -g memtrace@nightly`	New features as they land. Same memtrace command. Not always stable.

Install Nightly#

Nightly replaces the same memtrace command. It uses the same platform packages as stable (macOS arm64, Linux x64/arm64, Windows x64, including the no-AVX2 Linux/Windows variants).

terminal

$ npm install -g memtrace@nightly
# same memtrace command, new features as they land

$ memtrace --version
# should include -nightly

NIGHTLY IS NOT ALWAYS STABLE

That is the point of an early channel. If something goes wrong, switch back to stable with the command below. You do not need to uninstall first.

Upgrades stay on your channel#

memtrace install upgrades to the newest build on the channel you already have. A Nightly install only offers newer Nightlies. A stable install only offers newer stable releases. Update banners in the product follow the same rule.

terminal

$ memtrace install
# Nightly stays on Nightly; stable stays on stable

The same commands, flags, and setup flow as memtrace install apply on both channels.

Switch back to stable#

terminal

$ npm install -g memtrace@latest
# back to the default

$ memtrace --version
# should be a plain X.Y.Z, with no -nightly

Where Nightly notes live#

Public Nightly notes are on the changelog Nightly tab. Stable notes stay on the Latest tab. In the product, Changelog has the same two tabs. Discord Nightly notes go to #nightly-changelog; stable releases stay on #changelog.

GETTING STARTED STILL INSTALLS STABLE

Getting started keeps npm install -g memtrace as the default path. Use this page when you want new features as they land.