# HarnessLink 17.5.96 release notes

2 changes, released Oct 27, 2026.

### Added

- HarnessLink updates itself (ADR-71): every hour the background service checks the latest release, stages it beside the running install (`~/.hnl-src.next`: download, `bun install --production`, `hnl --version` and `hnl --smoke-test`), and swaps it in and restarts only when the machine is idle: no harness session on the MCP hub and no HarnessLink hook for 15 minutes, re-checked every 10 minutes, and installed anyway after 24 hours. One attempt per release; a failure keeps the current version, backs off 6 hours and shows in `hnl`, `hnl status` and `hnl daemon status`. Turn it off with `update.auto: false`; `hnl update` stays the manual path and shares the update lock. Git checkouts and runs from source never update themselves.
- The Devices page and Settings › Devices show each machine's `hnl` version and whether it is up to date, updating soon, or behind by N releases (with `hnl update` as the manual fallback); "Version unknown" for a machine on a CLI from before versions were recorded. The owner console's user and organisation device lists show the version too. The server records it from the `User-Agent` every CLI call already sends (control migration 0050: `devices.client_version`, `client_version_at`; written at most hourly unless it changes), and `GET /v1/devices`, `GET /v1/org/devices` and the owner device lists return `client_version` and `client_version_at`.

Update HarnessLink and every installed harness to its current release:

hnl update

New machine? Install with:

curl -fsSL https://harnesslink.sh/install.sh | bash

[Newer: 17.5.97](https://harnesslink.sh/releases/17.5.97) · [Older: 17.5.95](https://harnesslink.sh/releases#v17.5.95) · [All releases](https://harnesslink.sh/releases) · [Atom feed](https://harnesslink.sh/releases.atom)