> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://syteca.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Update Client Automatically

> Enable Syteca Clients to update themselves automatically whenever they connect to an Application Server running a newer Syteca version - versus requiring manual bulk updates from the Management Tool.

The **Update Client automatically** parameter controls whether a Syteca Client updates itself automatically the next time it connects to the Application Server after an Application Server upgrade - or whether the Client must be updated manually using the Management Tool's bulk-update action.

<Note>
  **Applies to**: Windows Clients, macOS Clients, Linux Clients. The parameter behaves identically across all three platforms.
</Note>

## When automatic update happens

If the **Update Client automatically** checkbox is selected for a Client (or Client group), the Client will update itself **only when it connects to an Application Server running a newer Syteca version**. Clients that are already on the current version stay put. No update is triggered during normal connectivity to an Application Server on the same version.

## Where to find it

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Client">
    In the Management Tool, click **Clients** in the left navigation. On the **Client Management** tab, click the Client's name in the Client Name column (or open a Client group from the **Client Groups** tab).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Client Mode">
    On the **Editing Client** / **Editing Client Group** page, on the **Properties** tab, scroll to the **Client Mode** section.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Toggle the checkbox">
    Select or deselect the **Update Client automatically** checkbox, then click **Finish**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Permissions required

The user performing this action needs the **Client Configuration Management** permission for the relevant Clients.

## When to disable it

The [system update checklist](/docs/administration/deployment/update-syteca) recommends **disabling** this parameter during major Syteca upgrades, for two reasons:

* Avoids the bandwidth spike from many Clients updating simultaneously immediately after Application Server upgrade.
* Allows you to test the new version on a subset of Clients before rolling out broadly.

For these scenarios, disable the parameter pre-upgrade, then re-enable after validation - or update Clients manually using the **Update Selected Clients** bulk action on the Clients page.

## Tracking which Clients need updates

Clients running an older version appear on the **Clients** page with an orange warning triangle (⚠) icon next to their version in the **Client Version** column, instead of the green checkmark (✓) shown for up-to-date Clients. Use this to identify Clients that have automatic updates disabled and are now out-of-date.

<Tip>
  Out-of-date Clients **continue to monitor user activity and send data to the Application Server as normal** - they're not broken, just running an older version. After an update completes, the monitored data recorded before the update is still accessible.
</Tip>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Update Syteca system" icon="download" href="/docs/administration/deployment/update-syteca">
    The full system upgrade checklist that recommends disabling auto-update during upgrades.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Update Windows Clients" icon="laptop" href="/docs/administration/clients/update-clients">
    Per-OS update procedures including the manual bulk action.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Client description" icon="tag" href="/docs/administration/clients/parameters/client-description">
    Another cross-platform Client Properties parameter.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Disconnected Client detection" icon="bell-off" href="/docs/administration/clients/parameters/disconnected-client-detection">
    Notifications for Clients that fail to reconnect.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>