Versioning in Connect vs Forge

Having a Connect app, you may be used to certain changes to your app that require Admin approval and some changes that don't. We've previously referred to these as Major and Minor updates.

The way these updates function in Connect and Forge is different, so when you register your Connect app on Forge, we want to be clear about what changes do and don't trigger an update that requires Admin approval.

How the naming changes

The key difference is that Minor updates in Forge don't require Admin approval, while in Connect they do.

Although this might at first seem like a relaxation of the type of updates that require Admin approval, some of the types of updates that were previously considered Minor in Connect are considered Major in Forge.

How the approvals change

To avoid being confused by the terminology of Major vs Minor, we can instead review the impact by looking at what types of updates require Admin approval.

How will updates change?

The first update to Forge requires Admin approval (major update)

Currently, even without changing anything else, publishing your existing app as a Forge app will trigger a major upgrade to Admins. If you prefer to minimize the number of major version app upgrades for your customers, we recommend bundling up a Forge upgrade with the introduction of your first Forge module.

Once your app is registered with Forge, the enabled and disabled Connect lifecycle events will no longer be sent.

Automatic updates (after the first update)

Once your app has adopted Forge, automatic updates (those that do not require admin approval) will roll out at the same speed as automatic Forge updates (within minutes). Existing Connect apps took up to 33 hours to roll out to all customers.

Once your app is registered with Forge, the installed Connect lifecycle event will no longer be sent during automatic updates.

Next steps

Once you're aware of the limitations and differences when adopting Forge, you're ready to start adopting Forge in your Connect app.