Updates & renewals

Licensing and Updates Basics:

Your license is a 12-month update window, not a 12-month runtime.
Anything released within the window is yours forever, even after the license expires.
Updates released after expiry require a renewal to install, but your existing version keeps running.
Nothing about your data, recordings, or detection changes when a license lapses. Fregata keeps running.
Trials are the exception. When a 30-day trial runs out, Frigate stops and the app blocks and shows a buy-or-quit dialog — there’s no “lapse and keep running” path the way paid licenses have. See After the trial expires.

How update checks work

Once a day, Fregata checks for a new update.
If a newer version exists and your license covers it, the tray surfaces Update available: v<X.Y.Z>.
Updates are not auto-installed. You decide when. Click the menu item to open the download window.
Want to check right now? Open the tray menu → About Fregata… and click Check for Updates. It tells you on the spot whether you’re up to date, and offers a View… link if there’s an update — no need to wait for the daily check. If an update is found, the tray item appears too.

When your license won’t cover a new release

If a version was released after your license expired, the tray shows a yellow indicator instead of the standard update item. The update window says something like:

Fregata 1.4.0 was released on 2026-08-12. Your license covers updates released up to 2026-06-15. Renew for $10 to install this update; your current version keeps running either way.

Renewing extends your update window forward by 12 months from the date you renew, not from the date your license lapsed. So a 30-day gap between expiry and renewal isn’t 30 days you “lose” — it just shifts the next year forward by a month.

Renewing

Two ways:

Click “Renew” in the update window. It opens fregata.app/renew pre-filled with your license email and key. Pay $10, return to the app, the new expiry shows up on the next heartbeat (within ~6 hours, usually minutes).
From the Fregata.app site. Go to fregata.app/manage-license, sign in with your license email, click Renew.

What if I never want updates?

Skip them. Don’t click. The prompt is a single tray menu item, and there’s no nag-screen. Your existing install with a paid license runs forever.

Keeping multiple Macs current

A license binds to one Mac. If you want Fregata on two, you have two options:

Two licenses. Buy a second one. Same email is fine; the manage-license page will show both licenses.
Volume licensing for businesses or households with several Macs — reply to your license email.