Release channels
What stable, preview and dev mean, how they relate, and how to move between them.
Happier ships on three channels, and which one you are on changes what you get.
That distinction is load-bearing: a fix can be live on dev for weeks before it
reaches stable.
| Channel | Command | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| stable | happier | The production release. Conservative, and where most people should be. |
| preview | hprev | The release candidate — what stable is about to become. |
| dev | hdev | The integration lane. Everything lands here first, and it can be unstable. |
They install side by side and keep their own shims, so you can run hdev for a
project that needs a recent fix while happier stays on stable. Each lane
updates itself against its own channel.
Install commands for each are on the CLI page.
How a change reaches you
Development uses a three-branch model, and it flows in one direction:
dev → preview → maindev is the integration branch and the repository default — changes land there
first. preview is the release-candidate branch that preview builds come from.
main is stable. Version and changelog materialization happens over the dev
source range before promotion, so main is a destination rather than a place
work starts.
If you are on stable and hit something that looks like a known bug, it is
worth checking whether it is already fixed on dev. The gap between the two
can be substantial.
Switching
Installing another lane does not remove the one you have — run the installer
endpoint for the channel you want and use its command. happier status reports
which channel the CLI you just invoked belongs to, which is the quickest way to
tell what you are actually running.
Related
- CLI — install commands and lane management.
- Check your setup —
happier status. - Updates — how updating works across apps, CLIs and images.