Arcanist has an version check in the "protocol" but it's a hard-check right now (upgrades are mandatory) so I rarely bump the version (basically, only if the old client doesn't work). Did you run into an actual issue, or just not have the latest-and-greatest and want a reminder so you can benefit from all the new features/fixes?

i think i jotted down a note about this when there was that install-certificate weirdness, I had been meaning to add a maniphest task and finally got around to it.

Ah, yeah. I should probably have bumped the version over that, or bumped it sooner if I eventually bumped it. I don't remember offhand.

I do want to improve this generally, and provide it for Phabricator too. I have three major concerns in the general space:

• Privacy. I don't want to phone home unless users explicitly opt in (for server vs client this is fine, but if the client is going to go check for a global update this is a problem), and it's a problem for servers.
• Release management. We're just using trunk right now and don't really have versions or anything, so it's hard to predict what the system's needs will be in the future.
• Performance. Getting this implemented as cheaply as possible is a little tricky.

Yeah, I'm willing to abandon it. Now that I think about it, I'm not convinced that sending an email is better than just telling them while through arc. Why not close the loop sooner?

Oh, no, I definitely want to tell them through arc (and, later, Phabricator).