What causes "Failed to check latest version" in Molunerfinn/PicGo?

Check network connectivity and retry; the error is usually transient

Failed to check latest version

Error message

Failed to check latest version

What it means

checkLatestVersion throws when the main-process GET_LATEST_VERSION RPC fails. The main handler (src/main/events/rpc/routes/version.ts:8) calls getLatestVersion(type), which performs an outbound HTTPS request to the update feed; a thrown error there is wrapped by fail(e) in rpcInvokeHandler and surfaced in the renderer as this Error. The literal message is the fallback used when result.error is empty.

Solutions

Check network connectivity and retry; the error is usually transient
Inspect result.error (log it before throwing) to distinguish network failure from rate limiting (403) vs 404
Verify any configured proxy in PicGo settings is reachable and correct
Check the update-feed URL/host used by getLatestVersion is not blocked in your environment

Example fix

// before
const version = await settingsAdapter.checkLatestVersion(includeBeta)
// after
let version: string | null = null
try {
  version = await settingsAdapter.checkLatestVersion(includeBeta)
} catch (e) {
  console.warn('Update check skipped:', (e as Error).message)
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if (typeof navigator.onLine === 'boolean' && !navigator.onLine) {
  return // skip update check while offline
}

Type guard

function isRPCSuccess<T>(r: { success: boolean; data?: T }): r is { success: true; data: T } {
  return r.success === true
}

Try / catch

try {
  const version = await checkLatestVersion(includeBeta)
} catch (e) {
  logger.warn((e as Error).message)
  // degrade gracefully: show 'unknown' version instead of failing the UI
}

Prevention

Treat update checks as best-effort; never let them block app startup
Retry with backoff or schedule the next check instead of surfacing an error
Check for corporate proxies/rate limits when the error recurs
Log result.error from the RPC envelope to distinguish offline vs rate-limited

When it happens

Trigger: Calling checkLatestVersion(includeBeta) when the main process cannot reach the update server: network offline, DNS failure, proxy misconfigured, GitHub API rate-limit/HTTP error, or an unhandled exception inside getLatestVersion.

Common situations: Corporate proxy or firewall blocking api.github.com; GitHub API rate limiting (403) on shared IPs; offline/bad Wi-Fi; IPv6 issues; user enabled a custom mirror that is down.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Molunerfinn/PicGo@07ec7068a5 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/101fe67983b59cfb. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/renderer/adapters/settings.ts:41

  openConfigFile () {
    sendToMain(PICGO_OPEN_FILE, 'data.json')
  },
  openLogFile () {
    sendToMain(PICGO_OPEN_FILE, 'picgo.log')
  },
  openExternalUrl (url: string) {
    openURL(url)
  },
  updateServer () {
    sendToMain('updateServer')
  },
  updateCustomLink () {
    sendToMain('updateCustomLink')
  },
  async checkLatestVersion (includeBeta: boolean) {
    const result = await invokeRPC<string>(IRPCActionType.GET_LATEST_VERSION, includeBeta)
    if (!result.success) {
      throw new Error(result.error || 'Failed to check latest version')
    }

    return result.data
  },
  async loadShortcuts () {
    const config = await getConfig<IShortKeyConfigs>('settings.shortKey')
    return config || {}
  },
  toggleShortcutModifiedMode (value: boolean) {
    sendToMain(TOGGLE_SHORTKEY_MODIFIED_MODE, value)
  },
  toggleShortcutEnabled (item: IShortKeyConfig) {
    sendToMain('bindOrUnbindShortKey', item, item.from)
  },
  updateShortcut (item: IShortKeyConfig, oldKey: string) {
    return new Promise<boolean>((resolve, reject) => {
      const cleanup = ipc.once('updateShortKeyResponse', (result: boolean) => {
        resolve(result)

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