Vodou's web engine comes from the PyQt6 and PyQt6-WebEngine packages, which bring their own Qt and Chromium build. Keeping them current is how Vodou picks up Chromium security fixes, so the engine has its own updater: ☰ → Help → About Vodou… → Qt & WebEngine… opens the Vodou Updates window.

How an update works

  1. The window shows what's installed now — Python, PyQt6, Qt, Qt WebEngine, and Chromium — and checks PyPI for a newer release.
  2. If one exists, it shows the versions that would change and a compatibility verdict. Qt, PyQt6, and Qt WebEngine only ever move together, as one matched set; a mix that doesn't belong together is never installed.
  3. Update Vodou backs up the current versions (including a local copy of their packages, so a rollback never needs the internet), then downloads and checks the new ones. Nothing in your running installation changes yet.
  4. Restart & finish closes Vodou, installs the update, verifies it, and reopens Vodou. If any step fails, the previous versions are restored automatically.

Your settings, bookmarks, vault, and Vodou's own code aren't touched by an engine update. To update Vodou itself and the engine in one go, use Update Vodou & engine in About Vodou instead.

What it won't do

  • It never upgrades Python. If a new engine release needs a newer Python than you have, the updater tells you instead of installing it.
  • It only installs stable releases, unless you tick Include pre-release (developer) versions.
  • If anything is uncertain, it stops and changes nothing, and tells you why. Copy diagnostics copies a report you can attach to an issue.

An engine update can only be as new as the latest PyQt6-WebEngine release on PyPI, and those follow Qt's own release schedule. That's why Vodou's security fixes run a little behind Chrome's; see Frequently asked questions for how to read the two Chromium versions in About Vodou.