Versions and compatibility

This manual has two publication tracks and release-numbered snapshots.

Selector	Meaning	Use it for
stable	Alias for the current supported software release manual	Routine analysis and citation
nightly	Documentation built from this repository's main branch	Previewing unreleased docs and interfaces
0.x.y…	Immutable snapshot published for a particular release	Reopening old workflows or reporting exact methods

The current public software baseline is 0.12.0a3. Its a3 suffix identifies the third alpha build in the 0.12.0 release series; it is a tagged pre-release, not a nightly build. See installation and the 0.12.0a3 release notes.

The main/nightly manual can describe behavior newer than the latest tag. Use the version selector when you need the manual for an installed release.

Match software and manual

The VIPP interface displays its package version. Compare it with the version selector in the site header. If they differ:

• switch the manual to the installed release; or
• install the release described by the manual in a separate environment.

Do not assume a workflow saved by one alpha release is compatible with another. VIPP 0.12.0a3 retains schema version 3; versions 1 and 2 are rejected rather than migrated automatically. Valid 0.12.0a1 and 0.12.0a2 schema-3 workflows load structurally in 0.12.0a3, but workflow JSON contains no cached scientific pixels/tables. Recalculate and compare graph structure, parameters, sources, axes, channels, physical grids, dynamic ports, and results on known sample data. See the workflow contract.

Move from 0.12.0a2 to 0.12.0a3

1. Keep the original workflow, 0.12.0a2 environment, standalone batch config, manifests, item sidecars, and validated outputs for provenance.
2. Open a duplicate workflow in 0.12.0a3 and confirm that graph structure, parameters, dynamic ports, sources, and Batch Output declarations are as expected.
3. Recalculate the workflow and compare decisive intermediates and final measurements. Cached scientific results are not serialized in workflow JSON.
4. If using Batch workspace, review the suggested or restored destination, source bindings, patterns, formats, collision policy, and fresh preflight. Preview remains optional; Run does not implicitly calculate a representative.
5. Regenerate and revalidate Python exports. An export refuses a VIPP runtime version different from the one that generated it.
6. Inspect the finalized manifest and item sidecars after a batch, including partial, skipped, and failed items.

A 0.12.0a3 workflow can optionally carry a top-level batch_config. VIPP 0.12.0a2 can still reconstruct the schema-3 scientific graph because it ignores that unknown top-level attachment, but it does not restore it and will omit it if the workflow is saved again. Preserve the original 0.12.0a3 file when moving between releases.

Move from 0.12.0a1 to 0.12.0a2

1. Keep the original workflow and 0.12.0a1 environment for provenance.
2. Open a duplicate workflow in 0.12.0a2 and confirm that graph structure, parameters, dynamic ports, and sources are as expected.
3. Recalculate the workflow. Cached results are not serialized in workflow JSON, so structural loading is not evidence that old outputs were restored.
4. Review the clearer bright-amber actionable and dark-amber waiting states, especially around manual nodes and isolated tuning, before calculating.
5. Compare decisive intermediates and final measurements with the validated 0.12.0a1 results or other reference data.
6. Regenerate and revalidate Python exports. An export refuses a VIPP runtime version different from the one that generated it.

Upgrade to 0.12.0a1

Schema 3 exists because silently supplying new scientific defaults could change results. In particular, 0.12 requires explicit channel-axis and RGB/intensity mapping choices for affected operations and strengthens source/grid behavior.

1. Keep the exact older VIPP environment and original workflow read-only.
2. Record the old graph, parameters, dynamic output ports, input series, axes, channel mapping, scale, units, and representative outputs.
3. Recreate the workflow in 0.12.0a1. Do not edit only the JSON version.
4. Resolve each new required scientific choice explicitly. Do not infer channel_axis from a trailing length-three/four dimension unless the data really are declared RGB/RGBA.
5. Verify every multi-input grid. Equal shape alone no longer establishes compatible axes, sampling, units, or origin.
6. Compare decisive intermediates and final measurements against known data or reference annotations before batch use.
7. Regenerate Python exports; generated programs require the exact VIPP runtime version that created them.
8. Create and preview a new vipp_batch_config.json; archive the workflow, config, manifest, sidecars, environment, and validation evidence together.

If the old environment is unavailable, use the JSON and methods notes as a reference for manual reconstruction, but do not claim numerical equivalence without testing it.

Install a release

Because alpha releases are pre-releases, use:

python -m pip install "napari[pyqt6]"
python -m pip install --pre napari-vipp

To reproduce a specific alpha exactly, specify the version in a fresh environment:

python -m pip install "napari[pyqt6]" "napari-vipp==0.12.0a3"

Nightly policy

Nightly documentation may describe work not yet available from PyPI and can change without migration support. If unreleased behavior contributes to an analysis, record the application commit, documentation commit, Python version, and environment—not only a nominal package version.