Managing Apps Update Cadence

What is the Apps Update Cadence setting?

Apps Update Cadence is a per-environment setting on the Environment Details page in the Business Central Admin Center. It controls whether apps installed on the environment (Microsoft AppSource apps, LS Central apps, and other ISV/Marketplace apps) are automatically updated when the environment itself updates to a new minor version, or only when it updates to a new major version.

This setting was introduced in Business Central 2023 release wave 2 (BC23).

Two important scope notes:

The setting only affects global/Marketplace apps (AppSource apps, including ls-central-app and ls-central-system-app). It has no effect on Per-Tenant Extensions (PTEs) — those update according to whatever deployment schedule was chosen when the PTE package was uploaded (immediately, next update window, next minor update, or next major update).
Regardless of the cadence setting, an app is always updated immediately when it's required for the environment to successfully complete an update, for example, if the currently installed app version isn't compatible with the new Business Central version.

For more details, see Update installed apps with environment updates.

Available options and expected behavior

Value	Behavior
Default	Apps update automatically only with major updates, unless an update is required for a minor update to succeed. This is the setting applied to every environment unless changed. Microsoft has reserved the right to change what "Default" means in the future (for example, to start including minor updates), so this option is a "let Microsoft decide" option rather than a fixed guarantee.
With major updates	Functionally the same as the current behavior of "Default", but explicitly pinned — apps update only during major updates (again, unless an update is required for a minor update). Use this option if you want to opt out of "Default" silently changing its behavior in the future.
With minor and major updates	Apps update automatically during every environment update, whether minor or major. This keeps installed apps continuously current with the latest compatible version.

Regardless of the option chosen, individual app updates can still be triggered manually at any time from the Manage Apps page, and can optionally be scheduled to run in the environment's next configured update window rather than immediately.

How this fits into the environment update process

Major update (for example, aligned with the April/October Microsoft releases): all installed apps are updated automatically, regardless of the Apps Update Cadence setting. This is necessary because Microsoft only validates and supports apps against the versions of Business Central declared by the ISV, and a major update generally requires all dependent apps to be current.
Minor update (cumulative update within the same major version): whether apps are updated automatically depends entirely on the Apps Update Cadence setting, as described above.
PTE updates: always follow their own deployment schedule (immediate, next update window, next minor update, or next major update) chosen at upload time, independent of the Apps Update Cadence setting.

Hotfixes for the currently installed minor version

Hotfixes released by LS Central for apps on the same minor version the environment is currently running might not be covered by the environment update process behavior described above. There's a scenario where hotfixes needs to be installed manually as described below:

While the environment stays on its current minor/major version, a hotfix is never installed automatically. The BC admin must install it manually from the Apps section of the environment in the Business Central Admin Center. As an alternative, the BC Admin Center API can be used to automate this process — this is also the only way to install the latest hotfix for the current minor version if a newer minor version has already been released, since the Admin Center UI will always force-install the next available minor version instead of letting you pick a hotfix for the current one.
When the environment is updated to the next minor/major version, if Apps Update Cadence is set to With minor and major updates, the latest hotfix available for the target version is installed automatically as part of that update.
When the environment is updated to the next minor version, if Apps Update Cadence is set to With major updates (or Default), the latest hotfix available for the target version is not installed automatically — the same manual/API-driven process described in point 1 applies once the environment is on the new minor version.

Controlling the app version during an update

During a minor/major update, depending on the Apps Update Cadence, Microsoft updates the AppSource apps to its latest available version. This means the hotfix version used during sandbox testing may not be the same hotfix version applied to the environment during the actual upgrade.

For administrators who want the tested (in Sandbox) and applied hotfix versions to match (in Production), this can be controlled by performing the update through the Business Central Administration Center API instead of the standard update flow. The API allows a specific target app version to be selected. For more information, see Update an app - Business Central Administration Center API .

Practical scenarios for partners and customers

The table below illustrates how the three app categories relevant to an LS Central environment — Microsoft/base apps, LS Central apps (ls-central-app, ls-central-system-app, and related LS Retail extensions), and custom PTEs — behave for each cadence setting, across a minor update and a major update.

Scenario	Apps Update Cadence	Microsoft apps at minor update	LS Retail apps at minor update	Custom PTEs at minor update	All apps at major update
A – Conservative / change-controlled	Default or With major updates	Not updated (unless required for the update to succeed)	Not updated (unless required for the update to succeed)	Only updated if explicitly scheduled for "next minor update"	All updated automatically
B – Always current	With minor and major updates	Updated automatically with every minor update	Updated automatically with every minor update	Only updated if explicitly scheduled for "next minor update"	All updated automatically
C – Mixed control (typical partner-managed environment)	With major updates, combined with manually scheduled PTE updates	Not updated automatically	Not updated automatically	Updated on the schedule the partner chooses per PTE upload	All updated automatically

When to choose each option

Default / With major updates — Recommended for customers or partners who want tight control over when application behavior can change, for example, production environments with strict change-management or testing requirements. New features and fixes from Microsoft and LS Retail only arrive at the predictable major-update milestones (spring/fall), reducing the risk of unplanned functional changes between those windows. The trade-off is that bug fixes shipped in cumulative updates for AppSource apps aren't picked up automatically and may require a manual update from Manage Apps if needed sooner.
With minor and major updates — Recommended for customers or partners who want to always be on the latest compatible version of Microsoft and LS Retail apps with minimal manual maintenance, such as sandbox/test environments, or production environments where the business accepts more frequent, incremental change in exchange for always having the latest fixes and minor features. This reduces manual patching effort but means app behavior can change more frequently and with less advance notice than a major update cycle.
Manual/per-app control — Regardless of the cadence setting, admins can always update an individual app on demand from Manage Apps, and optionally schedule it for the next update window. This is useful for applying an urgent hotfix to a specific app without changing the cadence for all apps.

Notes on custom (per-tenant) extensions

Since the Apps Update Cadence setting does not apply to PTEs, partners maintaining custom extensions for LS Central customers need a separate strategy:

Each PTE version upload specifies its own deployment schedule (immediate, next update window, next minor update, or next major update).
To align a PTE's update with an upcoming LS Central/Microsoft minor or major update, the deployment schedule must be set accordingly when the PTE package is uploaded — it will not automatically follow the Apps Update Cadence setting used for AppSource apps.