Start with a reason to change
For everyday viewing, use the publisher’s normal stable route unless a specific requirement justifies testing development changes. If a maintainer asks you to try a recent fix, record the issue and exact behaviour you want to compare. Avoid changing channel merely because Nightly sounds newer.
Make a private backup of supported playlist state before a consequential application change and note important preferences or local files separately. The update-channel choice uses the existing library rather than creating a new disposable profile. A backup file should not be posted publicly.
Check what the application will update
The current publisher guide puts the selector in desktop Settings → About from version 0.24. Save the choice, then follow the update or manual-install action actually offered by that installation. A self-hosted web deployment and its server image are maintained separately.
Record whether the package is an AppImage, DEB, RPM or another installation type on Linux. Package-managed installations can have their own update process. The operating-system name alone does not explain how a particular app copy receives updates.
Understand the return to Stable
The guide explains that choosing Stable after a Nightly build changes future checks but does not automatically install an older stable version. That protects forward data changes from being handed to an older executable that may not understand them.
Do not interpret the channel label as proof that the installed application has already changed. Read the installed version and build information after the actual update. Keep that result with the date of your test so two reports saying Nightly can still be distinguished.
Verify the original task before more changes
Repeat the same short sequence that motivated the update. Check whether the symptom changed, whether the sources remain present and whether the ordinary playback route still works. Leave unrelated preferences alone until those comparisons are recorded.
If updating fails, report the stage: no build offered, download failed, installation failed or installed build behaves incorrectly. Include the package and channel. A precise stage description helps maintainers much more than repeatedly reinstalling unrelated formats and calling every result an update problem.