Tools
Alpha and beta
Everything on ArchOverflow is in beta. Some tools are marked alpha as well: they're earlier, rougher and riskier. Here's what each label means for you and your work.
betaIn use and tested
- Used on real projects, and the way it saves your work has settled.
- It can still change, and sometimes break: the whole suite is a beta.
- Your work is saved as versions you can roll back to, and backed up nightly.
alphaEarly, and risky
- Built recently, not yet proven on real work, or still missing links to other tools it's meant to have.
- Expect things to break. If the way it saves changes, work saved in it may be lost, reset, or need redoing. We'll try to warn you first, but we can't promise to.
- Keep your own copy of anything you can't afford to lose: export or download it.
- The best way to help: use it, and tell us what's wrong with the Bug button.
Moving up
A tool moves from alpha to beta once it's been used on real work for a while, the way it saves has held still, and the connections to other tools it promises are working. Its label changes everywhere it shows.
The fine print
The Terms (section 2) cover the whole beta: features may change, break or be removed, data loss is possible, and data may be reset or migrated. Alpha tools are where that's most likely.