The update stops at Installing and says part of Booked Solid is still running: how to get the update to install

You started a Booked Solid update, the installer got as far as Installing, and then it stopped with a message that part of the app is still running. Retry does nothing and the update will not finish. Here is what that message means and the order of steps that gets the update installed.

What the message means

The installer cannot replace the app's program file while anything is still running from it. The message reads:

Booked Solid could not be updated because part of it is still running in the background.

This is normally the Booked Solid terminal service, or an editor or terminal window where you have used the `booked` command or the Booked plugin. Close those windows, then click Retry.

If Retry does not work, restart Windows and run this installer again - that always clears it.

Three Booked Solid features run small helpers that have no window of their own: the booked command in a terminal, the Booked plugin inside an editor such as Claude Code, and the background service that runs your scheduled Plays. Closing the app window does not close them. Before this message ever appears, the installer has already asked the app to close and then spent about ten seconds ending those hidden helpers by itself. You only see the message when something is still holding on after that.

Get the update to finish

1. Leave the message open. Close every editor or terminal window where you have typed the booked command or used the Booked plugin, for example VS Code, Claude Code or a PowerShell window.
2. Click Retry. If those helpers are gone, the installer carries on from where it stopped.
3. If it stops on the same message again, click Cancel and restart Windows. A restart clears every hidden Booked Solid process, including the background service.
4. Right after the restart, before you open anything else, download the current installer from https://booked.kivimedia.co/download/win and run it. That link always serves the newest published build, so there is no version number to look up.

Good to know

• Your work is safe. An update replaces the app only. Your Booking HQ folder, your leads and your settings stay exactly where they are.
• Nothing needs setting up again. The background service comes back the next time you sign in to Windows, and Claude Code reconnects to Booked on its next session.
• Updating from inside the app works the same way. When you click Restart & install, Booked clears its hidden helpers first, and the installer checks again before it copies anything. If you still get the message, use the steps above.
• Same message after a restart and a fresh installer? Then something other than Booked Solid is holding the file, such as a security tool scanning it or another Windows user still signed in on the same computer. Tell us what you saw and we will work it out with you.

Related: How updates work: the update badge and Restart & install, which version you are running and how to install the current app by hand, and what to do when the installer hangs or the app will not open.

Still stuck? Email bookedsolid@kivimedia.freshdesk.com and a person will help.