Granola Upgrade & Migration

Overview

Manage Granola desktop app updates and subscription plan changes. Granola auto-updates by default, but manual intervention may be needed for major versions or plan migrations that affect feature access.

Prerequisites

Current Granola version info (Granola menu > About, or check via CLI)
Admin access for organization-level plan changes
Data backup awareness before downgrading

Instructions

Step 1 — Check Current Version

# macOS — read version from app bundle
defaults read /Applications/Granola.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleShortVersionString 2>/dev/null || echo "Check Granola > About Granola"

Check for available updates: Granola menu bar icon > Check for Updates, or visit granola.ai/updates for the changelog.

Step 2 — Update the Desktop App

Auto-update (recommended): Granola checks for updates automatically and downloads in the background. Enable at:

Granola > Preferences > General > Check for updates automatically: On

Manual update via Homebrew (macOS):

brew update && brew upgrade --cask granola

Manual download: Download latest from granola.ai/download. Close Granola, install over the existing version. Settings and data are preserved.

Step 3 — Handle Update Issues

If Granola crashes or behaves incorrectly after updating:

# Clear caches (preserves your data and authentication)
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Granola

# If that doesn't help, reset preferences (you'll need to re-authenticate)
defaults delete ai.granola.app 2>/dev/null

# Nuclear option — full reinstall
brew uninstall --cask granola 2>/dev/null
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Granola
rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/ai.granola.app.plist
brew install --cask granola

Your meeting data is stored server-side and in the local cache (~/Library/Application Support/Granola/cache-v3.json). Reinstalling does not delete your notes.

Step 4 — Upgrade Subscription Plan

Settings (avatar bottom-left) > Account > Subscription > Upgrade

Upgrade paths:
  Basic (Free) → Business ($14/user/mo): Immediate, prorated
  Business → Enterprise ($35+/user/mo): Contact sales

What changes on upgrade:
  Basic → Business:
    + Unlimited meetings (was 25 lifetime)
    + Unlimited history (was 14 days)
    + Slack, Notion, CRM integrations
    + Zapier automation
    + MCP (AI agent integration)
    + Team shared folders
    + Custom templates
    + Public API access

  Business → Enterprise:
    + SSO (Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace)
    + SCIM auto-provisioning
    + Enforced AI training opt-out
    + Usage analytics dashboard
    + Full Enterprise API
    + Custom data retention policies
    + Dedicated account manager

Step 5 — Downgrade with Data Preservation

Before downgrading, understand what you lose:

Downgrading From	Losing	Action Before Downgrade
Business → Basic	Integrations disconnect, history limited to 14 days	Export all notes, save integration configs
Enterprise → Business	SSO, SCIM, custom retention, analytics	Reconfigure authentication, manual user provisioning

Pre-downgrade checklist:

Notify team members of the change
Export critical notes (there is no bulk export — share important notes to Notion or copy individually)
Document active integration configurations
Save any custom templates and recipes
Verify API consumers are prepared for access loss

Important: Downgrading does not delete your data. Notes remain accessible within the new plan's limits (e.g., Basic only shows last 14 days, but data is preserved if you re-upgrade).

Step 6 — Manage Team Seats

Settings > Team > Manage Seats

Add seats:
  - Invite by email or enable SSO auto-provisioning
  - New seats are prorated for the billing period

Remove seats:
  - Deactivate user in Settings > Team
  - User loses access but their shared notes remain
  - Seat count reduces on next billing cycle

Reassign seats:
  - Deactivate departing user
  - Invite replacement user
  - No additional charge (same seat count)

Plan Migration Matrix

From	To	Billing Impact	Data Impact	Action Required
Basic	Business	$14/user/mo starts immediately	Full history restored	Connect integrations
Basic	Enterprise	Contact sales for pricing	Full history restored	SSO/SCIM setup
Business	Enterprise	Price difference, prorated	No data change	Configure SSO/SCIM
Enterprise	Business	Price reduction, immediate	Retain data, lose SSO/SCIM	Reconfigure auth
Business	Basic	Free, immediate	History limited to 14 days	Export critical data
Any	Annual billing	10-15% savings	No data change	Confirm in Billing

Output

Granola updated to latest version
Subscription plan changed with feature access verified
Team seats managed (added/removed/reassigned)
Data preserved through any plan change

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Fix
Update fails to install	Corrupted download or cache	Clear caches, reinstall: `brew reinstall --cask granola`
App crashes after update	Stale preferences	Delete prefs: `defaults delete ai.granola.app`
Payment fails on upgrade	Expired card	Update payment method in Settings > Billing
Features missing after upgrade	Cache not refreshed	Log out and log back in to refresh entitlements
SSO stops working after downgrade	Enterprise feature removed	Switch to Google/Microsoft social login

Resources

Next Steps

Proceed to granola-ci-integration for automated meeting-to-dev-tool workflows.

granola-upgrade-migration