diff --git a/tests/cli.bats b/tests/cli.bats
index e97b8be..f6ba126 100644
--- a/tests/cli.bats
+++ b/tests/cli.bats
@@ -77,6 +77,6 @@ teardown_file() {
     run notesium home
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == "/tmp/notesium-test-corpus" ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "$(realpath /tmp/notesium-test-corpus)" ]
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/delete.bats b/tests/delete.bats
index d668d1c..8d5e4bf 100644
--- a/tests/delete.bats
+++ b/tests/delete.bats
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ _delete_jq() { curl -qs -X DELETE -d "${2}" ${URL}/${1} | jq -r "${3}" ; }
 setup_file() {
     command -v jq >/dev/null
     command -v curl >/dev/null
-    [ "$(pidof notesium)" == "" ]
+    [ "$(pgrep -x notesium)" == "" ]
     [ -e "/tmp/notesium-test-corpus" ] && exit 1
     run mkdir /tmp/notesium-test-corpus
     run cp $BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/fixtures/*.md /tmp/notesium-test-corpus/
@@ -101,16 +101,16 @@ teardown_file() {
 
 @test "delete: stop by sending terminate signal" {
     # force stop otherwise bats will block until timeout (bats-core/issues/205)
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     echo "could not get pid"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run kill "$(pidof notesium)"
+    run kill "$(pgrep -x notesium)"
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 1 ]
 }
diff --git a/tests/new.bats b/tests/new.bats
index f45bf8b..f0400ef 100644
--- a/tests/new.bats
+++ b/tests/new.bats
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ teardown_file() {
     run notesium new
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "$(dirname $output)" == "/tmp/notesium-test-corpus" ]
+    [ "$(dirname $output)" == "$(realpath /tmp/notesium-test-corpus)" ]
 }
 
 @test "new: basename is 8 chars plus .md extension" {
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ teardown_file() {
     run notesium new --ctime=2023-01-16T05:05:00 --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ "${#lines[@]}" -eq 5 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == "path:/tmp/notesium-test-corpus/63c4dafc.md" ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "path:$(realpath /tmp/notesium-test-corpus/63c4dafc.md)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == "filename:63c4dafc.md" ]
     [ "${lines[2]}" == "epoch:1673845500" ]
     [ "${lines[3]}" == "ctime:2023-01-16T05:05:00+00:00" ]
diff --git a/tests/raw.bats b/tests/raw.bats
index bee110f..9f510cc 100644
--- a/tests/raw.bats
+++ b/tests/raw.bats
@@ -4,12 +4,17 @@ load helpers.sh
 
 _curl()    { curl -qs "http://localhost:8881/${1}" ; }
 
+_os_arch() {
+    uname -sm | tr A-Z a-z | sed 's/ /\//;s/x86_64/amd64/;s/aarch64/arm64/'
+}
+
 setup_file() {
     command -v curl >/dev/null
     export TZ="UTC"
     export NOTESIUM_DIR="$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/fixtures"
+    export EXPECTED_PLATFORM="$(_os_arch)"
     export PATH="$(realpath $BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../):$PATH"
-    [ "$(pidof notesium)" == "" ]
+    [ "$(pgrep -x notesium)" == "" ]
 }
 
 @test "api/raw: start with custom port and stop-on-idle" {
@@ -121,7 +126,7 @@ setup_file() {
     [[ "${lines[0]}" =~ "version:" ]]
     [[ "${lines[1]}" =~ "gitversion:v" ]]
     [[ "${lines[2]}" =~ "buildtime:" ]]
-    [[ "${lines[3]}" =~ "platform:linux/amd64" ]]
+    [[ "${lines[3]}" =~ "platform:$EXPECTED_PLATFORM" ]]
 }
 
 @test "api/raw: no command specified error" {
@@ -140,16 +145,16 @@ setup_file() {
 
 @test "api/raw: stop by sending terminate signal" {
     # force stop otherwise bats will block until timeout (bats-core/issues/205)
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     echo "could not get pid"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run kill "$(pidof notesium)"
+    run kill "$(pgrep -x notesium)"
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 1 ]
 }
diff --git a/tests/runtime.bats b/tests/runtime.bats
index 8c924ba..d73e32a 100644
--- a/tests/runtime.bats
+++ b/tests/runtime.bats
@@ -4,12 +4,17 @@ load helpers.sh
 
 _curl_jq() { curl -qs http://localhost:8881/${1} | jq -r "${2}" ; }
 
+_os_arch() {
+    uname -sm | tr A-Z a-z | sed 's/ /\//;s/x86_64/amd64/;s/aarch64/arm64/'
+}
+
 setup_file() {
     command -v jq >/dev/null
     command -v curl >/dev/null
     export NOTESIUM_DIR="$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/fixtures"
+    export EXPECTED_PLATFORM="$(_os_arch)"
     export PATH="$(realpath $BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../):$PATH"
-    [ "$(pidof notesium)" == "" ]
+    [ "$(pgrep -x notesium)" == "" ]
 }
 
 @test "runtime: start with custom port, stop-on-idle and no-check" {
@@ -31,7 +36,7 @@ setup_file() {
     run _curl_jq 'api/runtime' '.platform'
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == "linux/amd64" ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "$EXPECTED_PLATFORM" ]
 }
 
 @test "runtime: web" {
@@ -71,16 +76,16 @@ setup_file() {
 
 @test "runtime: stop by sending terminate signal" {
     # force stop otherwise bats will block until timeout (bats-core/issues/205)
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     echo "could not get pid"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run kill "$(pidof notesium)"
+    run kill "$(pgrep -x notesium)"
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 1 ]
 }
diff --git a/tests/version.bats b/tests/version.bats
index fddbc4c..d5f2cbf 100644
--- a/tests/version.bats
+++ b/tests/version.bats
@@ -8,21 +8,32 @@ _gobuild() {
     go build -o /tmp/notesium-test-version/$gitversion -ldflags "
         -X main.gitversion=$gitversion \
         -X main.buildtime=2024-01-02T01:02:03Z \
-        -X main.latestReleaseUrl=http://127.0.0.1:8882"
+        -X main.latestReleaseUrl=http://127.0.0.1:8882/latest.json"
 }
 
 _mock_latest_release() {
     tagname="$1"
-    response='{"tag_name": "'$tagname'", "html_url": "https://github.com/alonswartz/notesium/releases/tag/'$tagname'", "published_at": "2024-02-02T01:02:03Z"}'
-    echo -en "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\nContent-Type: application/json\r\nContent-Length: ${#response}\r\n\r\n${response}" | nc -C -l -s 127.0.0.1 -p 8882 -q 1 -w 5
+    jq -n --arg tag "$tagname" '{
+        tag_name: $tag,
+        html_url: "https://github.com/alonswartz/notesium/releases/tag/\($tag)",
+        published_at: "2024-02-02T01:02:03Z"
+    }' > /tmp/notesium-test-version/latest.json
+}
+
+_os_arch() {
+    uname -sm | tr A-Z a-z | sed 's/ /\//;s/x86_64/amd64/;s/aarch64/arm64/'
 }
 
 setup_file() {
     export TZ="UTC"
+    export EXPECTED_PLATFORM="$(_os_arch)"
     command -v go >/dev/null
-    command -v nc >/dev/null
+    command -v jq >/dev/null
+    [ "$(pgrep -x notesium)" == "" ]
     [ -e "/tmp/notesium-test-version" ] && exit 1
     run mkdir /tmp/notesium-test-version
+    export NOTESIUM_DIR="/tmp/notesium-test-version"
+    export PATH="$(realpath $BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../):$PATH"
 }
 
 teardown_file() {
@@ -31,6 +42,7 @@ teardown_file() {
     run rm /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-2-g1234567-dirty
     run rm /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.2.0-beta-0-g1234567
     run rm /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.2.1-beta-0-g1234567
+    run rm /tmp/notesium-test-version/latest.json
     run rmdir /tmp/notesium-test-version
 }
 
@@ -74,20 +86,21 @@ teardown_file() {
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
     [ "${lines[0]}" == '0.1.2' ]
 }
+
 @test "version: default - patched" {
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-2-g1234567 version
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
     [ "${lines[0]}" == '0.1.2+2' ]
-
 }
+
 @test "version: default - patched and dirty" {
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-2-g1234567-dirty version
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
     [ "${lines[0]}" == '0.1.2+2-dirty' ]
-
 }
+
 @test "version: default - beta" {
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.2.0-beta-0-g1234567 version
     echo "$output"
@@ -102,68 +115,69 @@ teardown_file() {
     [ "${lines[0]}" == 'version:0.1.2' ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'gitversion:v0.1.2-0-g1234567' ]
     [ "${lines[2]}" == 'buildtime:2024-01-02T01:02:03Z' ]
-    [ "${lines[3]}" == 'platform:linux/amd64' ]
+    [ "${lines[3]}" == "platform:$EXPECTED_PLATFORM" ]
+}
+
+@test "version: check - start mock release server" {
+    # mis-using notesium to act as a mock release server
+    run notesium web --port=8882 --stop-on-idle --webroot=$NOTESIUM_DIR &
+    echo "$output"
 }
 
 @test "version: check - older" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.3" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.3"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-0-g1234567 version --check
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.1.2 (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.1.2 ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'A new release is available: 0.1.3 (2024-02-02 01:02)' ]
     [ "${lines[2]}" == 'https://github.com/alonswartz/notesium/releases' ]
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - older" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.3" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.3"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-0-g1234567 version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.1.2 (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.1.2 ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'A new release is available: 0.1.3 (2024-02-02 01:02)' ]
     [ "${lines[2]}" == 'https://github.com/alonswartz/notesium/releases' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:-1'
     assert_line 'version:0.1.2'
     assert_line 'gitversion:v0.1.2-0-g1234567'
     assert_line 'buildtime:2024-01-02T01:02:03Z'
-    assert_line 'platform:linux/amd64'
+    assert_line "platform:$EXPECTED_PLATFORM"
     assert_line 'latest.version:0.1.3'
     assert_line 'latest.published:2024-02-02T01:02:03Z'
     assert_line 'latest.release:https://github.com/alonswartz/notesium/releases/tag/v0.1.3'
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - match" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.2" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.2"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-0-g1234567 version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.1.2 (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.1.2 ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'You are using the latest version' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:0'
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - newer" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.1" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.1"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-0-g1234567 version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.1.2 (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.1.2 ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'You are using a newer version than latest: 0.1.1' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:1'
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - older - patched" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.3" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.3"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-2-g1234567 version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.1.2+2 (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.1.2+2 ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'A new release is available: 0.1.3 (2024-02-02 01:02)' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:-1'
     assert_line 'version:0.1.2+2'
@@ -171,12 +185,11 @@ teardown_file() {
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - match - patched" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.2" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.2"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-2-g1234567 version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.1.2+2 (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.1.2+2 ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'You are using the latest version' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:0'
     assert_line 'version:0.1.2+2'
@@ -184,12 +197,11 @@ teardown_file() {
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - match - patched and dirty" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.2" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.2"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.1.2-2-g1234567-dirty version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.1.2+2-dirty (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.1.2+2-dirty ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'You are using the latest version' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:0'
     assert_line 'version:0.1.2+2-dirty'
@@ -197,12 +209,11 @@ teardown_file() {
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - older - beta" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.2.0" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.2.0"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.2.0-beta-0-g1234567 version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.2.0-beta (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.2.0-beta ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'A new release is available: 0.2.0 (2024-02-02 01:02)' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:-1'
     assert_line 'version:0.2.0-beta'
@@ -210,12 +221,11 @@ teardown_file() {
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - newer - beta" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.2" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.1.2"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.2.0-beta-0-g1234567 version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.2.0-beta (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.2.0-beta ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'You are using a newer version than latest: 0.1.2' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:1'
     assert_line 'version:0.2.0-beta'
@@ -223,15 +233,30 @@ teardown_file() {
 }
 
 @test "version: check verbose - match - beta" {
-    run _mock_latest_release "v0.2.0" &
-    [ "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" ] && run sleep 1
+    run _mock_latest_release "v0.2.0"
     run /tmp/notesium-test-version/v0.2.1-beta-0-g1234567 version --check --verbose
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
-    [ "${lines[0]}" == 'Notesium 0.2.1-beta (linux/amd64)' ]
+    [ "${lines[0]}" == "Notesium 0.2.1-beta ($EXPECTED_PLATFORM)" ]
     [ "${lines[1]}" == 'You are using the latest version' ]
     assert_line 'comparison:0'
     assert_line 'version:0.2.1-beta'
     assert_line 'gitversion:v0.2.1-beta-0-g1234567'
 }
 
+@test "version: check - stop mock release server by sending terminate signal" {
+    # force stop otherwise bats will block until timeout (bats-core/issues/205)
+    run pgrep -x notesium
+    echo "$output"
+    echo "could not get pid"
+    [ $status -eq 0 ]
+
+    run kill "$(pgrep -x notesium)"
+    echo "$output"
+    [ $status -eq 0 ]
+
+    run pgrep -x notesium
+    echo "$output"
+    [ $status -eq 1 ]
+}
+
diff --git a/tests/web.bats b/tests/web.bats
index 8f4de5c..a3f2ee8 100644
--- a/tests/web.bats
+++ b/tests/web.bats
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ setup_file() {
     command -v curl >/dev/null
     export NOTESIUM_DIR="$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/fixtures"
     export PATH="$(realpath $BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../):$PATH"
-    [ "$(pidof notesium)" == "" ]
+    [ "$(pgrep -x notesium)" == "" ]
 }
 
 @test "web: start with custom port and stop-on-idle" {
@@ -86,16 +86,16 @@ setup_file() {
 
 @test "web: stop by sending terminate signal" {
     # force stop otherwise bats will block until timeout (bats-core/issues/205)
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     echo "could not get pid"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run kill "$(pidof notesium)"
+    run kill "$(pgrep -x notesium)"
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 1 ]
 }
diff --git a/tests/write.bats b/tests/write.bats
index 11abcfd..ad4930c 100644
--- a/tests/write.bats
+++ b/tests/write.bats
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _set_deterministic_mtimes() {
 setup_file() {
     command -v jq >/dev/null
     command -v curl >/dev/null
-    [ "$(pidof notesium)" == "" ]
+    [ "$(pgrep -x notesium)" == "" ]
     [ -e "/tmp/notesium-test-corpus" ] && exit 1
     run mkdir /tmp/notesium-test-corpus
     run cp $BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/fixtures/*.md /tmp/notesium-test-corpus/
@@ -56,16 +56,16 @@ teardown_file() {
 
 @test "write: stop NOT writable by sending terminate signal" {
     # force stop otherwise bats will block until timeout (bats-core/issues/205)
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     echo "could not get pid"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run kill "$(pidof notesium)"
+    run kill "$(pgrep -x notesium)"
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 1 ]
 }
@@ -166,16 +166,16 @@ teardown_file() {
 
 @test "write: stop by sending terminate signal" {
     # force stop otherwise bats will block until timeout (bats-core/issues/205)
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     echo "could not get pid"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run kill "$(pidof notesium)"
+    run kill "$(pgrep -x notesium)"
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
 
-    run pidof notesium
+    run pgrep -x notesium
     echo "$output"
     [ $status -eq 1 ]
 }