Hi Hans,
I actually dont' know the rules for updating texlive but there are definitely updates.
The rules are: - Packages and formats are updated about 24 hours after a new version is uploaded to CTAN. - Binaries are only updated once-per-year. But there are also some special cases: - The luatex binary will be updated shortly for "reasons" (details to be made public later). - The luametatex binary is allowed to be updated whenever. https://tug.org/pipermail/tex-live/2023-March/049058.html - I have no idea how ConTeXt is added to TL, but it doesn't appear to be through the usual automatic CTAN sync.
Basically tex live is the yearly snapshot.
Because you're allowed to update luametatex at will and luatex hardly changes, you could update the ConTeXt in TL more than once per year. There's no need for it to get as many updates as the standalone distribution, but it would be nice to get an update every 3 months or so. (I have no idea how much work this is for you+Mojca, so it's maybe not worth the effort).
But you can just install the lmtx installation alongside (it's small compared to tex live) and have the best of both worlds. The lmtx installation also has mkiv. It also comes with the fonts that match what we expect in context (as fonts get updated or changed).
Lynx, I'll second this recommendation. The standalone lmtx distribution is updated weekly-ish, uses less than 400MB disk space when installed, and coexists happily with TL. The only downside is that it doesn't have a friendly installation GUI like TL does. Even then, I personally find it easier to install than TL. Installation instructions: https://wiki.contextgarden.net/Installation Thanks, -- Max