updates

A small, modular Bash CLI to update common macOS and Linux tooling (Homebrew, global npm packages, global Python packages, etc.).

This script can be disruptive (it updates global environments). Use --dry-run and scope with --only / --skip.

Spec

See SPEC.md for the full CLI/module contract, exit codes, and release invariants.

Install

Using the Makefile:

make install
# Recommended (user-writable; enables self-update without sudo):
# make install PREFIX=$HOME/.local
# or: make install PREFIX=/opt/homebrew

Manual install:

chmod +x ./updates
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
sudo install -m 0755 ./updates /usr/local/bin/updates

Usage

updates
updates --dry-run
updates --only brew,node --brew-mode formula
updates --only linux -n
updates --full
updates --skip python --log-file ./updates.log
updates --json -n --no-self-update --log-level warn

Example output (trimmed):

Starting updates...
==> brew START
Homebrew 🍺
==> brew END (OK) (12s)
==> SUMMARY ok=1 skip=0 fail=0 total=12s
Done in 12s. 🎉

List available modules:

updates --list-modules

Show help:

updates --help

Modules

Modules are auto-detected: if the underlying command isn’t installed, the module is skipped (unless you used --only, in which case it’s an error).

• brew: update/upgrade Homebrew formulae (+ casks when enabled via --brew-mode casks / --brew-mode greedy / --full)
• shell: update Oh My Zsh and custom git plugins/themes (auto-detected)
• linux: upgrade Linux system packages (auto-detects apt-get/dnf/yum/pacman/zypper/apk)
• node: upgrade global npm packages via ncu + npm
• python: upgrade global Python packages via python3 -m pip
• uv: update uv and uv-managed tools (uv self update, uv tool upgrade --all)
• mas: upgrade Mac App Store apps via mas (disabled by default; enable with --mas-upgrade or --full)
• pipx: upgrade pipx-managed apps via pipx upgrade-all
• rustup: update Rust toolchains via rustup update
• claude: update Claude Code CLI via claude update
• mise: update mise and upgrade installed tools (mise self-update, mise upgrade)
• go: update Go binaries from GO_BINARIES in ~/.updatesrc (entries default to @latest)
• macos: list available macOS software updates via softwareupdate -l (disabled by default; enable with --macos-updates or --full)

Configuration (~/.updatesrc)

updates optionally reads ~/.updatesrc for defaults (CLI flags override; pass --no-config to ignore).

Example:

# ~/.updatesrc
SKIP_MODULES=mas,macos
BREW_MODE=formula
BREW_CLEANUP=1
LOG_LEVEL=info
GO_BINARIES="golang.org/x/tools/gopls,github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv"

For GO_BINARIES, entries may be module or module@version. If @version is omitted, it defaults to @latest.

Prerequisites

Install what you actually use:

• brew (Homebrew)
• git (for the shell module)
• ncu (npm-check-updates): npm install -g npm-check-updates
• uv: https://github.com/astral-sh/uv
• mas: brew install mas
• mise: https://mise.jdx.dev
• pipx: brew install pipx
• rustup: from https://rustup.rs
• claude (Claude Code CLI) for the claude module
• go (for the go module)
• On Linux: a supported system package manager (apt-get, dnf, yum, pacman, zypper, or apk) and sudo (if not running as root)

Development

./scripts/lint.sh
./scripts/test.sh

Notes / Safety

• This script updates global environments (npm -g, pip), which can be disruptive.
• Use --dry-run first, and consider --only/--skip to control scope.
• updates can self-update from GitHub Releases; disable with --no-self-update or UPDATES_SELF_UPDATE=0. Self-update works best when installed to a user-writable location (e.g. PREFIX=$HOME/.local).
• On macOS, Homebrew casks are disabled by default; enable with --brew-mode casks or --brew-mode greedy (or --full). On macOS 26+, cask upgrades may be blocked unless your terminal app is allowed under Privacy & Security → App Management (e.g. Ghostty). If you see a system notification like “<Terminal App> tried modifying your system…”, enable App Management or rerun with --brew-mode formula.
• On WSL, updates apply to the Linux distro (not Windows itself).
• Output uses ANSI colors when run in a TTY; disable with --no-color or NO_COLOR=1. When --log-file is used, colors are disabled to keep logs clean.
• If Python is externally-managed (PEP 668), updates upgrades user-site packages by default; use --pip-force to override (dangerous).

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.