shoots update

shoots update [options]

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Options#

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How it works#

1. Fetch https://api.github.com/repos/<repo>/releases/latest.
2. Compare the release tag to the running version with semver ordering.
3. Pick the asset for this platform/arch.
4. Download SHA256SUMS.txt from the release and pull out that asset's digest.
5. Download the asset to a staging file, verifying the SHA-256 as it streams.
6. Swap it in place.

Platform assets#

Intel macOS (darwin-x64) is intentionally not built — there is no reliable Intel CI runner, and the Bun binary embeds per-arch native addons, so no universal build is possible.

The in-place swap#

• Unix — rename onto the running executable is atomic even while it executes.
• Windows — a running .exe cannot be overwritten, but it can be renamed aside. The old binary moves to <exe>.old, the new one takes its place, and the .old file is cleaned up best-effort (it stays locked until the current process exits, so a leftover shoots.exe.old is normal and harmless — it disappears on the next run).

Restart shoots after an update to run the new version.

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Examples#

Check without installing#

shoots update --check

Update available: v0.4.1 → v0.5.0

or

Up to date (v0.4.1).

Update#

shoots update

Update available: v0.4.1 → v0.5.0
  100%
Updated to v0.5.0. Restart shoots to run the new version.

Scripted, weekly#

if shoots update --check --json | jq -e '.hasUpdate' > /dev/null; then
  shoots update --json
fi

In CI, avoiding rate limits#

GITHUB_TOKEN="$GH_PAT" shoots update --check --json

The anonymous GitHub API limit is low; a token raises it substantially.

Against a fork#

SHOOTS_REPO=mystudio/shoots-internal shoots update

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JSON output#

{
  "command": "update",
  "current": "0.4.1",
  "latest": "v0.5.0",
  "hasUpdate": true,
  "installed": true
}

installed appears only after a successful install. With --check, or when already current, only the first four fields are emitted.

No releases published yet:

{ "command": "update", "current": "0.4.1", "latest": null, "hasUpdate": false }

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Limits#

update only works on the standalone binary. Running it from a node or bun process — i.e. from source — exits 2:

error: `shoots update` only works on the standalone binary, not when run via node/bun.

From a source checkout, use git pull && npm run build instead.

You also need write permission on the directory containing the executable. A binary installed into /usr/local/bin needs sudo; the default ~/.shoots/bin does not.

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Exit codes#

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See also#

• Getting started — the installers
• Configuration — SHOOTS_REPO, GITHUB_TOKEN