Installation

Documentation for updateself 2.1.0. Versioned source.

Installation and removal

Starting with 2.1.0, installed copies support updateself --uninstall --dry-run and updateself --uninstall. These detect the installation owner and ask for confirmation before removal. updateself --self-update updates through the same owner. See self-management for dependencies, modified-file retention, update-source limits and recovery. A 2.0.0 installation needs one manual upgrade to the 2.1.0 installer/package before these flags are available.

From Git

Clone the existing repository, then check out a reviewed tag for a stable install:

git clone https://github.com/spaniakos/updateself.git
cd update-apt-system
# git checkout v2.0.0  # after this tag has actually been released
bash install.sh --user

User installs use $HOME/.local; put $HOME/.local/bin on PATH yourself. The installer never edits shell startup files. Run updateself --dry-run first.

System-wide installation:

sudo bash install.sh --system
# Equivalent staging-friendly interface:
sudo make install PREFIX=/usr/local

Custom prefix/staging:

bash install.sh --user --prefix "$HOME/tools"
bash install.sh --system --prefix /usr --destdir "$PWD/build/root"
make install PREFIX=/usr DESTDIR="$PWD/build/root"

Both updateself and updsf are installed. updsf is a relative symlink to the main executable. An unrelated shortcut is never overwritten; disable creation with --no-short-command. An existing main file must match the prior installer manifest before replacement. Modified files cause a refusal, not an overwrite.

Upgrade a Git/archive installation

Update your checkout to a reviewed revision and rerun the same installation command with the same prefix. No live link to the checkout is used. The installer copies the executable, so removing your clone does not remove the installation. The install manifest uses POSIX cksum for ownership/change detection, not cryptographic authenticity. Use release SHA-256 checksums for download integrity.

Uninstall

bash install.sh --user --uninstall
sudo bash install.sh --system --uninstall
# Include the same --prefix if customised.

Only recognised, unchanged files are removed. Modified/unowned files, logs and empty directories are retained. Keep a checkout/archive containing install.sh for removal. Package installations must be removed through their package manager.

Downloadable native packages

After a release exists, download the artifact built for your distribution/release, verify SHA256SUMS, and install locally. These commands are examples, not an assertion that a first release has already been published:

sudo apt install ./updateself_2.0.0-1_all.deb
sudo dnf install ./updateself-2.0.0-1.noarch.rpm
sudo pacman -U ./updateself-2.0.0-1-any.pkg.tar.zst

Unsigned local APK/BSD packages may need local trust flags. See the release build report rather than disabling repository signature verification globally. The macOS installer is unsigned unless an independent signing process is configured; use the Git/archive installer if macOS rejects an unsigned installer. No signing certificates are required to build it. Packages declare Bash as a prerequisite where supported; macOS supplies Bash. There are no package post-install update runs.

Shell completions and manual

The installer places Bash completion in share/bash-completion/completions and Zsh completion in share/zsh/site-functions under the prefix. For user prefixes, source the Bash file manually, or add the Zsh directory to fpath before compinit:

source "$HOME/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/updateself"

fpath=("$HOME/.local/share/zsh/site-functions" $fpath)
autoload -Uz compinit && compinit

Man pages live under share/man/man1 (man/man1 on OpenBSD/NetBSD). Custom prefixes may require MANPATH. The updater has no automatic background task. Schedule it yourself only after reviewing authentication and unattended behaviour in the troubleshooting guide.