Platform Support

Documentation for updateself 2.1.0. Versioned source.

Platform support and verification

All rows below have implemented routing and automated mocked tests where noted. A green package job validates that artifact on its build OS; it does not certify every update on arbitrary production systems. Consult the actual workflow run.

Family	Procedure	CI environment
Debian/Ubuntu and derivatives	apt-get update then upgrade; optional dist-upgrade	Debian package build/install; Linux mocked routing
Fedora/RHEL/Rocky/Alma/CentOS Stream	DNF5, DNF, then YUM fallback	Fedora RPM build/install; mocked routing
Arch/Manjaro/EndeavourOS	pacman -Syu; no partial refresh	Arch package build/install; mocked routing
openSUSE Leap/SLES	zypper refresh/update	RPM format plus mocked routing; live SUSE transactions unverified
openSUSE Tumbleweed	zypper refresh/dup	Mocked routing; live transactions unverified
Alpine	apk update/upgrade	Alpine package build/install; mocked routing
Void	xbps-install -Su twice (XBPS bootstrap transaction)	Void package build/install; mocked routing
Gentoo	emerge --sync; world; preserved-rebuild	Ebuild generated; source builds not run in CI
Slackware	slackpkg update/install-new/upgrade-all	Slackware package build/install; mocked routing
macOS Intel/Apple Silicon	Brew, MacPorts, softwareupdate, mas	Hosted macOS tests/pkg build; live Apple/App Store updates not run
NixOS	Explicit nixos-rebuild switch	Nix build verification and mocked routing; activation not run
FreeBSD	pkg; opt-in freebsd-update or installed pkgbase	VM package build/install; base update not run
OpenBSD	pkg_add -u; opt-in syspatch	VM package build/install; base patching not run
NetBSD	pkgin	VM package build/install; base OS upgrades excluded

Important boundaries

• Immutable/transactional/bootc/OSTree hosts: native update is reported unsupported; user/application components can still run. Their system update strategy is future work.
• Derivatives inherit their configured repositories and restrictions; no repository, mirror, pin, hold, release branch or trust-key changes are made.
• BSD and minimal Linux require Bash installed first. sudo, doas or root provides native administrative access. Switching from root to another user needs sudo/runuser.
• Traditional FreeBSD base updates skip jails and non-GENERIC kernels. No base-package migration. On detected pkgbase installations, the combined pkg upgrade transaction needs --base-install; it is skipped otherwise because it can also update the base OS.
• Nix profile CLI capability is checked at runtime. Locked flake references remain pinned; legacy nix-env uses the selected user's configured channels. No daemon self-upgrade, channel switching or generation deletion.
• Deno prerelease installations are skipped. Detected LTS uses its channel command; channel reporting varies by Deno release, so review previews for pinned runtimes.
• System Python/pip are left to their distributor. Explicit non-venv Python must live in the target user's home and not in known managed layouts. Conda environment updates and pyenv interpreter installation are not automated.
• The first release does not scan every Python or every user environment on disk.
• FreshClam skips an active daemon; it never stops services or removes locks.
• Cargo requires an existing cargo-update helper; AUR requires yay/paru. npm only updates the active user-owned prefix within installed semver constraints.
• Standalone self-updaters currently recognise supported user-owned layouts only. A manually installed /usr/local/bin tool can be skipped until its ownership is configured deliberately in a future release.

Upstream behaviour references

• Arch maintenance
• DNF5 upgrade
• Tumbleweed upgrades
• Externally managed Python
• Nix manual
• FreeBSD updates
• OpenBSD packages
• NetBSD packages