updater — macOS App Update Manager

Run a health + update discovery pass:

!updater doctor --json 2>&1 || echo "updater not installed — brew install --cask lu-zhengda/tap/updater"

If updater is installed, use this default flow:

1. updater scan --json
2. updater check --json
3. updater update --all --dry-run --json
4. Ask for confirmation before any non-dry-run update command.

Summarize what is outdated (current vs latest), call out major updates, pinned apps, and errors, then propose specific next actions.

Commands

Command	Purpose	Example
updater scan --json	Discover installed apps and update sources	updater scan --json
updater check --json	Check available updates	updater check --json
updater check --json -v	Check with release notes	updater check --json -v
updater outdated --json	List only outdated apps	updater outdated --json
updater update <app>	Update specific app	updater update Firefox
updater update --all	Update all apps	updater update --all
updater update --auto	Unattended update (skip major, pinned, manual)	updater update --auto
updater update --all --dry-run --json	Plan updates without changes	updater update --all --dry-run --json
updater install <name>	Install app via Homebrew Cask	updater install visual-studio-code
updater upgrade --json	Self-update updater	updater upgrade --json
updater pin <app>	Pin app to prevent updates	updater pin Photoshop
updater unpin <app>	Unpin app	updater unpin Photoshop
updater rollback <app>	Restore previous version from backup	updater rollback Firefox
updater rollback --all --json	Roll back all restorable apps	updater rollback --all --json
updater cleanup --json	Find unused apps	updater cleanup --days 90 --json
updater cleanup --delete --json	Move unused apps to Trash	updater cleanup --days 90 --delete --json
updater history --json	Show update history	updater history --json
updater schedule --json	Schedule periodic checks	updater schedule --interval 24 --json
updater schedule --remove --json	Remove scheduled checks	updater schedule --remove --json
updater menubar --json	Install/remove menu bar agent	updater menubar --remove --json
updater config export --json	Export config as JSON	updater config export --json
updater config import <file> --json	Import config and return status	updater config import config.yaml --json
updater ui --json	Machine-readable UI command response	updater ui --json

JSON + Agent Mode

• All updater commands accept --json.
• In Codex or Claude Code environments, updater auto-enables JSON output.
• Override auto-detection with:
  • UPDATER_AGENT_MODE=1 to force JSON mode
  • UPDATER_AGENT_MODE=0 to force human-readable mode
• updater update --json is for dry-run planning and requires --dry-run.

Output Handling Notes

• check --json status values: ok, update_available, major_update, pinned, error.
• install --json can return installed, no_match, or multiple_matches.
• ui --json returns a structured unsupported response instead of launching TUI.

Safety Guidelines

• Plan before apply: Use update --dry-run --json before applying updates.
• Confirm destructive actions: Require confirmation before cleanup --delete and broad update/rollback operations.
• Pin critical apps: Use pin/policy manual for version-sensitive software.
• Rollback available: rollback restores from pre-update backups when present.

TUI Mode

Launch updater (or updater ui) without JSON mode for interactive TUI management.