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clawdbot/docs/cli/update.md
2026-01-22 04:19:33 +00:00

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summary, read_when
summary read_when
CLI reference for `clawdbot update` (safe-ish source update + optional gateway restart)
You want to update a source checkout safely
You need to understand `--update` shorthand behavior

clawdbot update

Safely update Clawdbot and switch between stable/beta/dev channels.

If you installed via npm/pnpm (global install, no git metadata), updates happen via the package manager flow in Updating.

Usage

clawdbot update
clawdbot update status
clawdbot update --channel beta
clawdbot update --channel dev
clawdbot update --tag beta
clawdbot update --restart
clawdbot update --json
clawdbot --update

Options

  • --restart: restart the Gateway service after a successful update.
  • --channel <stable|beta|dev>: set the update channel (git + npm; persisted in config).
  • --tag <dist-tag|version>: override the npm dist-tag or version for this update only.
  • --json: print machine-readable UpdateRunResult JSON.
  • --timeout <seconds>: per-step timeout (default is 1200s).

Note: downgrades require confirmation because older versions can break configuration.

update status

Show the active update channel + git tag/branch/SHA (for source checkouts), plus update availability.

clawdbot update status
clawdbot update status --json
clawdbot update status --timeout 10

Options:

  • --json: print machine-readable status JSON.
  • --timeout <seconds>: timeout for checks (default is 3s).

What it does

When you switch channels explicitly (--channel ...), Clawdbot also keeps the install method aligned:

  • dev → ensures a git checkout (default: ~/clawdbot, override with CLAWDBOT_GIT_DIR), updates it, and installs the global CLI from that checkout.
  • stable/beta → installs from npm using the matching dist-tag.

Git checkout flow

Channels:

  • stable: checkout the latest non-beta tag, then build + doctor.
  • beta: checkout the latest -beta tag, then build + doctor.
  • dev: checkout main, then fetch + rebase.

High-level:

  1. Requires a clean worktree (no uncommitted changes).
  2. Switches to the selected channel (tag or branch).
  3. Fetches upstream (dev only).
  4. Dev only: preflight lint + TypeScript build in a temp worktree; if the tip fails, walks back up to 10 commits to find the newest clean build.
  5. Rebases onto the selected commit (dev only).
  6. Installs deps (pnpm preferred; npm fallback).
  7. Builds + builds the Control UI.
  8. Runs clawdbot doctor as the final “safe update” check.
  9. Syncs plugins to the active channel (dev uses bundled extensions; stable/beta uses npm) and updates npm-installed plugins.

--update shorthand

clawdbot --update rewrites to clawdbot update (useful for shells and launcher scripts).

See also