update Command

Update installed skills to the latest versions from their sources. Updates skills.lock with new versions.

Usage

fastskill update [SKILL_ID] [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Description	Default
`<SKILL_ID>`	Skill ID to update (if not specified, updates all)	None
`--check`	Check for updates without installing	`false`
`--dry-run`	Show what would be updated without actually updating	`false`
`--version <VERSION>`	Update to specific version	None
`--source <SOURCE>`	Update from specific source	None
`--strategy <STRATEGY>`	Update strategy: latest, patch, minor, major	`latest`

Examples

Update All Skills

Update all installed skills to latest compatible versions:

fastskill update

This:

Reads all skills from skill-project.toml dependencies
Resolves latest versions from configured repositories
Updates skills in .claude/skills/
Updates skills.lock with new versions

Update Specific Skill

Update only a specific skill:

fastskill update web-scraper

Check for Updates

Check which skills have updates available without installing:

fastskill update --check

Use --check to see what’s available before updating. Useful for reviewing changes before applying them.

Dry Run

Preview what would be updated without making changes:

fastskill update --dry-run

Update to Specific Version

Update a skill to a specific version:

fastskill update web-scraper --version "2.0.0"

Update with Patch Strategy

Update skills to latest patch version only (no minor or major changes):

# Update web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 1.2.4 (patch)
fastskill update web-scraper --strategy patch

# Update all skills to latest patch
fastskill update --strategy patch

Update with Minor Strategy

Update skills to latest minor version (allows minor features, no breaking changes):

# Update web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 1.3.0 (minor)
fastskill update web-scraper --strategy minor

# Update all skills to latest minor
fastskill update --strategy minor

Update with Major Strategy

Update skills to latest major version (allows breaking changes):

# Update web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 2.0.0 (major)
fastskill update web-scraper --strategy major

# Update all skills to latest major
fastskill update --strategy major

Update Strategies

Update strategies determine which versions are considered for updates:

Strategy	Behavior	Example
`latest`	Update to absolute latest version available	`1.2.3` → `2.5.1` (any version)
`patch`	Update to latest patch version within current minor	`1.2.3` → `1.2.4` (1.2.x only)
`minor`	Update to latest minor version within current major	`1.2.3` → `1.3.0` (1.x.x only)
`major`	Update to latest major version (allows breaking changes)	`1.2.3` → `2.0.0` (any version)

Strategy Examples

# Current version: 1.2.3

# Update to latest (any version)
fastskill update --strategy latest
# Result: Could update to 2.5.1 (latest available)

# Update to patch only
fastskill update --strategy patch
# Result: Updates to 1.2.4 (or 1.2.5, 1.2.6, etc., but stays in 1.2.x)

# Update to minor only
fastskill update --strategy minor
# Result: Updates to 1.3.0 (or 1.4.0, 1.5.0, etc., but stays in 1.x.x)

# Update to major (allows breaking)
fastskill update --strategy major
# Result: Updates to 2.0.0 (or 3.0.0, etc.)

Behavior

The update command:

Locates Project File: Finds skill-project.toml at project root
Loads Dependencies: Reads [dependencies] section
Filters Skills: If skill_id is specified, only updates that skill
Resolves Updates: For each skill:
- If --version is set: Resolves specific version
- Otherwise: Resolves version based on strategy (latest/patch/minor/major)
- If --source is set: Uses specific source
- Otherwise: Uses source from dependency definition
Updates Skills: Downloads and installs updated versions into .claude/skills/
Updates Lockfile: Writes new versions to skills.lock

Update Modes

Update Mode (default)

Updates skills and modifies lockfile:

fastskill update

Output:

Updating skills...

Updating web-scraper...
✓ Updated web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 2.0.0
  Source: git
  Changes: Breaking changes in version 2.0.0

Updating data-processor...
✓ Updated data-processor from 2.1.0 to 2.2.0
  Source: registry

Updated skills.lock with 2 skill(s)

✓ Update complete
Run 'fastskill reindex' to update search index

Check Mode

Shows available updates without installing:

fastskill update --check

Output:

Checking for updates...

Skills with updates available:

web-scraper: 1.2.3 → 2.0.0 (major update)
  - Breaking changes in version 2.0.0
  - New features: X, Y, Z

data-processor: 2.1.0 → 2.2.0 (patch update)
  - Bug fixes and improvements

demo-skill: Already up to date (0.1.0)

Run 'fastskill update' to apply updates

Dry Run Mode

Shows what would be updated without making changes:

fastskill update --dry-run

Output:

Dry run: Showing what would be updated...

Would update web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 2.0.0
  Source: git
  Strategy: latest

Would update data-processor from 2.1.0 to 2.2.0
  Source: registry
  Strategy: latest

Would keep demo-skill at 0.1.0 (already up to date)

Dry run complete. No changes were made.

Output Examples

Update All Skills

$ fastskill update
Updating skills...

Updating web-scraper...
✓ Updated web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 2.0.0
  Source: https://github.com/user/web-scraper.git

Updating data-processor...
✓ Updated data-processor from 2.1.0 to 2.2.0
  Source: public-registry

demo-skill: Already up to date (0.1.0)

Updated skills.lock with 2 skill(s)

✓ Update complete

Update Single Skill

$ fastskill update web-scraper
Updating skills...

Updating web-scraper...
✓ Updated web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 2.0.0
  Source: https://github.com/user/web-scraper.git

Updated skills.lock with 1 skill(s)

✓ Update complete

Update with Strategy

$ fastskill update --strategy minor
Updating skills...

Updating web-scraper...
✓ Updated web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 1.3.0
  Strategy: minor (updates within 1.x.x only)

Updating data-processor...
✓ Updated data-processor from 2.1.0 to 2.2.0
  Strategy: minor (updates within 2.x.x only)

demo-skill: Already up to date (0.1.0)

Updated skills.lock with 2 skill(s)

✓ Update complete

Check for Updates

$ fastskill update --check
Checking for updates...

Skills with updates available:

web-scraper: 1.2.3 → 2.0.0 (major update available)
  Source: https://github.com/user/web-scraper.git

data-processor: 2.1.0 → 2.2.0 (patch update available)
  Source: public-registry

demo-skill: Already up to date (0.1.0)

Run 'fastskill update' to apply updates

Update Workflow

Standard Update Workflow

# 1. Check for updates
fastskill update --check

# 2. Review updates and decide
# (e.g., skip major updates if breaking changes are concerning)

# 3. Apply updates
fastskill update --strategy minor

# 4. Reindex for search
fastskill reindex

# 5. Commit lockfile
git add skills.lock
git commit -m "Update dependencies"

Controlled Production Update

# 1. Check what's available
fastskill update --check

# 2. Dry run to preview
fastskill update --strategy minor --dry-run

# 3. Apply selective updates
fastskill update web-scraper --version "1.3.0"
fastskill update data-processor --strategy patch

# 4. Reindex
fastskill reindex

Automated Update (CI/CD)

# Update all dependencies in CI/CD
fastskill update --strategy patch

# Or update only specific skills
fastskill update web-scraper data-processor

Version Constraint Examples

Update to Specific Version

# Update to exact version
fastskill update web-scraper --version "2.0.0"

# Output:
# ✓ Updated web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 2.0.0
#   Version constraint: 2.0.0

Update from Specific Source

# Update from a different repository
fastskill update web-scraper --source team-registry

# Useful when skill is available in multiple repositories

Combined with Strategy

# Update with strategy, then override version
fastskill update --strategy patch --version "1.2.5"

# Note: --version takes precedence over --strategy

Dependency Management

Update Order

Skills are updated alphabetically for deterministic output:

$ fastskill update
Updating skills...

Updating data-processor...
✓ Updated data-processor from 2.1.0 to 2.2.0

Updating demo-skill...
✓ Updated demo-skill from 0.1.0 to 0.2.0

Updating web-scraper...
✓ Updated web-scraper from 1.2.3 to 1.3.0

Updated skills.lock with 3 skill(s)

Update Failures

If one skill fails to update, the command continues with remaining skills:

$ fastskill update
Updating skills...

Updating web-scraper...
✗ Failed to update web-scraper: Network error

Updating data-processor...
✓ Updated data-processor from 2.1.0 to 2.2.0

demo-skill: Already up to date (0.1.0)

Updated skills.lock with 1 skill(s)

✓ Update complete with errors (1 failed)

Error Handling

Skill Not Found

$ fastskill update unknown-skill
error: Skill 'unknown-skill' not found in skill-project.toml dependencies

Solution: Check skill ID in skill-project.toml or add it first with fastskill add.

Version Not Found

$ fastskill update web-scraper --version "99.9.9"
error: Version '99.9.9' not found for skill 'web-scraper'

Solution: Check available versions with fastskill repos versions web-scraper.

No Updates Available

$ fastskill update
Updating skills...

web-scraper: Already up to date (1.2.3)
data-processor: Already up to date (2.1.0)
demo-skill: Already up to date (0.1.0)

✓ All skills are up to date

Network Errors

$ fastskill update
Updating skills...

Updating web-scraper...
✗ Failed to update web-scraper: Connection timeout

Updating data-processor...
✓ Updated data-processor from 2.1.0 to 2.2.0

✓ Update complete with errors (1 failed)

Solution: Check network connection and retry failed skills individually.

Best Practices

Check before updating

Use fastskill update --check to see what’s available before applying updates. Review changes, especially for major version bumps.

Use appropriate strategies

Use --strategy patch for bug fixes only
Use --strategy minor for new features without breaking changes
Use --strategy major when you’re ready for breaking changes
Use --strategy latest for bleeding edge (not recommended for production)

Reindex after updates

Always run fastskill reindex after updating skills to keep search index current.

Commit lockfile after updates

Commit skills.lock after successful updates to track version changes in version control.

Test updates in development first

Test skill updates in development environment before deploying to production, especially for major version updates.

​update Command

​Usage

​Options

​Examples

​Update All Skills

​Update Specific Skill

​Check for Updates

​Dry Run

​Update to Specific Version

​Update with Patch Strategy

​Update with Minor Strategy

​Update with Major Strategy

​Update Strategies

​Strategy Examples

​Behavior

​Update Modes

​Update Mode (default)

​Check Mode

​Dry Run Mode

​Output Examples

​Update All Skills

​Update Single Skill

​Update with Strategy

​Check for Updates

​Update Workflow

​Standard Update Workflow

​Controlled Production Update

​Automated Update (CI/CD)

​Version Constraint Examples

​Update to Specific Version

​Update from Specific Source

​Combined with Strategy

​Dependency Management

​Update Order

​Update Failures

​Error Handling

​Skill Not Found

​Version Not Found

​No Updates Available

​Network Errors

​Best Practices

​See Also

update Command

Usage

Options

Examples

Update All Skills

Update Specific Skill

Check for Updates

Dry Run

Update to Specific Version

Update with Patch Strategy

Update with Minor Strategy

Update with Major Strategy

Update Strategies

Strategy Examples

Behavior

Update Modes

Update Mode (default)

Check Mode

Dry Run Mode

Output Examples

Update All Skills

Update Single Skill

Update with Strategy

Check for Updates

Update Workflow

Standard Update Workflow

Controlled Production Update

Automated Update (CI/CD)

Version Constraint Examples

Update to Specific Version

Update from Specific Source

Combined with Strategy

Dependency Management

Update Order

Update Failures

Error Handling

Skill Not Found

Version Not Found

No Updates Available

Network Errors

Best Practices

See Also