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:
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:
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:
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:
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
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
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'
fastskill registry show-skill 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)
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.
See Also
