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FAQ

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 08:49:31 +0000

What is Updatecli?

A command line tool that applies update strategies described in a manifest. The manifest declares what to update, where, and under which conditions; Updatecli reads it and does the work.

It needs no server and no database (the manifest and the files it updates are the only state). The "Introduction" page covers the model in full.

Troubleshooting

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0200

Description

Messages are grouped by theme and quoted as Updatecli prints them, so searching this page for the line in your log should land on the right entry.

Before anything else, two things resolve most of what follows:

--debug: Raises the log level. Several decisions (which token was used, which engine was selected, why a target was skipped) are logged at debug level only.
updatecli pipeline diff: Parses and validates the whole manifest and reports what would change without writing anything. Every validation error on this page surfaces from a diff, so there is no need to risk an apply to find them.

Note	Debug mode also switches itself on when Updatecli runs inside a CI system that reports being in debug mode. When it does, it says so: `CI pipeline detected in Debug Mode - hence enabling debug mode`. Jenkins, GitLab CI, and GitHub Actions are detected, see "Environment variables".

Support

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 08:49:15 +0000

Something failing?

Most problems have a known answer. Start here:

Troubleshooting explains the error messages Updatecli prints, from authentication to git push and manifest validation.
The FAQ covers the common questions, such as why a run seems to hang or why no pull request was opened.
Docker Hub rate limit explains the most frequent failure in CI.
Rerun with --debug. Several decisions, such as which token was used or why a target was skipped, are only logged at debug level.

Ask a question

GitHub Discussions for questions, ideas, and anything others might search for later.
Matrix for a quick chat. The same room is also reachable through Gitter.

Please be respectful and follow the Code of Conduct.

Docker Hub rate limit

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 17:00:00 +0000

Description

Updatecli never downloads an image, yet it still consumes Docker Hub pull quota. This page explains why, and what to do about it.

The same mechanics apply to any registry that meters manifest requests; the numbers below are Docker Hub’s.

Environment variables

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0200

Description

Updatecli reads configuration from three places, in decreasing priority: the manifest, command line flags, and the environment. This page covers the last one.

Environment variables exist mostly so credentials never have to be written into a manifest. Anything a manifest can set is documented on the plugin’s own page; what follows is only what has no home in a manifest, or what changes a default.

Tip	Run with `--debug` to see which variable was actually used. Credential lookups log the variable they picked, for example `using GitHub token from environment variable UPDATECLI_GITHUB_TOKEN`.

Experimental features

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0200

Description

--experimental is a single global flag that gates several unrelated features. It is available on every subcommand, and it announces itself:

Experimental Mode Enabled

Warning

Experimental features can change or disappear without going through the deprecation cycle described on the "Deprecations" page. A pipeline that depends on one may need adjusting on any release, not only on a major one.

Deprecations

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 13:37:00 +0000

Description

Deprecated settings still work. Updatecli accepts the old form, logs a warning, and translates it to the new one, so a manifest keeps running between releases. The warning is the notice: nothing on this page breaks a pipeline today, and everything on it goes away eventually.

How long a deprecation lasts. COMPATIBILITY.md sets the rule: an old form is only ever dropped in a major release. No patch or minor release removes anything on this page, so a manifest that runs today goes on running until the next major ships. The Since column is there to tell you how long a form has been on notice, not to start a clock.

How each entry behaves. Not all of them are simple renames, and the exceptions are easy to miss while skimming. Every entry in Deprecations by release carries one or more of these markers:

translated - Updatecli rewrites the old form to the new one on every run, so the pipeline behaves as though the manifest had already been migrated.
warned - accepted exactly as written, nothing is rewritten, so migrating is a manual edit.
ignored - the setting has no effect at all beyond the warning. commitmessage.title is the only one, see Commit messages.
error - already refused outright under some setting or combination. query becomes a hard error as soon as the engine moves to dasel/v2 or later, see Dasel engines.

Tip

Three commands answer "does any of this apply to me?":

updatecli pipeline diff parses and validates the whole manifest without applying anything, so every deprecation warning surfaces.
updatecli manifest validate --experimental --strict reports the deprecated keywords on their own and fails instead of only warning, which makes it the one to run in CI. It is available from v0.120.0 and is experimental, so it exits unless --experimental is set, see Experimental features.
updatecli manifest upgrade prints the translated manifest, and writes it back to the file with -i. That migrates every translated entry in one pass. It cannot help with the warned, ignored, and error entries, which need a real edit.

Contributing

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 08:49:31 +0000

Description

Updatecli exists because the alternative was rewriting almost the same update script over and over. It is open to contributions, and plenty of them involve no Go at all.

Note	This page is the canonical contributor guide, verified against Updatecli `v0.119.0`. The `CONTRIBUTING.adoc` file in the repository covers building and testing locally and points here for everything else. If the two disagree, the Go source decides, see The source is the source of truth.

Please read the Code of Conduct before taking part.