RFC: Should we add a `nanobot update` command?

[chengyongru]

Summary

Propose adding a nanobot update CLI command that lets users check for and apply updates to nanobot in one step, instead of manually running pip install --upgrade nanobot-ai (or the uv equivalent).

Motivation

Nanobot is moving fast — recent weeks have seen multiple patch releases (v0.1.5, v0.1.5.post1, v0.1.5.post2). Users currently need to:

1. Remember which package manager they used to install (pip, uv, pipx, etc.)
2. Run the correct upgrade command manually
3. Restart nanobot

This is friction we can remove. A built-in nanobot update command would:

• Lower the barrier for less technical users who just want to stay current
• Detect the install method automatically (pip, uv, pipx, Homebrew, etc.)
• Show changelog highlights so users know what changed
• Optionally restart the running instance after upgrade

Open Questions

This is an RFC — we want community input before committing to an implementation. Key questions:

1. Scope: self-update only, or also dependencies?

   • Should nanobot update only upgrade the nanobot-ai package, or also pip install --upgrade its dependencies?

2. Install method detection

   • How reliable can we detect whether the user installed via pip, uv, pipx, Homebrew, Docker, or from source?
   • Is falling back to "we couldn't detect your install method" acceptable?

3. Should it support --check / --dry-run?

   • nanobot update --check would just report if a new version is available without upgrading
   • nanobot update --dry-run would show what would happen

4. Changelog / release notes display

   • Should we fetch and display the latest release notes from GitHub?
   • Or just show a link to the releases page?

5. Auto-restart behavior

   • If nanobot is running as a gateway/service, should update restart it automatically?
   • Or just print a reminder to restart manually?

6. Should we add auto-update-check on startup?

   • Like Homebrew does: on nanobot gateway or nanobot agent, print a notice like "A new version (v0.1.6) is available. Run nanobot update to upgrade."
   • This would be a separate feature but worth discussing together.

Proposed Interface (Draft)

$ nanobot update

  Checking for updates...

  Current version:  v0.1.5.post2
  Latest version:   v0.1.6

  Changes since v0.1.5.post2:
    - feat: support for model presets
    - fix: prevent duplicate sub-agent responses
    - fix: handle Windows PermissionError on directory fsync

  Upgrade via pip? [Y/n]: y

  Successfully upgraded to nanobot-ai v0.1.6

  Restart nanobot to apply the update.

$ nanobot update --check

  Current version:  v0.1.5.post2
  Latest version:   v0.1.6

  A new version is available. Run `nanobot update` to upgrade.

Alternatives Considered

• Do nothing — users manage updates themselves. Simple but ignores the UX improvement.
• Document the upgrade command in nanobot status output — lightweight alternative, just show "To update: pip install --upgrade nanobot-ai" in nanobot status.

Related Component

CLI

Your Input Wanted

Please share your thoughts:

• Would you find this useful?
• Which package manager did you install nanobot with?
• Any concerns about a self-updating CLI tool?
• Would you prefer a simpler approach (e.g., just a version-check notice on startup)?

[Shudh]

Thanks for planning this and it will really give everyone a managed path to update..and also see the new feature drops instantly.. this definitely adds value

Would you find this useful?
Yes ✋
Which package manager did you install nanobot with?
uv..
Any concerns about a self-updating CLI tool?
May be a toggle to auto update or manual update
Would you prefer a simpler approach (e.g., just a version-check notice on startup)?
Version check notice also works..but the update is nice 🙂
Thanks for all the great work..

[rikwade]

For users who are unlikely to make any changes to the code or nanobot core environment, this makes a lot of sense.
Would you find this useful?: Personally no because I'm making code modifications, but it would be useful for a "vanilla" install if I run a non-dev instance.

Which package manager did you install nanobot with?: mine is a git pull.

Any concerns about a self-updating CLI tool?: only blindly or automatically pulling not only nanobot but a chain of dependencies. It would be good to have a setting for "early adopter", "daily driver", and "proven stable", so that people can choose how soon after initial availability they are prompted (or automatically) update so that they can avoid instability or potential supply-chain issues.

Would you prefer a simpler approach (e.g., just a version-check notice on startup)?: that is also fine and if there's a "click here to update" that'll work just fine.

[Aisht669]

这个想法挺不错的，但我觉得做成独立skills会合适得多。让 Nanobot 自动检测自身新版本，一旦发现更新，就可以通过频道询问用户是否升级。用户确认更新后，直接调用对应的更新skills就行。
这种方案整体会方便很多。会用 CLI 命令的用户，本身敲升级指令完全不是问题；而不会用命令行的用户，就算内置了更新功能，实际用处也不大。
说实话，版本更新这个需求，本来就更适合封装成技能来实现。纯属个人看法哈～

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This idea is pretty cool, but I think it works way better as a standalone skill.Let Nanobot automatically check for new version updates on its own. Once it finds a newer release, it pops up a prompt to ask if you wanna upgrade. If you say yes, it just calls the update skill directly.
This method’s way more handy overall.For users who know how to use CLI commands, a dedicated upgrade command is never a problem at all. And for folks who don’t use CLI much, a built-in auto-update feature doesn’t really add much value anyway.
Honestly, version updating is clearly a feature that fits perfectly as a skill module. Just my personal take~

[chengyongru]

@Aisht669 good idea