How to Update Your OpenSRE Installation: A Complete Guide

Run opensre update to check for the latest release and upgrade automatically, or use opensre update -y for non-interactive installations.

OpenSRE includes a built-in update mechanism that fetches the latest release from GitHub and upgrades your CLI automatically. Whether you installed via pip, Homebrew, or a binary distribution, you can update your OpenSRE installation using the integrated opensre update command.

Understanding the OpenSRE Update Mechanism

The update system is implemented across several core modules that handle version detection, release fetching, and installation.

How the Update Command Works

The opensre update sub-command is declared in app/cli/commands/general.py (lines 45-58). When invoked, it calls the run_update function from app/cli/update.py (lines 95-102), which orchestrates the entire upgrade process.

The workflow follows these steps:

1. Detect current version via app.version.get_version() (lines 11-17), which returns the installed version with a fallback default of 2026.4.7.
2. Fetch latest release from the GitHub API at https://api.github.com/repos/Tracer-Cloud/opensre/releases/latest.
3. Compare versions using packaging.version.Version in _is_update_available() (lines 40-48).
4. Execute upgrade by downloading and running the official install.sh or install.ps1 script.

Version Detection and Comparison

The _fetch_latest_version() function (lines 19-38) handles API communication, while _is_update_available() performs semantic version comparison. If the remote version exceeds the local version, the system prepares for upgrade.

Updating OpenSRE Step by Step

Check for Available Updates

Before installing, verify whether a newer version exists using the check-only mode:

opensre update --check

This command reports the current and latest versions without modifying your installation. It returns exit code 1 if an update is available, making it ideal for automated monitoring scripts.

Interactive Update Process

For a guided upgrade experience, run the update command without flags:

opensre update

The system displays the current version (e.g., 2026.4.5) and the latest available version (e.g., 2026.5.2), then prompts for confirmation using questionary.confirm (lines 23-28). Upon approval, it downloads the appropriate installation script and upgrades your OpenSRE installation.

Automated Update for CI/CD Pipelines

For non-interactive environments, use the auto-confirm flag:

opensre update -y

Or set the environment variable to force a specific version:

OPENSRE_VERSION=2026.5.0 opensre update -y

To completely disable update checks (useful in CI), set:

export OPENSRE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1

Update Methods for Different Installation Types

Binary and Package Manager Installations

For binary, pip, or Homebrew installations, the _upgrade_via_install_script() function (lines 74-92) downloads the official install.sh (Linux/macOS) or install.ps1 (Windows) and executes it with the target version specified via the OPENSRE_VERSION environment variable.

Editable Development Installations

If you installed OpenSRE in editable mode (pip install -e .), the updater detects this configuration and warns that the upgrade will replace your editable source with a released build (lines 20-22). This protects development environments from accidental overwrites.

Environment Variables and Configuration

Control the update behavior using these environment variables:

• OPENSRE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1 – Skips the network request to GitHub (useful for air-gapped or CI environments).
• OPENSRE_VERSION – Forces installation of a specific version rather than the latest.

Summary

• OpenSRE provides a built-in opensre update command for seamless upgrades.
• The update mechanism checks GitHub releases, compares versions using semantic versioning, and executes the official install script.
• Use opensre update --check to verify available updates without installing.
• Use opensre update -y for automated, non-interactive upgrades.
• Set OPENSRE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1 to disable update checks in CI environments.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check if an OpenSRE update is available without installing it?

Run opensre update --check. This command compares your current version against the latest GitHub release and reports the status without modifying your installation. It returns exit code 1 if a newer version exists, making it suitable for automation scripts.

Can I update OpenSRE in a non-interactive environment?

Yes. Use the -y or --yes flag with opensre update -y to bypass the confirmation prompt. For CI pipelines, you can also set OPENSRE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1 to skip network requests entirely, or use OPENSRE_VERSION to pin a specific version.

What happens if I run opensre update on an editable installation?

The updater detects editable installations (installed via pip install -e .) and displays a warning. Since the update process replaces the source with a released build, it will overwrite your development environment. You should manually pull the latest source code instead of using the update command in this scenario.

How does OpenSRE determine which version is the latest?

The update mechanism queries the GitHub Releases API at https://api.github.com/repos/Tracer-Cloud/opensre/releases/latest via the _fetch_latest_version() function in app/cli/update.py. It then uses packaging.version.Version in _is_update_available() to perform semantic version comparison against the locally installed version detected by app.version.get_version().

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}