GoClaw Update Tool

Check for GoClaw updates and install them from within the agent.

Overview

The goclaw_update tool allows the agent to check for new GoClaw releases and perform self-updates. This enables hands-free updates via natural language:

User: "Check if there's a new version of goclaw"
Agent: [calls goclaw_update with action='check']

User: "Update yourself to the latest version"
Agent: [calls goclaw_update with action='update']

Sandbox Exemption

This tool runs outside the agent sandbox. It has privileged access to:

• Replace the running GoClaw binary
• Restart the GoClaw process
• Access system paths

This is necessary because the update process requires writing to the binary location and restarting the process — operations that would be blocked by the sandbox.

Actions

check

Check if a newer version is available without installing.

{
  "action": "check"
}

Response:

Current version: 0.1.0
Latest stable version: 0.2.0

A new version is available!

Changelog:
----------
- Added session supervision
- Fixed memory leak in compaction
- Improved error messages

To install this update, call goclaw_update with action='update'.

update

Download and install the latest version.

{
  "action": "update"
}

Response:

Current version: 0.1.0
Latest stable version: 0.2.0

A new version is available!

Downloading update...
Download complete. Checksum verified.
Installing update...
Update installed! GoClaw will restart.

After successful installation, GoClaw restarts automatically. The agent session continues with the new version.

Parameters

Channels

Example — check beta channel:

{
  "action": "check",
  "channel": "beta"
}

Force Reinstall

Use force: true to reinstall the current version. Useful for repairing corrupted installations.

{
  "action": "update",
  "force": true
}

System-Managed Installations

If GoClaw is installed in a system location (/usr/bin/, /usr/local/bin/, /opt/), self-update is disabled to prevent conflicts with package managers.

The tool will return:

GoClaw is installed at a system-managed location (/usr/bin/goclaw).

Self-update is disabled to prevent conflicts with the package manager.

To update, use the system package manager or download the latest .deb from:
https://github.com/roelfdiedericks/goclaw/releases/latest

See Updating for instructions on updating .deb installations.

Update Process

When action='update' is called:

1. Check — Query GitHub API for latest release
2. Compare — Compare versions to determine if update needed
3. Download — Fetch the release archive for current OS/architecture
4. Verify — Check SHA256 checksum against checksums.txt
5. Extract — Unpack the goclaw binary from the archive
6. Replace — Atomically replace the current binary
7. Restart — Exec the new binary (seamless process replacement)

The update is atomic — if any step fails, the original binary is preserved.

Restart Behavior

The restart method depends on how GoClaw was started:

Examples

Check for updates:

User: "Is there a new version of goclaw available?"

Update to latest stable:

User: "Update goclaw to the latest version"

Try beta features:

User: "Update goclaw to the latest beta"

Repair installation:

User: "Reinstall the current version of goclaw"

Error Handling

See Also

• Updating — Full update guide including CLI options
• Deployment — Production deployment
• Tools — Tool overview