update

name	update
description	Update NanoClaw from upstream. Fetches latest changes, merges with your customizations and skills, runs migrations. Triggers on "update", "pull upstream", "sync with upstream", "get latest changes".

Update NanoClaw

Pull upstream changes and merge them with the user's installation, preserving skills and customizations. Scripts live in .claude/skills/update/scripts/.

Principle: Handle everything automatically. Only pause for user confirmation before applying changes, or when merge conflicts need human judgment.

UX Note: Use AskUserQuestion for all user-facing questions.

1. Pre-flight

Check that the skills system is initialized:

test -d .nanoclaw && echo "INITIALIZED" || echo "NOT_INITIALIZED"

If NOT_INITIALIZED: Run initSkillsSystem() first:

npx tsx -e "import { initNanoclawDir } from './skills-engine/init.js'; initNanoclawDir();"

Check for uncommitted git changes:

git status --porcelain

If there are uncommitted changes: Warn the user: "You have uncommitted changes. It's recommended to commit or stash them before updating. Continue anyway?" Use AskUserQuestion with options: "Continue anyway", "Abort (I'll commit first)". If they abort, stop here.

2. Fetch upstream

Run the fetch script:

./.claude/skills/update/scripts/fetch-upstream.sh

Parse the structured status block between <<< STATUS and STATUS >>> markers. Extract:

• TEMP_DIR — path to extracted upstream files
• REMOTE — which git remote was used
• CURRENT_VERSION — version from local package.json
• NEW_VERSION — version from upstream package.json
• STATUS — "success" or "error"

If STATUS=error: Show the error output and stop.

If CURRENT_VERSION equals NEW_VERSION: Tell the user they're already up to date. Ask if they want to force the update anyway (there may be non-version-bumped changes). If no, clean up the temp dir and stop.

3. Preview

Run the preview to show what will change:

npx tsx scripts/update-core.ts --json --preview-only <TEMP_DIR>

This outputs JSON with: currentVersion, newVersion, filesChanged, filesDeleted, conflictRisk, customPatchesAtRisk.

Present to the user:

• "Updating from {currentVersion} to {newVersion}"
• "{N} files will be changed" — list them if <= 20, otherwise summarize
• If conflictRisk is non-empty: "These files have skill modifications and may conflict: {list}"
• If customPatchesAtRisk is non-empty: "These custom patches may need re-application: {list}"
• If filesDeleted is non-empty: "{N} files will be removed"

4. Confirm

Use AskUserQuestion: "Apply this update?" with options:

• "Yes, apply update"
• "No, cancel"

If cancelled, clean up the temp dir (rm -rf <TEMP_DIR>) and stop.

5. Apply

Run the update:

npx tsx scripts/update-core.ts --json <TEMP_DIR>

Parse the JSON output. The result has: success, previousVersion, newVersion, mergeConflicts, backupPending, customPatchFailures, skillReapplyResults, error.

If success=true with no issues: Continue to step 7.

If customPatchFailures exist: Warn the user which custom patches failed to re-apply. These may need manual attention after the update.

If skillReapplyResults has false entries: Warn the user which skill tests failed after re-application.

6. Handle conflicts

If backupPending=true: There are unresolved merge conflicts.

For each file in mergeConflicts:

1. Read the file — it contains conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>)
2. Check if there's an intent file for this path in any applied skill (e.g., .claude/skills/<skill>/modify/<path>.intent.md)
3. Use the intent file and your understanding of the codebase to resolve the conflict
4. Write the resolved file

After resolving all conflicts:

npx tsx scripts/post-update.ts

This clears the backup, confirming the resolution.

If you cannot confidently resolve a conflict: Show the user the conflicting sections and ask them to choose or provide guidance.

7. Run migrations

Run migrations between the old and new versions:

npx tsx scripts/run-migrations.ts <CURRENT_VERSION> <NEW_VERSION> <TEMP_DIR>

Parse the JSON output. It contains: migrationsRun (count), results (array of {version, success, error?}).

If any migration fails: Show the error to the user. The update itself is already applied — the migration failure needs manual attention.

If no migrations found: This is normal (most updates won't have migrations). Continue silently.

8. Verify

Run build and tests:

npm run build && npm test

If build fails: Show the error. Common causes:

• Type errors from merged files — read the error, fix the file, retry
• Missing dependencies — run npm install first, retry

If tests fail: Show which tests failed. Try to diagnose and fix. If you can't fix automatically, report to the user.

If both pass: Report success.

9. Cleanup

Remove the temp directory:

rm -rf <TEMP_DIR>

Report final status:

• "Updated from {previousVersion} to {newVersion}"
• Number of files changed
• Any warnings (failed custom patches, failed skill tests, migration issues)
• Build and test status

Troubleshooting

No upstream remote: The fetch script auto-adds upstream pointing to https://github.com/qwibitai/nanoclaw.git. If the user forked from a different URL, they should set the remote manually: git remote add upstream <url>.

Merge conflicts in many files: Consider whether the user has heavily customized core files. Suggest using the skills system for modifications instead of direct edits, as skills survive updates better.

Build fails after update: Check if package.json dependencies changed. Run npm install to pick up new dependencies.

Rollback: If something goes wrong after applying but before cleanup, the backup is still in .nanoclaw/backup/. Run:

npx tsx -e "import { restoreBackup, clearBackup } from './skills-engine/backup.js'; restoreBackup(); clearBackup();"