1<?xml version='1.0'?> <!--*-nxml-*-->
2<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
3  "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">
4<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later -->
5
6<refentry id="systemd-sysupdate" conditional='ENABLE_SYSUPDATE'
7    xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">
8
9  <refentryinfo>
10    <title>systemd-sysupdate</title>
11    <productname>systemd</productname>
12  </refentryinfo>
13
14  <refmeta>
15    <refentrytitle>systemd-sysupdate</refentrytitle>
16    <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
17  </refmeta>
18
19  <refnamediv>
20    <refname>systemd-sysupdate</refname>
21    <refname>systemd-sysupdate.service</refname>
22    <refname>systemd-sysupdate.timer</refname>
23    <refname>systemd-sysupdate-reboot.service</refname>
24    <refname>systemd-sysupdate-reboot.timer</refname>
25    <refpurpose>Automatically Update OS or Other Resources</refpurpose>
26  </refnamediv>
27
28  <refsynopsisdiv>
29    <cmdsynopsis>
30      <command>systemd-sysupdate</command>
31      <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">OPTIONS</arg>
32    </cmdsynopsis>
33
34    <para><filename>systemd-sysupdate.service</filename></para>
35  </refsynopsisdiv>
36
37  <refsect1>
38    <title>Description</title>
39
40    <para><command>systemd-sysupdate</command> atomically updates the host OS, container images, portable
41    service images or other sources, based on the transfer configuration files described in
42    <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sysupdate.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
43
44    <para>This tool implements file, directory, or partition based update schemes, supporting multiple
45    parallel installed versions of specific resources in an A/B (or even: A/B/C, A/B/C/D/, …) style. A/B
46    updating means that when one version of a resource is currently being used, the next version can be
47    downloaded, unpacked, and prepared in an entirely separate location, independently of the first, and — once
48    complete — be activated, swapping the roles so that it becomes the used one and the previously used one
49    becomes the one that is replaced by the next update, and so on. The resources to update are defined
50    in transfer files, one for each resource to be updated. For example, resources that may be updated with
51    this tool could be: a root file system partition, a matching Verity partition plus one kernel image. The
52    combination of the three would be considered a complete OS update.</para>
53
54    <para>The tool updates partitions, files or directory trees always in whole, and operates with at least
55    two versions of each of these resources: the <emphasis>current</emphasis> version, plus the
56    <emphasis>next</emphasis> version: the one that is being updated to, and which is initially incomplete as
57    the downloaded data is written to it; plus optionally more versions. Once the download of a newer version
58    is complete it becomes the current version, releasing the version previously considered current for
59    deletion/replacement/updating.</para>
60
61    <para>When installing new versions the tool will directly download, decompress, unpack and write the new
62    version into the destination. This is done in a robust fashion so that an incomplete download can be
63    recognized on next invocation, and flushed out before a new attempt is initiated.</para>
64
65    <para>Note that when writing updates to a partition, the partition has to exist already, as
66    <command>systemd-sysupdate</command> will not automatically create new partitions. Use a tool such as
67    <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-repart</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry> to
68    automatically create additional partitions to be used with <command>systemd-sysupdate</command> on
69    boot.</para>
70
71    <para>The tool can both be used on the running OS, to update the OS in "online" state from within itself,
72    and on "offline" disk images, to update them from the outside based on transfer files
73    embedded in the disk images. For the latter, see <option>--image=</option> below. The latter is
74    particularly interesting to update container images or portable service images.</para>
75
76    <para>The <filename>systemd-sysupdate.service</filename> system service will automatically update the
77    host OS based on the installed transfer files. It is triggered in regular intervals via
78    <filename>systemd-sysupdate.timer</filename>. The <filename>systemd-sysupdate-reboot.service</filename>
79    will automatically reboot the system after a new version is installed. It is triggered via
80    <filename>systemd-sysupdate-reboot.timer</filename>. The two services are separate from each other as it
81    is typically advisable to download updates regularly while the system is up, but delay reboots until the
82    appropriate time (i.e. typically at night). The two sets of service/timer units may be enabled
83    separately.</para>
84
85    <para>For details about transfer files and examples see
86    <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sysupdate.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
87  </refsect1>
88
89  <refsect1>
90    <title>Command</title>
91
92    <para>The following commands are understood:</para>
93
94    <variablelist>
95      <varlistentry>
96        <term><option>list</option> <optional><replaceable>VERSION</replaceable></optional></term>
97
98        <listitem><para>If invoked without an argument, enumerates downloadable and installed versions, and
99        shows a summarizing table with the discovered versions and their properties, including whether
100        there's a newer candidate version to update to. If a version argument is specified, shows details
101        about the specific version, including the individual files that need to be transferred to acquire the
102        version.</para>
103
104        <para>If no command is explicitly specified this command is implied.</para></listitem>
105      </varlistentry>
106
107      <varlistentry>
108        <term><option>check-new</option></term>
109
110        <listitem><para>Checks if there's a new version available. This internally enumerates downloadable and
111        installed versions and returns exit status 0 if there's a new version to update to, non-zero
112        otherwise. If there is a new version to update to, its version identifier is written to standard
113        output.</para></listitem>
114      </varlistentry>
115
116      <varlistentry>
117        <term><option>update</option> <optional><replaceable>VERSION</replaceable></optional></term>
118
119        <listitem><para>Installs (updates to) the specified version, or if none is specified to the newest
120        version available. If the version is already installed or no newer version available, no operation is
121        executed.</para>
122
123        <para>If a new version to install/update to is found, old installed versions are deleted until at
124        least one new version can be installed, as configured via <varname>InstanceMax=</varname> in
125        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sysupdate.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>, or
126        via the available partition slots of the right type. This implicit operation can also be invoked
127        explicitly via the <command>vacuum</command> command described below.</para></listitem>
128      </varlistentry>
129
130      <varlistentry>
131        <term><option>vacuum</option></term>
132
133        <listitem><para>Deletes old installed versions until the limits configured via
134        <varname>InstanceMax=</varname> in
135        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sysupdate.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> are
136        met again. Normally, it should not be necessary to invoke this command explicitly, since it is
137        implicitly invoked whenever a new update is initiated.</para></listitem>
138      </varlistentry>
139
140      <varlistentry>
141        <term><option>pending</option></term>
142
143        <listitem><para>Checks whether a newer version of the OS is installed than the one currently
144        running. Returns zero if so, non-zero otherwise. This compares the newest installed version's
145        identifier with the OS image version as reported by the <varname>IMAGE_VERSION=</varname> field in
146        <filename>/etc/os-release</filename>. If the former is newer than the latter, an update was
147        apparently completed but not activated (i.e. rebooted into) yet.</para></listitem>
148      </varlistentry>
149
150      <varlistentry>
151        <term><option>reboot</option></term>
152
153        <listitem><para>Similar to the <option>pending</option> command but immediately reboots in case a
154        newer version of the OS has been installed than the one currently running. This operation can be done
155        implicitly together with the <command>update</command> command, after a completed update via the
156        <option>--reboot</option> switch, see below. This command will execute no operation (and return
157        success) if no update has been installed, and thus the system was not rebooted.</para></listitem>
158      </varlistentry>
159
160      <varlistentry>
161        <term><option>components</option></term>
162
163        <listitem><para>Lists components that can be updated. This enumerates the
164        <filename>/etc/sysupdate.*.d/</filename>, <filename>/run/sysupdate.*.d/</filename> and
165        <filename>/usr/lib/sysupdate.*.d/</filename> directories that contain transfer files. This command is
166        useful to list possible parameters for <option>--component=</option> (see below).</para></listitem>
167      </varlistentry>
168
169      <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="help" />
170      <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="version" />
171    </variablelist>
172  </refsect1>
173
174  <refsect1>
175    <title>Options</title>
176
177    <para>The following options are understood:</para>
178
179    <variablelist>
180
181      <varlistentry>
182        <term><option>--component=</option></term>
183        <term><option>-C</option></term>
184
185        <listitem><para>Selects the component to update. Takes a component name as argument. This has the
186        effect of slightly altering the search logic for transfer files. If this switch is not used, the
187        transfer files are loaded from <filename>/etc/sysupdate.d/*.conf</filename>,
188        <filename>/run/sysupdate.d/*.conf</filename> and <filename>/usr/lib/sysupdate.d/*.conf</filename>. If
189        this switch is used, the specified component name is used to alter the directories to look in to be
190        <filename>/etc/sysupdate.<replaceable>component</replaceable>.d/*.conf</filename>,
191        <filename>/run/sysupdate.<replaceable>component</replaceable>.d/*.conf</filename> and
192        <filename>/usr/lib/sysupdate.<replaceable>component</replaceable>.d/*.conf</filename>, each time with
193        the <filename><replaceable>component</replaceable></filename> string replaced with the specified
194        component name.</para>
195
196        <para>Use the <command>components</command> command to list available components to update. This enumerates
197        the directories matching this naming rule.</para>
198
199        <para>Components may be used to define a separate set of transfer files for different components of
200        the OS that shall be updated separately. Do not use this concept for resources that shall always be
201        updated together in a synchronous fashion. Simply define multiple transfer files within the same
202        <filename>sysupdate.d/</filename> directory for these cases.</para>
203
204        <para>This option may not be combined with <option>--definitions=</option>.</para></listitem>
205      </varlistentry>
206
207      <varlistentry>
208        <term><option>--definitions=</option></term>
209
210        <listitem><para>A path to a directory. If specified, the transfer <filename>*.conf</filename> files
211        are read from this directory instead of <filename>/usr/lib/sysupdate.d/*.conf</filename>,
212        <filename>/etc/sysupdate.d/*.conf</filename>, and <filename>/run/sysupdate.d/*.conf</filename>.</para>
213
214        <para>This option may not be combined with <option>--component=</option>.</para></listitem>
215      </varlistentry>
216
217      <varlistentry>
218        <term><option>--root=</option></term>
219
220        <listitem><para>Takes a path to a directory to use as root file system when searching for
221        <filename>sysupdate.d/*.conf</filename> files.</para></listitem>
222      </varlistentry>
223
224      <varlistentry>
225        <term><option>--image=</option></term>
226
227        <listitem><para>Takes a path to a disk image file or device to mount and use in a similar fashion to
228        <option>--root=</option>, see above. If this is used and partition resources are updated this is done
229        inside the specified disk image.</para></listitem>
230      </varlistentry>
231
232      <varlistentry>
233        <term><option>--instances-max=</option></term>
234        <term><option>-m</option></term>
235
236        <listitem><para>Takes a decimal integer greater than or equal to 2. Controls how many versions to
237        keep at any time. This option may also be configured inside the transfer files, via the
238        <varname>InstancesMax=</varname> setting, see
239        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sysupdate.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> for
240        details.</para></listitem>
241      </varlistentry>
242
243      <varlistentry>
244        <term><option>--sync=</option></term>
245
246        <listitem><para>Takes a boolean argument, defaults to yes. This may be used to specify whether the
247        newly updated resource versions shall be synchronized to disk when appropriate (i.e. after the
248        download is complete, before it is finalized, and again after finalization). This should not be
249        turned off, except to improve runtime performance in testing environments.</para></listitem>
250      </varlistentry>
251
252      <varlistentry>
253        <term><option>--verify=</option></term>
254
255        <listitem><para>Takes a boolean argument, defaults to yes. Controls whether to cryptographically
256        verify downloads. Do not turn this off, except in testing environments.</para></listitem>
257      </varlistentry>
258
259      <varlistentry>
260        <term><option>--reboot</option></term>
261
262        <listitem><para>When used in combination with the <command>update</command> command and a new version is
263        installed, automatically reboots the system immediately afterwards.</para></listitem>
264      </varlistentry>
265
266      <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="no-pager" />
267      <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="no-legend" />
268      <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="json" />
269    </variablelist>
270  </refsect1>
271
272  <refsect1>
273    <title>Exit status</title>
274
275    <para>On success, 0 is returned, a non-zero failure code otherwise.</para>
276  </refsect1>
277
278  <refsect1>
279    <title>See Also</title>
280    <para>
281      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
282      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sysupdate.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
283      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-repart</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>
284    </para>
285  </refsect1>
286
287</refentry>
288