The self-update command

dispat self-update replaces the running binary with the latest stable release of dispat itself. It needs no config file and no git repository: it is about the binary, not about the repository it is standing in.

The binary for the running platform is downloaded from the GitHub release, checked against the size and checksum the release published, run once to prove it works, and only then moved into place. The binary it replaces is kept beside it as <name>.backup and removed by a later run a week on. Nothing moves until every check has passed, so a failed update leaves the working binary exactly where it was.

$ dispat self-update --check
current   dispat 1.0.0 (darwin_arm64)
available dispat 1.1.0 (services/dispat/v1.1.0)

install it with: dispat self-update

--check changes nothing and exits 1 when there is something to install, which makes it a gate. --prerelease considers the release candidates too, --release <version> installs one named version including a downgrade, and --force installs the selection even when it is not newer. Nothing downgrades on its own: a release older than the running binary is reported as "already the latest" unless one of those two flags says otherwise.

--rollback restores the kept binary and downloads nothing. It rotates rather than moves, so the binary it replaces becomes the new backup and a second --rollback returns.

A binary installed with go install is not replaced, since the next go install would undo it, and --check prints the go install command that does update it. A local build (dev) is refused for the same reason.

Every other command reports a newer stable release on its way out, without ever waiting for the answer. Set updateCheck to false, or DISPAT_UPDATE_CHECK=0 in the environment, to switch that off. The full guide is Updating dispat.

Flags

Beside the global flags:

Flag	Default	Effect
--check		compute and self-update: report only, change nothing, and exit 1 when there is something to do. For self-update, a release it would install.
--force		self-update only: install the selected release even when it is not newer, which repairs a damaged binary and leaves a prerelease line.
--prerelease		self-update only: consider prereleases too. Ordering still decides, so a released 1.2.0 still wins over 1.2.0-rc.1.
--release		self-update only: install exactly this version, downgrades included. A leading v is fine.
--rollback		self-update only: restore the binary the last update replaced, downloading nothing. Refuses beside the flags that select a release; combines with --check.
--owner, --repo, --api-url, --token-env	from config	self-update: point it at another repository or a GitHub Enterprise endpoint instead of dispat's own releases.