Updates, pins, and rollback

cpak records the package origin, selected Git reference, and resolved OCI digest separately. A package can follow a maintained branch or stay fixed to an exact revision.

This page covers application packages. Use cpak runtime updates to update the cpak binary.

Source selection

Install a moving branch:

cpak install --branch main github.com/example/app

Install a named release:

cpak install --release v2.0.1 github.com/example/app

Pin an immutable commit:

cpak install --commit 0123456789abcdef github.com/example/app

Commit installations report pinned during update and do not move. Branch and release behavior depends on the repository host and selected reference.

Update one or all packages

cpak update github.com/example/app
cpak update
cpak update --json

Each result records the origin, old version, new version, source type, status, permission changes, permission additions, and failure reason when present.

Permission review

An interactive update shows packages that request new permissions and asks once before continuing. The non-interactive mode refuses such updates:

cpak update --non-interactive

Use this mode for unattended jobs. A permission denial is a failed update result, and the previous package remains active.

Atomic switch

cpak stages the new manifest, OCI layers, runtime sources, dependencies, desktop exports, and database record. It switches the active version only after staging succeeds. Recovery code handles transactions that were interrupted before commit.

If the image digest is unchanged but the manifest changed, cpak refreshes package metadata and effective permissions. Running an update for a current release also repairs its exported commands, desktop entries, icons, and default-application aliases.

Roll back

cpak rollback github.com/example/app

Rollback restores the previous installed version and its manifest-derived runtime view. Writable application state remains separate from immutable package layers. Applications that migrate their own data may still require application-specific recovery.

Lock files

cpak lock resolves a local package and dependencies to immutable content. It is meant for package development and CI, where following a moved tag during a test would make the result ambiguous.

cpak lock cpak.json
cpak test cpak.json --lock cpak.lock.json

Regenerate the lock file only when the selected package inputs are intentionally updated.