Rote Update

rote-update — keep rote current

All rote-<name> references in this document — including every name in the Handoff Contract — are companion skills, never CLI commands (rote-shell is not rote shell). Invoke them through the runtime's skill mechanism; only literal rote … commands run in a terminal.

Two layers most people forget to update together: the binary and the installed skill files. This skill does both. Determine facts from live commands; if rote isn't on PATH, resolve it via the narrow probe (check $HOME/.local/bin/rote then $HOME/.cargo/bin/rote — never a deep home-directory search). Clear command access if the current environment requires it, and run one command at a time, sequentially — never parallel. Use the base rote companion skill only when a caller needs the full workflow graph.

Handoff Contract

• Use when: the user wants to check, update, upgrade, or refresh rote, including the binary and the bundled skill distribution.
• Preconditions: rote is runnable or the install/path/package-manager blocker can be stated; the user accepts that long-lived agent sessions may need restart after skill refresh.
• Owns: update availability check, self-update invocation, version confirmation, bundled skill refresh, provider-specific skill refresh guidance, and restart/manual-refresh advice.
• Hands off to: rote-setup if update reveals a broken or incomplete install; rote after the refreshed binary/skills are ready for normal use.
• Returns to: the caller with old/new version when known, update result, skill refresh command run, provider target, restart requirement, and any package-manager/manual-update blocker.
• Stop when: update/check completes, self-update defers to another installer, skill refresh finishes, or restart/manual action is required before active skills can reload.
• Completion signal: version and skill-refresh status reported from live commands, plus explicit restart or next-skill guidance.

1. Check first (optional)

rote self-update --check

Shows whether a newer version is available without installing. If already current, say so and skip to step 3 (the skills can still drift).

2. Update the binary

rote self-update --yes

--yes skips the confirmation prompt, which is safer for non-interactive command runners. After it completes, confirm:

rote --version

3. Refresh the shipped skills

rote ships the skills as part of its own distribution. After the binary update, refresh the installed skill copy through rote instead of assuming an external installer:

rote install skill --package '*' --force

If the user installed skills for a specific provider, preserve that provider choice:

rote install skill --provider <provider> --package '*' --force

Use rote install skill --help when the supported provider names are unclear. If the current agent session cached an older skill copy, tell the user to restart that session so the refreshed files are reloaded.

Notes

• rote self-update updates the rote binary in place (typically ~/.local/bin/rote).
• If self-update reports the binary was installed via a package manager (brew) or an editor extension, follow its guidance — it may defer to that installer rather than self-replacing.
• The binary and installed skill files can drift when a long-lived session has an older copy loaded; refresh the installed skills after updating the binary.

Closing line + related skills

Closing line (only after a clean update of both layers): one dry one-liner keyed to the version just landed on — still a local binary hitting providers directly, no middleman proxy to keep paying as it ages. Skip it if self-update errored or deferred to a package manager. e.g. "Updated to {version} — your adapters still hit the real APIs directly, no proxy clipping a fee per call. Carry on."

Related setup skills:

• First-run: rote-setup · New adapter: rote-adapter-create · Tune one: rote-adapter-config