A smart, efficient system update plugin for oh-my-zsh that handles APT packages, Conda environments, pip installations, and Flatpak applications with intelligent caching to minimize update times.
- 🚀 Smart Caching: Skips unnecessary updates based on configurable time thresholds
- 📦 Multi-Package Manager Support: Updates APT, Conda, pip, and Flatpak applications
- 🐍 Multi-Environment Support: Updates pip across all conda environments automatically
- 🎛️ Flexible Options: Granular control over what gets updated
- 🎨 Beautiful Output: Color-coded status messages and progress indicators
- 🛡️ Safe Defaults: Handles configuration prompts and errors gracefully
- 🔧 Modular Architecture: Clean separation of package managers for easy maintenance
-
Clone to oh-my-zsh custom plugins directory:
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/zsh-system-update.git ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-system-update -
Add to your plugins list in
~/.zshrc:plugins=(... zsh-system-update)
-
Reload your shell:
source ~/.zshrc
# Full system update
zsh-system-update
# Silent mode
zsh-system-update --quiet
# Verbose mode with detailed output
zsh-system-update --verbose
# Preview what would run
zsh-system-update --dry-runThe plugin uses intelligent time-based caching to avoid unnecessary work:
- APT updates: Cached for 1 hour (repositories don't change frequently)
- Conda updates: Cached for 1 week (larger operations, less frequent updates)
- Flatpak updates: Cached for 2 hours (similar to APT, moderate frequency updates)
- Pip updates: Cached for 1 week (checked per environment, less frequent updates)
The plugin provides intelligent caching to avoid redundant operations:
| Scenario | Behavior | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| First run | All managers execute normally | Full system coverage |
| Within cache window | Cached managers skip operations | Reduced redundant work |
| Force updates | All managers execute regardless of cache | Override when needed |
Primary advantages: Comprehensive system coverage, safe configuration handling, unified interface for multiple package managers, and automatic multi-environment support rather than raw performance gains.
You can manage caches directly without running updates:
# View cache status for all managers
zsh-system-update --list-cache
# Clear specific manager caches to force fresh updates
zsh-system-update --clear-cache apt conda
# Clear all caches at once
zsh-system-update --clear-all-cache-h, --help- Show help message-q, --quiet- Suppress most output-v, --verbose- Show detailed output including commands--dry-run- Preview what would be executed without running
--apt-only- Only run APT system package updates--conda-only- Only run Conda and pip environment updates--flatpak-only- Only run Flatpak application updates--skip-apt- Skip APT system updates--skip-conda- Skip Conda updates--skip-pip- Skip pip updates--skip-flatpak- Skip Flatpak updates
--force-apt-update- Force APT update even if recently updated--force-conda-update- Force Conda update even if recently updated--force-flatpak-update- Force Flatpak update even if recently updated--clear-cache <manager(s)>- Clear cache for specific manager(s) (apt, conda, pip, flatpak)--clear-all-cache- Clear all package manager caches--list-cache- List all cache entries with timestamps
# Daily maintenance (respects all caching)
zsh-system-update
# Weekly deep clean (force everything)
zsh-system-update --force-apt-update --force-conda-update
# System packages only
zsh-system-update --apt-only
# Python environments only
zsh-system-update --conda-only
# Flatpak applications only
zsh-system-update --flatpak-only
# Check what needs updating
zsh-system-update --dry-run --verbose
# Silent background update
zsh-system-update --quiet
# Cache management examples
zsh-system-update --list-cache # Show cache status
zsh-system-update --clear-cache apt # Clear APT cache only
zsh-system-update --clear-cache apt conda # Clear APT and Conda caches
zsh-system-update --clear-all-cache # Clear all caches- Updates package lists from repositories
- Upgrades installed packages with safety configurations
- Removes unnecessary packages (
autoremove --purge) - Cleans package cache (
autoclean)
- Updates conda itself and mamba
- Cleans conda package cache
- Uses absolute paths to avoid conflicts
- Updates pip in base environment
- Updates pip in all conda environments
- Cleans pip cache after all updates
- Updates application repositories (
appstream) - Updates all installed Flatpak applications
- Removes unused runtimes and dependencies
- Cleans Flatpak cache
- Linux (tested on Linux Mint/Ubuntu)
- zsh shell with oh-my-zsh
- sudo access for system package updates
The plugin checks for required commands automatically:
apt-get(system packages) - optional, skipped if not availableconda(conda environment management) - optional, auto-detected from multiple locationspython(pip updates) - required for pip functionalityflatpak(Flatpak applications) - optional, skipped if not available- Standard Unix utilities (
basename,wc,grep,stat,find)
Configure cache thresholds using environment variables in your ~/.zshrc:
# Cache thresholds (in seconds)
export ZSU_CACHE_THRESHOLD_APT=3600 # APT: 1 hour (default)
export ZSU_CACHE_THRESHOLD_CONDA=604800 # Conda: 1 week (default)
export ZSU_CACHE_THRESHOLD_FLATPAK=7200 # Flatpak: 2 hours (default)
export ZSU_CACHE_THRESHOLD_PIP=604800 # Pip: 1 week (default)
# Example: More frequent APT updates
export ZSU_CACHE_THRESHOLD_APT=1800 # Check every 30 minutesThe unified cache system provides consistent behavior across all package managers with easily configurable thresholds.
The plugin automatically detects conda installations from multiple sources:
- Commands in PATH (
condacommand,CONDA_EXEenvironment variable) - Common installation locations (
~/miniconda3/,~/anaconda3/,~/mambaforge/, etc.) - Environment variables (
CONDA_PREFIX,CONDA_EXE) - Package manager installations (
/opt/,/usr/local/)
Plugin not loading:
# Check if plugin is in correct location
ls ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-system-update/
# Verify plugins list in ~/.zshrc
grep "plugins=" ~/.zshrcPermission errors:
# Ensure sudo access for APT operations
sudo -vConda not found:
# Check conda installation and detection
which conda
conda --version
# Test conda detection with verbose output
zsh-system-update --conda-only --verbose --dry-runFlatpak issues:
# Check Flatpak installation
which flatpak
flatpak --version
# List installed Flatpak applications
flatpak listEnable verbose output to see exactly what's happening:
zsh-system-update --verbose --dry-runContributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues, feature requests, or pull requests.
- Fork the repository
- Make changes to the main plugin file or manager modules in
lib/managers/ - Run comprehensive tests:
# Run all tests (integration + unit tests) ./tests/test-zsh-system-update.sh # 38 integration tests ./tests/run-unit-tests.sh # 32 unit tests # Run specific manager unit tests ./tests/unit/test-apt-manager.sh # APT manager tests ./tests/unit/test-conda-manager.sh # Conda manager tests ./tests/unit/test-pip-manager.sh # Pip manager tests ./tests/unit/test-flatpak-manager.sh # Flatpak manager tests
- Test manually:
source ~/.zshrc && zsh-system-update --dry-run --verbose - Submit a pull request
The plugin includes a comprehensive testing framework with enhanced test runner:
Test Execution Options:
./test # Full comprehensive test suite (17s)
./test --unit-only # Unit tests only (32 tests, 5s)
./test --integration-only # Integration tests only (38 tests, 13s)
./test --lint-only # Code quality linting (14 files, 1s)Test Coverage:
- Total Tests: 70 (38 integration + 32 unit tests)
- Code Quality: 14 shell files linted (0 errors, 13 minor warnings)
- Success Rate: 100% pass rate across all test suites
- Enhanced Reporting: Professional output with execution timing and visual progress
zsh-system-update/
├── zsh-system-update.plugin.zsh # Main plugin entry point
├── lib/
│ ├── managers/ # Package manager implementations
│ │ ├── apt-manager.zsh # APT package management
│ │ ├── conda-manager.zsh # Conda environment management
│ │ ├── pip-manager.zsh # pip package management
│ │ └── flatpak-manager.zsh # Flatpak application management
│ └── utils/
│ └── output.zsh # Color output and messaging utilities
├── tests/ # Comprehensive test suite
│ ├── unit/ # Unit tests for manager modules
│ │ ├── test-apt-manager.sh # APT manager unit tests
│ │ ├── test-conda-manager.sh # Conda manager unit tests
│ │ ├── test-pip-manager.sh # Pip manager unit tests
│ │ └── test-flatpak-manager.sh # Flatpak manager unit tests
│ ├── run-unit-tests.sh # Professional unit test runner
│ ├── test-utils.sh # Shared testing utilities
│ └── test-zsh-system-update.sh # Integration test suite
└── docs/ # Additional documentation
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.
See CHANGELOG.md for detailed version history.
- v0.3.5: Documentation accuracy improvements - aligned cache thresholds, realistic performance claims, removed redundant features
- v0.3.4: Cache management commands (
--clear-cache,--clear-all-cache,--list-cache) with comprehensive test coverage - v0.3.3: Unified cache system with configurable thresholds and expanded test suite (51 total tests)
- v0.3.2: Comprehensive test suite enhancement with 70 total tests
- v0.3.1: Hook guard protection to prevent undesired execution contexts
- oh-my-zsh - The framework this plugin extends
- flatpak - Application distribution framework
- conda - Package and environment management
- pip - Python package installer
Made with ❤️ for efficient system maintenance