Slack Autoupdate

Update your Slackware system automatically by integrating these simple customizable bash scripts.

The updates are downloaded in the background for installation during the next startup. If available, you are given the chance to opt out of the upgrade by pressing enter. For server situations, the system can be configured to reboot after a specified time to upgrade automatically. More advanced users could integrate email notifications giving admins time to intervene when necessary.

Update information is stored under the /var/spool/slack-autoupdate directory.

Support

These scripts only currently support stable Slackware64 releases (sorry -current).

Please refer to the project's linux questions post for feedback and bug reports. You can find known bugs or possible improvements on the project's todo branch.

Installation and Configuration

There are three components. the cron script which downloads packages, the rc.slack-autoupdate script which installs the packages, and the install-kernel script which updates your computer after a kernel update.

Cron script

Your system downloads the packages using this script.

Adjust the script using your favorite editor:

vim src/slack-autoupdate

Then as root:

cp src/slack-autoupdate /etc/cron.hourly
chown root:root /etc/cron.hourly/slack-autoupdate
chmod +x /etc/cron.hourly/slack-autoupdate

rc.slack-autoupdate

Your system updates your installed packages using this script.

Adjust the script using your favorite editor:

vim src/rc.slack-autoupdate

Then as root:

cp src/rc.slack-autoupdate /etc/rc.d/
chown root:root /etc/rc.d/rc.slack-autoupdate

Then add this to /etc/rc.d/rc.local:

if [ -x /etc/rc.d/rc.slack-autoupdate ]; then
  /etc/rc.d/rc.slack-autoupdate
fi

To enable installation on reboot:

chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.slack-autoupdate

or to disable it again:

chmod -x /etc/rc.d/rc.slack-autoupdate

install-kernel

This part depends on your system setup and will automatically update the kernel into your system. You should modify it to suit your circumstance.

The default script assumes you are using elilo and the kernel for your EFI is installed into /efi/EFI/Slackware/vmlinuz.

Adjust the script to your system using your favorite editor:

vim install-kernel

Then as root:

cp install-kernel /usr/local/sbin
chown root:root /usr/local/sbin/install-kernel
chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/install-kernel

Source

Customizing Update Downloads

You can add a section to the cron script to pull updates using different tools or sources. The sections use the following structure. Place the code within the 'if-then' block just after the 'exec'. Examples may be found in the recipes directory.

if ! OUTPUT="$(
  # Redirect error output to standard output.
  exec 2>&1

  # Your update code goes here.
  #
  # Download updates into $STAGING_DIR.
  #
  # On failure the command output is appended to the error file.
  # Update information should be appended to the $UPDATE_INFO file.

)"; then
  if [ -f "$UPDATE_ERROR" ]; then
    >>"$UPDATE_ERROR" echo ""
    >>"$UPDATE_ERROR" echo ""
  fi

  >>"$UPDATE_ERROR" echo -e "[Update Name]:\n\n$OUTPUT"
fi

Testing

You can test the project by running the shell files under the 'test' folder.

sh src/test/*.sh