Synopsis
softwareupdate --list
softwareupdate --install [--recommended] [--all] [--os-only] [--safari-only] [item ...]
[--restart [--force]] [--stdinpass] [--user]
softwareupdate --download [--recommended] [--all] [--os-only] [--safari-only] [item ...]
softwareupdate --list-full-installers
softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer [--full-installer-version version] [--launch-installer]
softwareupdate --install-rosetta [--agree-to-license]
softwareupdate --background
softwareupdate --schedule
softwareupdate --help
Description
Software Update checks for new and updated versions of your software based on information about your computer and current software.
Invoke softwareupdate by specifying a command followed by zero or more args.
softwareupdate requires admin authentication for all commands except --list. If you run softwareupdate as a normal admin user, you will be prompted for a password when required.
The following commands are available:
-l | --list List all available updates.
-i | --install Each update specified by args is downloaded and installed. args can be one of the following:
-r | --recommended All updates that are recommended for your system. These are prefixed with a * character in the --list output.
-a | --all All updates that are applicable to your system, including those non- recommended ones, which are prefixed with a - character in the --list output. (Non-recommended updates are uncommon in any case.)
--os-only Only macOS updates
--safari-only Only Safari updates
item ... One or more specified updates. The --list output shows the item names you can specify here, prefixed by the * or - characters. See
EXAMPLES.
-R | --restart Automatically restart if required to complete installation. If the user invoking this tool is logged in then macOS will attempt to quit all applications, logout, and restart. If the user is not logged in, macOS will trigger a forced reboot if necessary. If you wish to always perform a forced reboot, use --force.
--stdinpass Collect a password from stdin without interaction. Apple silicon only.
--user An owner user to authorize installation. Apple silicon only.
-d | --download Each update specified by args is downloaded but not installed. The values of args are the same as for the --install command. Updates downloaded with --download can be subsequently installed with --install, or through System Settings (as long as they remain applicable to your system).
--list-full-installers List the available macOS Installers.
--fetch-full-installer Install the latest recommended macOS Installer. Use --full-installer-version to specify the version of macOS to install (e.g. --full-installer-version 10.15). Use --launch-installer to launch the installer automatically after it has been downloaded.
--install-rosetta Install Rosetta. Only applies to Apple silicon Macs. Pass --agree-to-license to agree to the software license agreement without any user interaction.
--background Trigger a background check with a forced scan.
--schedule: Returns the per-machine automatic (background) check preference.
-h | --help Print command usage.
Examples
The following examples are shown as given to the shell:
softwareupdate --list
Software Update Tool
Finding available software
Software Update found the following new or updated software:
* Label: MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.4-2.4
Title: MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update, Version: 2.4, Size: 3817K, Recommended: YES, Action: restart,
* Label: ProAppsQTCodecs-1.0
Title: ProApps QuickTime codecs, Version: 1.0, Size: 968K, Recommended: YES,
sudo softwareupdate --install ProAppsQTCodecs-1.0
Software Update Tool
Finding available software
Downloading ProApps QuickTime codecs
Downloaded ProApps QuickTime codecs
Installing ProApps QuickTime codecs
Done with ProApps QuickTime codecs
Done.
Mac OS X September 11, 2012 Mac OS X