Quickstart - Set Up Server Update Notifications in 5 Minutes

This guide takes you from zero to automated update notifications in four steps. The entire process takes about five minutes.

Prerequisites

A Linux or macOS machine with internet access.
Credentials for at least one notification channel (e.g., a Slack incoming webhook URL, a Telegram bot token, or an SMTP server).
curl installed (present by default on most systems).

Step 1: Install

Run the one-line installer. It detects your OS and architecture, downloads the latest release, and installs the binary to /usr/local/bin.

Terminal

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahype/update-watcher/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

On Linux, the installer will ask whether you want to set up a dedicated system user with proper permissions. For a quick start, you can skip this and set it up later (see Server Setup).

Verify the installation:

Terminal

update-watcher version

For alternative installation methods, including manual download and building from source, see the Installation page.

Step 2: Configure with the Setup Wizard

Launch the interactive setup wizard:

Terminal

update-watcher setup

The wizard presents a menu-driven interface that:

Auto-detects installed package managers on your system (e.g., APT on Debian/Ubuntu, DNF on Fedora, Homebrew on macOS).
Guides you through enabling watchers for the detected package managers.
Walks you through configuring at least one notification channel (Slack, Discord, Email, Telegram, etc.).
Saves the configuration to the appropriate config file.

Setup Wizard

=== update-watcher setup ===

Current configuration:
  Hostname:   web-prod-01
  Watchers:   APT, Docker
  Notifiers:  slack configured
  Cron:       not configured

What would you like to do?
  > Manage Watchers (APT, Docker)
  > Notifications (slack configured)
  > Settings (hostname: web-prod-01)
  > Cron Job (not configured)
  > Run Test Check (dry-run)
  > Save & Exit

For a detailed walkthrough of the wizard and manual YAML configuration, see First Run.

Step 3: Test Run

Run a check without sending notifications to verify everything works:

Terminal

update-watcher run --notify=false

This executes all configured watchers and prints the results to the terminal. You should see output listing any available updates for each enabled checker. If a checker fails (for example, because a package manager is not installed), the output will indicate the error.

Once the dry run looks correct, run with notifications enabled to confirm delivery:

Terminal

update-watcher run

Check your notification channel to verify the message arrived.

Step 4: Schedule with Cron

Set up a daily cron job so Update-Watcher runs automatically. The built-in command creates a cron entry for the current user:

Terminal

update-watcher install-cron

💡

By default, the cron job runs daily at 07:00. To choose a different time: update-watcher install-cron --time 09:00

To verify the cron job was created:

Terminal

crontab -l

You should see a line similar to:

Crontab

0 7 * * * /usr/local/bin/update-watcher run --quiet

That is it. Update-Watcher will now check for updates daily and notify you through your configured channels.

What Happens Next

Updates found: You receive a notification listing all available updates, grouped by package manager. Security updates are highlighted.
No updates found: By default (send_policy: "only-on-updates"), no notification is sent. Change this to "always" in the configuration if you want daily confirmation messages.
Errors: If a checker fails, the exit code and log output will indicate what went wrong. Use --verbose for detailed debug output.

Next Steps

Installation – All installation methods and platform details.
First Run – Detailed walkthrough of the wizard and manual YAML configuration.
Configuration – Full configuration reference including environment variables and security.
Server Setup – Production-ready setup with a dedicated system user, proper permissions, and sudoers configuration.

Install Update-Watcher - Quick Setup for Linux & macOS