OpenClaw Update Checker

Check for OpenClaw updates by comparing installed version against the npm registry. Use when: user asks about updates, version status, or 'is openclaw up to date'. Also useful in heartbeats/cron for periodic update monitoring. Read-only — reports status only, does not modify the system.

Read-only version checker. Compares the installed OpenClaw version against the npm registry and reports whether updates are available. Does not install, modify, or restart anything.

Usage

bash

# Human-readable output
python3 scripts/check_update.py

# Machine-readable JSON (for dashboards, cron, integrations)
python3 scripts/check_update.py --format json

Output

Text mode: One-liner if current, or a summary showing installed vs latest version and number of versions behind.

JSON mode:

json

{
  "installed": "2026.2.21-2",
  "latest": "2026.2.21-2",
  "up_to_date": true,
  "newer_versions": [],
  "changelog_url": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.2.21"
}

How It Works

1. Reads the installed version from the local package.json file at known npm global install paths (/usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/package.json or /usr/local/lib/node_modules/openclaw/package.json)
2. Queries the npm registry via an HTTPS GET request to https://registry.npmjs.org/openclaw using Python's urllib.request (stdlib)
3. Compares versions and reports the result

What It Does NOT Do

• Does not install or update any packages
• Does not write to any files
• Does not restart any services
• Does not execute any subprocesses or shell commands

System Access

• File reads: /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/package.json and /usr/local/lib/node_modules/openclaw/package.json (read-only, to determine installed version)
• Network: Single HTTPS GET to https://registry.npmjs.org/openclaw (read-only, no authentication, to fetch available versions)

Requirements

• Python 3.10+ (uses str | None type union syntax)
• OpenClaw installed globally via npm
• Outbound HTTPS access to registry.npmjs.org