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bt update updates the CLI binary in place and updates installed tracing plugins. It works for installs made with the standalone shell or PowerShell installer.
bt update works as follows:
  • Background tracing process: Before checking for or installing an update, bt update stops the background tracing process with bt trace stop. If that fails, bt update exits before installing anything. Run bt trace stop and retry. A tracing process that is not running is not an error, and the process starts again on the next traced agent event.
  • Tracing plugins: After bt is up to date, bt update runs bt trace update for each agent that has a tracing settings file from bt trace enable. This happens even when the stable release is already current. Saved tracing settings are preserved, and agents without a settings file are not changed. If the CLI update fails, plugins are not updated.
  • Failed plugin updates: If a plugin update fails, bt update still attempts the remaining plugins, then exits with an error that includes a bt trace update <agent> command to retry. A successfully updated CLI is not rolled back.
Restart your coding agents after bt update to load the updated plugins.
When BT_DAEMON_CONFIG is set, every agent shares one tracing settings file, so bt update skips plugin updates and prints a warning. Run bt trace update <agent> for each agent you trace instead.
If your installed version does not recognize bt update, run bt self update once. Versions before v0.16.0 used the older command. After the upgrade, use bt update.
If bt came from the braintrust npm package, update that package:
If you installed bt with mise, upgrade the configured tool:
npm and mise installations don’t update tracing plugins automatically. After upgrading, run bt trace update <agent> for each agent you trace. If your Windows installation is running bt v0.16.x or earlier, update it by rerunning the PowerShell installer. After v0.17.0 is installed, use bt update for later updates.

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Flags

If GitHub rate-limits an update check, set GITHUB_TOKEN in the environment.