Update Checker Configuration

args.zig includes an optional non-blocking update checker that notifies users when a new version is available. By default, this feature is enabled. This guide explains how to configure or disable it.

Why Disable?

You might want to disable the update checker if:

• Your application runs in an air-gapped environment
• You want to minimize network requests
• You're running in CI/CD pipelines
• You prefer not to have automatic update checks

Disabling Methods

Method 1: Global Disable Function

The simplest way to disable update checking globally:

const args = @import("args");

pub fn main() !void {
    // Disable before creating any parsers
    args.disableUpdateCheck();
    
    var parser = try args.ArgumentParser.init(allocator, .{
        .name = "myapp",
    });
    // ...
}

Method 2: Per-Parser Configuration

Disable for a specific parser only:

var parser = try args.ArgumentParser.init(allocator, .{
    .name = "myapp",
    .config = .{
        .check_for_updates = false,
        .show_update_notification = false,
    },
});

Method 3: Global Configuration

Set global configuration before creating any parsers:

args.initConfig(.{
    .check_for_updates = false,
});

Method 4: Minimal Configuration Preset

Use the minimal preset which disables updates and other features:

var parser = try args.ArgumentParser.init(allocator, .{
    .name = "myapp",
    .config = args.Config.minimal(),
});

How Update Checking Works

When enabled, the update checker:

1. Runs in a background thread (non-blocking)
2. Checks GitHub releases for the latest version
3. Compares with the current library version
4. Prints a notification if a newer version is available (to stderr)

The check is:

• Non-blocking: Won't slow down your application startup
• Silent on failure: Network errors are silently ignored and do not impact the application
• Respects configuration: Can be enabled/disabled completely

Example: Conditional Update Checking

const args = @import("args");
const std = @import("std");

pub fn main() !void {
    // Check environment variable to decide
    const disable_updates = std.process.getEnvVarOwned(
        allocator, 
        "MYAPP_DISABLE_UPDATES"
    ) catch null;
    defer if (disable_updates) |u| allocator.free(u);
    
    if (disable_updates != null) {
        args.disableUpdateCheck();
    }
    
    var parser = try args.ArgumentParser.init(allocator, .{
        .name = "myapp",
    });
    defer parser.deinit();
    
    // ... rest of your code
}

Update Notification Format

When an update is available, the notification looks like:

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│  A new version of args.zig is available: 0.0.1 → 0.1.0 │
│  Run: zig fetch --save git+https://github.com/...      │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯