Updating Syntaxis

An update only ever touches managed workflow files. Your plans, specs, findings, QA artifacts, history, and configuration are yours, and nothing here overwrites them.

Look before you leap

npx create-syntaxis@latest update --dry-run

Prints the version, the adapters, exactly which files would change, and any conflicts along the way. Worth running every time before the real thing.

Actually apply it

npx create-syntaxis@latest update

When something conflicts

Editing a managed file yourself turns it into a conflict. The updater preserves what you wrote and reports it back rather than quietly overwriting your change.

npx create-syntaxis@latest update --force

--force backs up whatever conflicts before replacing it. Read what the dry run reported before you reach for this.

Picking up a new adapter

npx create-syntaxis@latest update -- --codex

What an update leaves alone entirely

Untouched	Managed
syntaxis/project-plan.md	.agents/skills/
syntaxis/build-plan.md	.claude/skills/
syntaxis/config.json
syntaxis/context/
syntaxis/qa/
syntaxis/history/
Your AGENTS.md customizations

Because AGENTS.md is never rewritten for you, it’s worth a look after any release that renames a command or adds a skill — an update won’t touch your own project instructions on your behalf.

When @latest behaves like it isn’t

Check the version the update plan actually prints. A cached package resolution can serve an older release even through @latest. Pin the exact one you want instead:

npx create-syntaxis@0.1.0 update

If an older updater ever offers to downgrade a newer global CLI, decline and run the version you actually meant to install.

Once it’s done

/doctor

Surfaces any drift between the newly updated workflow files and what your project actually has going on.