Add auto-update of CLIs on launch (superCli.autoUpdate, default on)

Before launching an agent, run its install command (npm reinstall for npm CLIs,
or the official installer script for the others) to update it to the latest
version. Controlled by the new superCli.autoUpdate setting; turn it off to launch
without updating.

Author: TheStreamCode

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@
 All notable changes to this project are documented here. The format is based on
 [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 
+## [0.5.0]
+
+- New `superCli.autoUpdate` setting (default on): each coding agent CLI is updated to its latest
+  version on launch — `npm install -g` for npm CLIs, or the official installer script for the others —
+  before it starts. Turn it off to launch without updating.
+
 ## [0.4.1]
 
 - Claude Code no longer auto-installs its companion IDE extension when launched from Super CLI. The

README.md

@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ an untrusted repository cannot inject commands.
 | `superCli.agents` | `[]` | Your agents (added to or overriding the built-ins). |
 | `superCli.useBuiltins` | `true` | Include the built-in agent presets. |
 | `superCli.terminalLocation` | `beside` | Open the terminal `beside` the editor or in the `panel`. |
+| `superCli.autoUpdate` | `true` | Update each CLI to its latest version on launch (npm reinstall or the official installer script). |
 
 Run **Super CLI: Open Settings** from the sidebar or the command palette to jump straight to these
 settings.

package-lock.json

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "displayName": "Super CLI",
   "description": "One VS Code extension to launch any coding agent CLI (Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Antigravity, and your own) from a single side terminal.",
   "publisher": "mikesoft",
-  "version": "0.4.1",
+  "version": "0.5.0",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/TheStreamCode/super-cli.git"
@@ -253,6 +253,12 @@
           "default": "beside",
           "scope": "window",
           "description": "Where to open the terminal that runs the coding agent."
+        },
+        "superCli.autoUpdate": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "default": true,
+          "scope": "window",
+          "description": "Update each coding agent CLI to its latest version on launch, using its install command (npm reinstall, or the official installer script). Disable to launch without updating."
         }
       }
     }

package.json

@@ -109,6 +109,11 @@ export function resolveHomePath(p: string, homedir: string): string {
   return p;
 }
 
+/** Prepends an optional update command so the CLI updates before it runs (no-op without one). */
+export function buildLaunchCommand(command: string, updateCommand: string | undefined): string {
+  return updateCommand ? `${updateCommand} ; ${command}` : command;
+}
+
 /** Adds only the keys from `defaults` that are absent in `existing`; reports whether anything changed. */
 export function mergeMissingDefaults(
   existing: Record<string, unknown>,

src/command-utils.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import * as vscode from 'vscode';
 import { type Agent, resolveInstallCommand } from './agents.js';
 import {
   buildExtensionSettingsQuery,
+  buildLaunchCommand,
   buildTerminalName,
   mergeMissingDefaults,
   resolveHomePath,
@@ -148,10 +149,15 @@ async function handleMissingAgent(agent: Agent, context: vscode.ExtensionContext
   }
 }
 
-function watchForMissingAgent(terminal: vscode.Terminal, agent: Agent, context: vscode.ExtensionContext): void {
+function watchForMissingAgent(
+  terminal: vscode.Terminal,
+  agent: Agent,
+  context: vscode.ExtensionContext,
+  runCommand: string,
+): void {
   executeCommandWithOptionalShellIntegration(
     terminal,
-    agent.command,
+    runCommand,
     context,
     async (endEvent, output) => {
       if (shouldPromptToInstall(agent.command, endEvent.exitCode, output)) {
@@ -222,7 +228,11 @@ export async function launchAgent(agent: Agent, context: vscode.ExtensionContext
 
   applyEnsureConfig(agent);
 
-  const location = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration(SETTINGS_NAMESPACE).get<string>('terminalLocation', 'beside');
+  const configuration = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration(SETTINGS_NAMESPACE);
+  const location = configuration.get<string>('terminalLocation', 'beside');
+  const autoUpdate = configuration.get<boolean>('autoUpdate', true);
+  const updateCommand = autoUpdate ? resolveInstallCommand(agent.installCommand, process.platform) : undefined;
+  const launchCommand = buildLaunchCommand(command, updateCommand);
   const cwd = resolveTerminalCwd(vscode.window.activeTextEditor, vscode.workspace);
 
   const terminal = vscode.window.createTerminal({
@@ -232,6 +242,6 @@ export async function launchAgent(agent: Agent, context: vscode.ExtensionContext
     env: agent.env,
   });
   terminal.show();
-  watchForMissingAgent(terminal, agent, context);
+  watchForMissingAgent(terminal, agent, context, launchCommand);
   void vscode.window.setStatusBarMessage(`Started ${agent.label}`, 2500);
 }

src/terminal.ts

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ const {
   shouldPromptToInstall,
   resolveHomePath,
   mergeMissingDefaults,
+  buildLaunchCommand,
 } = require('../out/command-utils.js');
 
 // normalizeTerminalName
@@ -144,3 +145,12 @@ test('mergeMissingDefaults reports no change when all keys are already present',
   const { changed } = mergeMissingDefaults({ a: 1, b: 2 }, { a: 9 });
   assert.equal(changed, false);
 });
+
+// buildLaunchCommand
+test('buildLaunchCommand prepends the update command before the launch command', () => {
+  assert.equal(buildLaunchCommand('claude', 'npm install -g x'), 'npm install -g x ; claude');
+});
+
+test('buildLaunchCommand returns the command unchanged without an update command', () => {
+  assert.equal(buildLaunchCommand('claude', undefined), 'claude');
+});