Updates and maintenance

Bash
hokan doctor --jsonhokan history statshokan history repairhokan history compacthokan spec listhokan upgrade --check

Writable release-installer binaries can update themselves from GitHub releases. Updates download the matching archive, verify SHA256SUMS, run a binary smoke test, back up the current executable, and replace it atomically.

Bash
hokan upgradehokan upgrade --channel beta

When automatic updates are enabled, each new Hokan session starts a silent background check. Long-running sessions revisit the shared cache every minute and check the network when the configured interval expires. Checks and failed retries are limited to once every 30 minutes by default; running sessions keep their current binary, and the update takes effect on the next launch. Updates use an installation lock, keep a .bak backup, and stage beside the installed binary so a cache on another disk works too. Known package-manager installations, including writable Homebrew Cellar paths, must be upgraded through their package manager. Self-updates require a user-owned installation directory without group/other write access and preserve the executable's permissions.

Update locks reject links and special files; a busy installation lock times out after five seconds. Cache reads are bounded and reject links and special files. A failed download, checksum, or binary smoke test leaves the installed binary unchanged. Manual upgrades install the version shown at confirmation.

Updates default to the installed binary's channel: beta builds check beta releases, and stable builds check stable releases. Use --channel to target another channel for this invocation. Only a higher semantic version can be installed across channels; --force allows an equal-version reinstall but never a downgrade. After installation, future checks follow the new binary's channel. Checking, cancelling, or failing an upgrade never switches channels. Legacy [update].channel values are accepted but ignored.

Bash
hokan upgrade --channel stable --checkhokan upgrade --channel stable --yeshokan upgrade --channel beta --yes

If the requested channel has no published release yet, Hokan reports that without changing the installation. A beta-only repository does not require a stable release for beta updates to work.

Network and proxies

Updates and all other built-in HTTP requests follow macOS HTTP/HTTPS system proxy settings by default. HTTP_PROXY and HTTPS_PROXY (including lowercase forms) override the corresponding system setting; ALL_PROXY is a fallback. Linux uses these environment variables. SOCKS proxies are supported through proxy variables, for example HTTPS_PROXY=socks5h://127.0.0.1:1080.

Use NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1,::1 to connect directly to local AI providers. The HTTP client does not evaluate PAC scripts or macOS proxy exception lists; configure explicit proxy variables and NO_PROXY for those setups. A macOS SOCKS-only system setting also needs an explicit proxy variable.

HTTP 403 means GitHub or an intervening proxy/gateway refused the request. GitHub's unauthenticated API allowance is 60 requests per hour per public IP, shared with other users on the same network or proxy. When response headers identify a rate limit, Hokan reports it and includes the retry delay when available. Otherwise, check the proxy and network access; a 403 alone does not prove that the release channel is invalid or that the API quota is exhausted.

Set HOKAN_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1 to disable automatic updating for one session, or configure [update] (set enabled = false to disable it persistently):

TOML
[update]enabled = trueinterval_secs = 1800