agent-update-distribution

Agent Update & Distribution

MCP Server Updates

npx Always-Latest Pattern

{ "mcpServers": { "my-agent": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@your-org/my-agent-mcp"] } } }

Pros: Users always get the latest. No update command needed. Cons: Breaking changes hit immediately. No offline support. Slower startup.

Pinned Install

npm install -g @your-org/[email protected]   # exact version
npm update -g @your-org/my-agent-mcp           # update explicitly

Version Pinning in MCP Config

• @2.1.0 -- exact version, never auto-updates
• @^2.0.0 -- allows minor/patch within major 2
• @latest or omitted -- always fetches newest

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Claude Code Plugin Updates

Git-Based Plugins

cd ~/.claude/plugins/my-agent-plugin
git pull origin main
./install.sh                   # if plugin has install script
npm install                    # if it has JS dependencies

Versioning in plugin.json

{ "name": "my-agent-plugin", "version": "2.3.1", "minClaudeCodeVersion": "1.5.0" }

Bump version on every release. Set minClaudeCodeVersion to block incompatible hosts. Tag in git: git tag v2.3.1 && git push --tags.

Self-Updating Plugin Pattern

#!/bin/bash
# commands/update/run.sh
PLUGIN_DIR="$(dirname "$(dirname "$(realpath "$0")")")"
cd "$PLUGIN_DIR"
echo "Current: $(jq -r .version plugin.json)"
git fetch origin main
LOCAL=$(git rev-parse HEAD); REMOTE=$(git rev-parse origin/main)
if [ "$LOCAL" = "$REMOTE" ]; then echo "Up to date."
else git pull origin main; echo "Updated to: $(jq -r .version plugin.json)"; fi

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Docker Agent Updates

Image Tagging Strategy

docker build -t my-agent:2.3.1 -t my-agent:2.3 -t my-agent:2 -t my-agent:latest .

• 2.3.1 -- immutable, never changes after push
• 2.3 / 2 -- mutable, points to latest in that range
• latest -- newest release

Docker Compose Update Flow

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d
docker compose logs --tail 20 my-agent   # verify