bun update

bun update (alias bun up) updates every dependency, direct and transitive, to the newest version allowed by the ranges that request it. It then rewrites package.json and bun.lock. To ignore your declared ranges, use --latest.

bun update

To update specific packages, pass their names. Names can be glob patterns, and ! excludes:

bun update zod
bun update jquery@3            # move the package.json entry to the newest 3.x
bun update '@types/*'
bun update '@babel/*' '!@babel/core'

bun update <package> updates <package> everywhere it appears in bun.lock and leaves everything else alone. This works for transitive dependencies too — bun update caniuse-lite picks up a nested fix without adding it to your package.json. A name that isn't in bun.lock is an error.

Updated packages appear in the install summary as ↑ name old → new, with (v3.0.0 available) when a newer major is out of range. Use --dry-run to preview.

How package.json is rewritten

• ^1.1.0 → ^1.2.0, ~1.1.0 → ~1.1.5. Bun preserves the operator. With install.exact or --exact, Bun writes an exact version instead.
• Exact pins, dist-tags ("latest", "next"), and other range forms (*, 1.x, >=1.0.0) are left as written; only bun.lock moves. --latest rewrites them.
• Bun never rewrites catalog: references; it updates the catalog entry in the root package.json instead.
• --no-save updates node_modules only, leaving package.json and bun.lock untouched.

What is held back

• Bun never widens ranges. A package that depends on foo@^1.0.0 never gets foo@2.x.
• Versions in patchedDependencies stay put as long as their range allows. Bun reports them as kept name@version (patched, v1.2.3 available). --latest and bun audit fix do move them; re-create the patch with bun patch afterwards.
• If a registry request for a transitive package fails, that package keeps its locked version and Bun prints a warning. A failed request for a direct dependency is an error.

--interactive

Use the --interactive flag to choose which packages to update:

bun update --interactive
bun update -i

--interactive opens a terminal interface listing every outdated direct dependency. Bun updates the packages you select as if you had run bun update <name> ...; everything else keeps its locked version.

Interactive Interface

The interface displays packages grouped by dependency type:

? Select packages to update - Space to toggle, Enter to confirm, a to select all, n to select none, i to invert, l to toggle latest

  dependencies                Current  Target   Latest
    □ react                   17.0.2   18.2.0   18.3.1
    □ lodash                  4.17.20  4.17.21  4.17.21

  devDependencies             Current  Target   Latest
    □ typescript              4.8.0    5.0.0    5.3.3
    □ @types/node             16.11.7  18.0.0   20.11.5

  optionalDependencies        Current  Target   Latest
    □ some-optional-package   1.0.0    1.1.0    1.2.0

Sections:

• Packages are grouped under section headers: dependencies, devDependencies, peerDependencies, optionalDependencies
• Each section shows column headers aligned with the package data

Columns:

• Package: Package name (may have a suffix such as dev, peer, or optional)
• Current: Currently installed version
• Target: Version that would be installed (respects semver constraints)
• Latest: Latest available version

Keyboard Controls

Selection:

• Space: Toggle package selection
• Enter: Confirm selections and update
• a/A: Select all packages
• n/N: Select none
• i/I: Invert selection

Navigation:

• ↑/↓ Arrow keys or j/k: Move cursor
• l/L: Toggle between target and latest version for current package

Exit:

• Ctrl+C or Ctrl+D: Cancel without updating

Visual Indicators

• ■ Selected packages (will be updated)
• □ Unselected packages
• ❯ Current cursor position
• Colors: Red (major), yellow (minor), green (patch) version changes
• Underlined: Currently selected update target

Package Grouping

Packages are organized in sections by dependency type:

• dependencies - Regular runtime dependencies
• devDependencies - Development dependencies
• peerDependencies - Peer dependencies
• optionalDependencies - Optional dependencies

Within each section, individual packages may have a suffix ( dev, peer, optional).

--recursive and --filter

In a monorepo, bun update only rewrites the package.json of the workspace you run it in. From the root, it still updates the transitive dependencies of every workspace in bun.lock.

• --recursive (-r) updates every workspace's package.json.
• --filter <pattern> (-F) updates only the matching workspaces, using the filter syntax. As with bun install --filter, Bun links only the selected workspaces afterwards.

Both combine with package names, --latest, --dry-run, and --interactive (which adds a "Workspace" column).

bun update --recursive
bun update --filter './packages/*'
bun update -i -r
bun update zod -r
bun update zod --filter '...^ui'

--dev, --prod, --no-optional

Restrict which package.json entries Bun updates:

• --dev (-D) updates devDependencies only.
• --prod (-P) updates dependencies and optionalDependencies only.
• --no-optional skips optionalDependencies.

They combine with names, patterns, --latest, and --interactive.

These flags only select what to update — bun update --prod still installs devDependencies.

bun update --dev
bun update --prod --latest
bun update -D '@types/*'
bun update -i --prod

--global

bun update -g updates packages installed with bun add -g:

bun update -g
bun update -g typescript

--latest

By default, bun update updates each dependency to the latest version that satisfies the version range in your package.json.

To update direct dependencies to the latest version regardless of the declared range, use --latest (-L). Bun rewrites the package.json entry to a range of the same style on the new version. Transitive dependencies still respect the ranges their dependents declare. Bun does not downgrade a dependency that is already ahead of latest (e.g. a prerelease).

bun update --latest
bun update -L

In interactive mode, press l to toggle a package between its target version (respecting semver) and the latest version.

For example, with the following package.json:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^17.0.2"
  }
}

• bun update would update to a version that matches 17.x.
• bun update --latest would update to a version that matches 18.x or later.

CLI Usage

bun update [<name>[@<version>] | <pattern>]...
bun up

Update Strategy

Dependency Scope

Project File Management

Network & Registry

Caching

Output & Logging

Script Execution

Installation Controls

General & Environment