macOS update & uninstall

This page covers the day-2 lifecycle of a macOS install: how to update Revka in place and how to remove it cleanly. Use it after you have installed Revka — see Installation for the initial setup.

The exact commands depend on how you installed the binary. Homebrew, the bootstrap script (install.sh), Cargo, and manual prebuilt downloads each have their own update and uninstall paths, so start by confirming which one is active.

Check your install method

Two commands tell you which revka your shell runs and what version it is:

which revka
revka --version

Typical binary locations on macOS:

Install method	Binary path
Homebrew (Apple Silicon)	/opt/homebrew/bin/revka
Homebrew (Intel)	/usr/local/bin/revka
Cargo / bootstrap / manual	~/.cargo/bin/revka

Note

Homebrew and Cargo installs can coexist on the same machine. If both exist, your PATH order decides which binary runs. Run which revka to confirm the active one before updating or uninstalling, and order your PATH so the binary you want wins.

Update

Pick the section that matches your install method. After any update, verify with revka --version.

Homebrew

brew update
brew upgrade revka
revka --version

Tip

Homebrew installs store Revka’s runtime data under the Homebrew var directory (<brew_prefix>/var/revka/) rather than ~/.revka. Service logs live in <brew_prefix>/var/revka/logs/, and the launchd service sets REVKA_CONFIG_DIR to point there. Because of this, your config and workspace data survive a brew upgrade — you do not need to back them up before upgrading.

Clone + bootstrap install

If you installed from a local repository checkout, pull the latest source and re-run the installer. The --prefer-prebuilt flag downloads the latest release binary first and falls back to a source build only if no prebuilt asset is available:

git pull --ff-only
./install.sh --prefer-prebuilt
revka --version

To force a source-only rebuild from the checkout instead:

git pull --ff-only
cargo install --path . --force --locked
revka --version

Cargo install

If you installed the binary into ~/.cargo/bin via Cargo, rebuild and replace it from your checkout with the same cargo install --path . --force --locked command shown above.

Self-update (revka update)

Any install layout can also use the built-in self-updater, which downloads a release binary from GitHub Releases, verifies its SHA256 and optional cosign signature, backs up the current binary, swaps in the new one, and runs a smoke test — rolling back automatically if the new binary fails:

revka update            # download and install the latest release
revka update --check    # check for a newer version without installing
revka update --force    # skip the confirmation prompt
revka update --version X.Y.Z   # install a specific version

Flag	Meaning
--check	Check only; report whether an update is available, install nothing.
--force	Skip the interactive confirmation prompt.
--version <X.Y.Z>	Target a specific release instead of the latest.

Caution

revka update swaps the binary at its current path. For a Homebrew install, prefer brew upgrade revka so Homebrew’s package metadata stays consistent with the installed binary.

Manual prebuilt binary

If you downloaded a release binary by hand, re-run your download/install flow with the latest release asset, then verify:

revka --version

Uninstall

Uninstalling is a three-part process: stop the background service, remove the binary, and optionally delete local runtime data.

1. Stop and remove the background service

Do this first so the launchd-managed daemon does not keep running after the binary is gone:

revka service stop || true
revka service uninstall || true

On macOS, revka service uninstall removes the launchd agent it created:

• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.revka.daemon.plist

Note

If you started Revka with brew services start revka, that uses the same launchd plist. revka service uninstall removes it; you can confirm with brew services list.

2. Remove the binary

Homebrew:

brew uninstall revka

Cargo / bootstrap / manual (binary at ~/.cargo/bin/revka):

cargo uninstall revka || true
rm -f ~/.cargo/bin/revka

Caution

If you have both a Homebrew and a Cargo install, run both removal paths. Use which revka between steps to confirm each binary is gone.

3. (Optional) Remove local runtime data

This deletes your config, auth profiles, logs, and workspace state. Only run it for a full cleanup — there is no undo:

rm -rf ~/.revka

Caution

A Homebrew install keeps runtime data under <brew_prefix>/var/revka/ instead of ~/.revka. brew uninstall revka may leave that directory behind. To fully clean a Homebrew install, also remove the Homebrew var directory, for example rm -rf "$(brew --prefix)/var/revka".

Verify the uninstall

Confirm the binary is gone and no process is still running:

command -v revka || echo "revka binary not found"
pgrep -fl revka || echo "No running revka process"

If pgrep still reports a process, stop it manually and re-check:

pkill -f revka

Related pages

• Installation — first-time setup on macOS, Linux, Windows, and containers.
• Install the Python MCP sidecars — Kumiho and Operator sidecars that live under ~/.revka.
• revka install, update, migrate, completions & ACP — full reference for the lifecycle CLI commands.
• Run as a background service — launchd service install, start, stop, and logs.
• Updating, runbook & troubleshooting — cross-platform update and rollback guidance.