bun update

Update dependencies to latest versions

To upgrade your Bun CLI version, see bun upgrade.

To update all dependencies to the latest version:

terminal

bun update

To update a specific dependency to the latest version:

terminal

bun update [package]

--interactive

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

terminal

bun update --interactive
bun update -i

The flag opens a terminal interface that lists every outdated package with its current and target versions.

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

Use the --recursive flag with --interactive to update dependencies across all workspaces in a monorepo:

terminal

bun update --interactive --recursive
bun update -i -r

With --recursive, the interface adds a “Workspace” column showing which workspace each dependency belongs to.

--latest

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

To update to the latest version regardless of whether it satisfies that range, use the --latest flag:

terminal

bun update --latest

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:

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

terminal

bun update <package> <version>

Update Strategy

--force · boolean

Always request the latest versions from the registry & reinstall all dependencies. Alias: -f

--latest · boolean

Update packages to their latest versions

Dependency Scope

--production · boolean

Don’t install devDependencies. Alias: -p

--global · boolean

Install globally. Alias: -g

--omit · string

Exclude dev, optional, or peer dependencies from install

Project File Management

--yarn · boolean

Write a yarn.lock file (yarn v1). Alias: -y

--no-save · boolean

Don’t update package.json or save a lockfile

--save · boolean · default: "true"

Save to package.json (true by default)

--frozen-lockfile · boolean

Disallow changes to lockfile

--save-text-lockfile · boolean

Save a text-based lockfile

--lockfile-only · boolean

Generate a lockfile without installing dependencies

Network & Registry

--ca · string

Provide a Certificate Authority signing certificate

--cafile · string

Same as —ca, but as a file path to the certificate

--registry · string

Use a specific registry by default, overriding .npmrc, bunfig.toml and environment variables

--network-concurrency · number · default: "48"

Maximum number of concurrent network requests (default 48)

Caching

--cache-dir · string

Store & load cached data from a specific directory path

--no-cache · boolean

Ignore manifest cache entirely

Output & Logging

--silent · boolean

Don’t log anything

--verbose · boolean

Excessively verbose logging

--no-progress · boolean

Disable the progress bar

--no-summary · boolean

Don’t print a summary

Script Execution

--ignore-scripts · boolean

Skip lifecycle scripts in the project’s package.json (dependency scripts are never run)

--concurrent-scripts · number · default: "5"

Maximum number of concurrent jobs for lifecycle scripts (default 5)

Installation Controls

--no-verify · boolean

Skip verifying integrity of newly downloaded packages

--trust · boolean

Add to trustedDependencies in the project’s package.json and install the package(s)

--backend · string · default: "clonefile"

Platform-specific optimizations for installing dependencies. Possible values: clonefile (default), hardlink, symlink, copyfile

General & Environment

--config · string

Specify path to config file (bunfig.toml). Alias: -c

--dry-run · boolean

Don’t install anything

--cwd · string

Set a specific cwd

--help · boolean

Print this help menu. Alias: -h