If you happen to have to deal with (Apple) notebook or Desktop PC (Hackintosh) etc. And you’re sysadmin or console freak being pissed off Mac’s GUI App Store update interface and you want to “keep it simple stupid” (KISS) in an Debian Linux like apt-get manner then you can also use Mac’s console application (cli) terminal to do the updates manually from command line with: softwareupdate command.

After introducing the feature in iOS 7, Apple has brought automatic application updates to OS X. Google calendar for macbook pro.

To get help about softwareupdate pass it on the -h flag: softwareupdate -h 1. Get a list of available Mac OS updates Though not a very likely scenario of course before installing it is always a wise thing to see what is being updated to make sure you will not upgrade something that you don’t want to. This is done with: softwareupdate -l However in most cases you can simply skip this step as updating directly every package installed on the Mac with a new version from Apple will not affect your PC. Anyways it is always a good idea to keep a backup image of your OS before proceeding with updates with let’s say Time Machine Mac OS backup app. Install only recommended Updates from Apple store softwareupdate -irv Above will download all updates that are critical and thus a must to have in order to keep Mac OS security adequate.

Translated into Debian / Ubuntu Linux language, the command does pretty much the same as Linux’s: apt-get –yes update 3. Install All Updates available from AppleStore To install absolutely all updates provided by Apple’s package repositories run: softwareupdate -iva One note to make here is that always when you keep updating make sure your notebook is switched on to electricity grid otherwise if due to battery discharge it shutoffs during update your Mac will crash in a very crappy hard to recover state that might even cost you a complete re-install or a need to bring a PC to a Mac Store technical support guy so beware, you’re warned! Installing all updates except Specific Softwares from Terminal Often if you have a cracked software or a software whose GUI interface changed too much and you don’t want to upgrade it but an update is offered by Apple repos you can add the -i ingnore option: softwareupdate -i [update_name(s)] For example: softwareupdate -i Safari-version-XXXX 5. View Mac OS Software Update History The quickest way to see the update is with System Information app, e.g.: /Applications/Utilities/System Information.app.

Since the introduction of in late 2013, Apple by default automatic app and system updates via the Mac App Store, meaning that updates to your apps and operating system will download and install on their own, without any intervention or notice from the user unless a reboot is required. The large number of apps now available on the Mac App Store, coupled with the importance of timely OS X system updates makes automatic app updates a helpful feature for the majority of OS X users. But some Mac owners may prefer to avoid automatic updates, and ensure that they maintain control over which apps are updated and when. Here’s how these users can disable automatic updates in OS X El Capitan. To disable automatic updates in El Capitan, launch System Preferences and select the App Store icon. The App Store preference pane gives you a number of ways to selectively control how and when apps and OS X updates are downloaded and installed. At the most extreme level, users can uncheck all boxes to prevent OS X El Capitan from even checking for updates, let alone downloading and installing them.

A less extreme measure is to let El Capitan check for updates, and even download the required files in the background, but wait to install the updates until it receives explicit permission from the user. For this configuration, be sure to check the first two boxes (“check” and “download”) but uncheck all of the boxes labeled “Install”.

A possible exception to consider with this approach is to allow OS X to continue to install system data files and security updates, as these are typically very important and time-sensitive security patches which may leave your Mac vulnerable to online exploits if left uninstalled. The third approach to dealing with automatic updates in OS X El Capitan is to prioritize either application or OS X system updates. Some users may want to avoid automatic app updates because they rely on certain apps and want to ensure that an update doesn’t remove any important features or introduce bugs. Conversely, other users care more about OS X itself,, and want to wait a few days after a major OS X update to confirm the absence of any significant issues, letting the millions of other Mac owners act as unwilling guinea pigs.