Upgrade

Upgrading rensei is a single command for Homebrew users. This page also covers the launchd plist rename that affects machines running the local daemon.

Upgrade via Homebrew

brew upgrade rensei

GoReleaser publishes a new cask on every tagged release. Homebrew's formula auto-update picks it up within minutes of a release. You can check what version you are on at any time:

rensei --version

Upgrade via direct download

If you installed via a binary download, replace the binary in place:

# macOS arm64 - adjust for your platform
curl -fsSL https://github.com/RenseiAI/releases/releases/latest/download/rensei_darwin_arm64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin rensei
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/rensei
rensei --version

Affects daemon operators upgrading from v0.7.2 or earlier. The launchd service label was renamed from dev.rensei.daemon to dev.donmai.daemon between v0.7.2 and v0.7.3. Upgrading without cleaning up the old plist leaves a zombie v0.7.2 service. rensei host status continues to report the old version, and the new service fails to start.

How to tell if you are affected

Run:

launchctl list | grep rensei

If you see dev.rensei.daemon listed, you have the legacy plist installed. If only dev.donmai.daemon is present, you are clean.

Recovery steps

Unload the legacy service:

launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/dev.rensei.daemon.plist

Remove the legacy plist:

rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/dev.rensei.daemon.plist

Reinstall the daemon with the current version:

rensei host uninstall
rensei host install

Verify the new service is running under the correct label:

launchctl list | grep donmai
rensei host status

System-wide install

If you installed the daemon with --system (under /Library/LaunchDaemons/), substitute system/ for gui/$(id -u)/ in the launchctl bootout command and use sudo:

sudo launchctl bootout system /Library/LaunchDaemons/dev.rensei.daemon.plist
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/dev.rensei.daemon.plist
sudo rensei host uninstall --system
sudo rensei host install --system

After upgrading

After upgrading the binary, reinstall the daemon service so it picks up the new version:

rensei host uninstall && rensei host install
rensei host status

The daemon JWT at ~/.rensei/daemon.jwt is automatically wiped and re-provisioned on host install and host uninstall. It is not wiped by a bare binary upgrade - the running daemon continues to use its existing JWT until you reinstall.

Check for breaking changes

The Releases page includes a changelog for every tagged version. Breaking changes are called out explicitly. Platform-specific deprecation notices for renamed commands (worker → host, machine → fleet) also appear there.

Next steps

Install - install paths and shell completions
Host daemon - daemon lifecycle, logs, and diagnostics