06 - Updater (How It Works)

Updater (How It Works)

The updater is a separate tool from the installer.

• Installer: puts Jibo into developer mode by editing /var/jibo/mode.json via RCM + eMMC writes.
• Updater: once you have SSH access, it downloads a JiboOs release and uploads a rootfs overlay to the robot over SFTP.

Implementation: ../jibo_updater.py

High-level flow

1. Query the releases API (Gitea JSON) and pick a release:

   • latest (default)
   • stable-only (--stable)
   • specific tag (--tag)

2. Download the chosen release archive.

3. Extract it safely (checks for path traversal in archives).

4. Find the build/ folder inside the extracted tree.

   • You can override with --build-path.

5. SSH into the Jibo using Paramiko.

6. Ensure / is writable:

   • tests with a touch on /.jibo_rw_test
   • if needed, runs mount -o remount,rw /

7. Upload the contents of build/ into / using SFTP.

   • Directories are created as needed.
   • Files are uploaded and chmod is best-effort preserved.
   • Symlinks are uploaded as symlinks if possible; otherwise it uploads dereferenced content.

8. Optionally return Jibo to normal mode by changing /var/jibo/mode.json back to normal.

9. Record the applied tag in a local state file so repeated runs can short-circuit.

What “build/” means

Releases are expected to contain a “rootfs overlay” folder named build/.

That directory typically includes paths like:

• etc/
• opt/
• usr/
• var/

The updater essentially copies those files to the same locations on the robot.

State file

By default, the updater stores last-applied tag per host in:

• ../jibo_work/update_state.json

If the state file says the host already has the latest tag, it exits unless you pass --force.

More: 07 - Working Directory + State Files

Safety knobs

• It prompts before upload unless --yes is passed.
• --dry-run downloads/extracts and connects, but does not upload or edit mode.json.

Returning to normal mode

At the end, the updater can switch the robot back to normal mode:

• --return-normal (force it)
• --no-return-normal (never prompt / never change)
• otherwise it prompts (unless --yes is passed)

Note: returning to normal mode can disable the “checkmark/dev” behavior depending on how JiboOs uses mode.json.

CLI reference

See 03 - CLI Arguments for the complete list and examples.