How to update all apps on your Mac

There is no single button in macOS that updates every app. Software Update handles macOS and Apple’s own apps, the App Store handles apps you got from the App Store, and everything else updates itself, or doesn’t. This guide walks through each kind in the order that matters, with the exact menus and Terminal commands.

Short answer:

1. Update macOS: System Settings → General → Software Update.
2. Update App Store apps: open the App Store, click Updates, then Update All.
3. Update apps from the web: open each app and choose Check for Updates…, usually in the app menu or the Help menu.
4. Update command-line tools: brew upgrade for Homebrew and npm update -g for global npm packages.
5. Or use an updater app that finds updates for all of these in one list.

First, find out where your apps came from

Each source updates differently, so it helps to know which apps came from where. Hold Option, open the Apple menu, choose System Information, then select Software → Applications. The Obtained from column shows App Store, Apple or Identified Developer for each app. Most Macs have far more “Identified Developer” apps than App Store apps, and those are the ones the App Store will never update.

1. Update macOS and Apple’s apps

Safari, Mail, Notes and the other apps that come with your Mac update with macOS. Open System Settings → General → Software Update and install what’s listed. While you’re there, click the ⓘ next to Automatic updates and turn on Install Security Responses and system files, so urgent security fixes arrive without waiting for you.

The same check from Terminal:

softwareupdate --list
sudo softwareupdate --install --all

Add --restart to the second command if you want the Mac to restart on its own when an update needs it.

2. Update App Store apps

Open the App Store and click Updates in the sidebar. Click Update All, or Update next to a single app. To stop thinking about it, choose App Store → Settings and turn on Automatic Updates; the same switch lives in Software Update’s automatic update options. Apple’s guide: Update macOS and apps from the App Store.

3. Update apps from developers’ websites

Apps you downloaded from a website update through whatever system the developer built in. Most fall into a few groups:

• Sparkle apps. Many independent Mac apps (VLC, IINA, Cyberduck and thousands more) use the open-source Sparkle framework. Look for Check for Updates… in the app’s own menu, next to About.
• Electron apps. Slack, Figma, Postman, Claude and many chat and developer apps download updates in the background and install them when you quit and reopen the app. If one looks stuck on an old version, quit it fully with ⌘Q and open it again.
• Apps with their own updater. Microsoft Office uses Microsoft AutoUpdate (Help → Check for Updates), Adobe apps update through Creative Cloud, and Setapp updates the apps it installed.
• Apps with no updater. Some small utilities never check. For these, compare the version in About with the developer’s website or GitHub Releases page and download the new version yourself.

We cover each of these in more detail in How to update Mac apps that aren’t from the App Store.

4. Update Homebrew packages

If you use Homebrew, refresh it and upgrade everything it installed:

brew update
brew outdated
brew upgrade

By default, brew upgrade skips apps that update themselves. Add --greedy to include them. See our Homebrew guide for when that helps and when it doesn’t.

5. Update global npm packages

Command-line tools installed with npm install -g don’t update themselves:

npm outdated -g
npm update -g

npm update -g stays within each package’s current major version. To move a tool to a new major version, run npm install -g name@latest.

Doing it all from one list

Steps 3 to 5 are where Macs fall behind, because each app keeps its own schedule. An updater app puts them in one list. Current, which we make, finds updates from Sparkle, Electron feeds, Homebrew’s cask catalog and the App Store, updates Homebrew formulae and global npm packages from the same window, and checks each app update before it installs. Free options such as Latest and Updatest are worth a look if their sources cover your apps; our comparison lays out the differences.

How often should you update?

Leave automatic security responses on, and check everything else about once a week. Before a big batch of updates, a recent Time Machine backup is cheap insurance. If you’re in the middle of a project, it’s reasonable to hold back the one or two apps that project depends on until you’re done.

FAQ

Why doesn’t the App Store show updates for all my apps?

The App Store can only update apps it installed. An app you downloaded from a developer’s website is a separate copy, even if the same app is also sold in the App Store.

Is it safe to update everything at once?

Usually, yes. Updates fix security problems more often than they cause them. The real risks are a broken download, a version that doesn’t support your macOS, or a bad release, which is why it helps when an updater checks each update and keeps the old copy until the new one works. How to update Mac apps more safely explains each check.

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