# Self-Replace: A Utility For Self Replacing Executables

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`self-replace` is a crate that allows binaries to replace themselves with newer
versions or to uninstall themselves.  On Unix systems this is a simple feat, but
on Windows a few hacks are needed which is why this crate exists.

This is a useful operation when working with single-executable utilties that
want to implement a form of self updating or self uninstallation.

For details about the implementation refer to the [documentation](https://docs.rs/self-replace).

If you are looking for some higher level update logic, have a look at
[`self_update`](https://crates.io/crates/self_update) which uses `self-replace`
under the hood but provides automatic updating from GitHub releases or
other distribution channels.  Note that `self_update` is maintained by
other maintainers.

## Uninstall

To uninstall a binary, use `self_delete`.

```rust
self_replace::self_delete()?;
```

## Updating

To replace a binary for updating, use `self_replace`.

```rust
let new_binary = "/path/to/new/binary";
self_replace::self_replace(&new_binary)?;
std::fs::remove_file(&new_binary)?;
```

## License and Links

* [Documentation](https://docs.rs/self-replace/)
* [Issue Tracker](https://github.com/mitsuhiko/self-replace/issues)
* [Examples](https://github.com/mitsuhiko/self-replace/tree/main/examples)
* License: [Apache-2.0](https://github.com/mitsuhiko/self-replace/blob/main/LICENSE)