# Keeping Data Current
This guide explains how fedramp-docs-mcp stays updated with the latest FedRAMP documentation.
## Automatic Updates
By default, fedramp-docs-mcp automatically checks for updates to the FedRAMP/docs repository.
### How It Works
1. On server startup, checks time since last update
2. If more than `FEDRAMP_DOCS_UPDATE_CHECK_HOURS` (default: 24), runs `git pull`
3. Reindexes any changed files
4. Continues serving queries
### Configure Auto-Update
**Enable/Disable:**
```bash
# Disable auto-updates
export FEDRAMP_DOCS_AUTO_UPDATE=false
# Enable (default)
export FEDRAMP_DOCS_AUTO_UPDATE=true
```
**Change frequency:**
```bash
# Check every 12 hours
export FEDRAMP_DOCS_UPDATE_CHECK_HOURS=12
# Check every hour
export FEDRAMP_DOCS_UPDATE_CHECK_HOURS=1
```
## Manual Updates
### Using the MCP Tool
The `update_repository` tool forces an immediate update:
**Via AI assistant:**
> "Call the update_repository tool from fedramp-docs"
**Response includes:**
- Previous commit hash
- New commit hash
- Files changed
- Update status
### Using Git Directly
```bash
# Navigate to cache directory
cd ~/.cache/fedramp-docs
# Pull latest changes
git pull origin main
# Verify update
git log -1 --oneline
```
### Force Full Refresh
Delete the cache to force a complete re-clone:
```bash
rm -rf ~/.cache/fedramp-docs
npx fedramp-docs-mcp # Will re-clone from GitHub
```
## Update Strategies
### Development Environment
Frequent updates to catch the latest changes:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"fedramp-docs": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "fedramp-docs-mcp"],
"env": {
"FEDRAMP_DOCS_UPDATE_CHECK_HOURS": "4"
}
}
}
}
```
### Production Environment
Controlled updates with testing:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"fedramp-docs": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "fedramp-docs-mcp"],
"env": {
"FEDRAMP_DOCS_AUTO_UPDATE": "false"
}
}
}
}
```
Then schedule manual updates during maintenance windows.
### Air-Gapped Environment
See [Security Hardening - Air-Gapped Operation](../setup/security-hardening.md#air-gapped--offline-operation) for offline update procedures.
## Checking Current Version
### health_check Tool
Run `health_check` to see current data status:
```json
{
"repoPath": "/Users/you/.cache/fedramp-docs",
"currentCommit": "abc1234",
"commitDate": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"filesIndexed": 145,
"autoUpdate": true,
"lastUpdateCheck": "2024-01-15T12:00:00Z"
}
```
### Git Log
```bash
cd ~/.cache/fedramp-docs
git log -5 --oneline
```
## FedRAMP Update Frequency
The official [FedRAMP/docs repository](https://github.com/FedRAMP/docs) is updated:
- **Major releases:** Quarterly or when policies change
- **Minor fixes:** As needed (typos, clarifications)
- **FRMR documents:** Updated with each FedRAMP 20x revision
Check the repository's commit history for recent changes:
```bash
cd ~/.cache/fedramp-docs
git log --oneline --since="1 month ago"
```
## Version Diffing
Use the `diff_frmr` tool to compare document versions:
**Example:**
> "Use diff_frmr to compare the KSI documents between versions"
This helps track what changed between FedRAMP document releases.
## Troubleshooting Updates
### Update fails with merge conflict
```bash
cd ~/.cache/fedramp-docs
git reset --hard origin/main
git pull origin main
```
### Network errors during update
If behind a proxy:
```bash
cd ~/.cache/fedramp-docs
git config http.proxy http://proxy:8080
git pull origin main
```
### Updates don't seem to apply
1. Verify the update ran:
```bash
cd ~/.cache/fedramp-docs
git log -1
```
2. Force reindex by restarting the server
3. Check for errors in MCP client logs
## Notifications
To be notified of FedRAMP/docs updates:
1. Visit [github.com/FedRAMP/docs](https://github.com/FedRAMP/docs)
2. Click "Watch" > "Custom" > "Releases"
3. You'll receive email notifications for new releases
Or use GitHub Actions to automate checks in your own workflows.
