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Overview

The update command modifies the value associated with an existing key in the vault. If the key doesn’t exist, it prints a message indicating the key was not found.

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Syntax

vault update <key> <value>

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Parameters

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key
string
required
The key whose value you want to update. Must already exist in the vault.
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value
string
required
The new value to store. Can contain spaces and special characters (use quotes for values with spaces).

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Examples

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Basic Usage

vault update api_key "sk-new-token-9876543210"

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Expected Output

When key exists: 
Updating key: api_key with the value: sk-new-token-9876543210 in the vault
When key doesn’t exist: 
Key: missing_key does not exist in db

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Complete Workflow Example

# Add a key
vault add version "1.0.0"

# Update it
vault update version "1.1.0"
# Output: Updating key: version with the value: 1.1.0 in the vault

# Verify the update
vault get version
# Output: 1.1.0

# Try to update non-existent key
vault update nonexistent "value"
# Output: Key: nonexistent does not exist in db

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Implementation Details

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Under the Hood

The update command executes the following SQL query (KVSTORE.cs:75-79): 
UPDATE store
SET value = $value
WHERE key = $key
The implementation checks the number of affected rows to determine if the key exists (KVSTORE.cs:72-90): 
public int Update(string key, string value)
{
    using var command = connection.CreateCommand();
    command.CommandText = """
        UPDATE store
        SET value = $value
        WHERE key = $key
        """;
    command.Parameters.AddWithValue("$key", key);
    command.Parameters.AddWithValue("$value", value);
    int rowsAffected = command.ExecuteNonQuery();
    if (rowsAffected == 0)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Key: {key} does not exist in db");
        return 0;
    }
    Console.WriteLine($"Updating key: {key} with the value: {value} in the vault");
    return 0;
}

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Validation

The command validates that exactly 2 arguments are provided (KVSTORE.cs:175-179): 
case "update":
    if (args.Length == 2)
    {
        return Command.UPDATE;
    }

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Behavior Notes

Non-Existent KeysUnlike some key-value stores, update does NOT create a new entry if the key doesn’t exist. It will simply report that the key doesn’t exist in the database (KVSTORE.cs:84-86).If you want to add a new key, use the add command instead.
No Rows AffectedWhen updating a non-existent key, the command prints:
Key: your_key does not exist in db
The command still exits successfully (return code 0), but no changes are made to the vault.

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Error Cases

Invalid ArgumentsProviding the wrong number of arguments will result in:
Please enter a valid command, could not execute

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Use Cases

  • Rotate API keys or credentials stored in the vault
  • Update configuration values as your application evolves
  • Modify environment-specific settings
  • Change values without removing and re-adding keys
  • add - Add a new key-value pair
  • get - Retrieve a value to verify the update
  • list - List all keys to see what can be updated
  • remove - Delete a key-value pair