Re: can't update tex live

Ann, hello.

On 3 Apr 2026, at 20:43, Ann Cowling wrote:

> I am trying to update my version of Tex Live (perhaps installed in 2017 or
> 2018) on my iMAC (2017).
> I have tried various commands I found on texstackexchange ... all result in
> error messages

When I update TeXLive I do so by installing a new version.  They sit in directories versioned with the year, so you can have several version in place simultaneously.  This has the additional advantage that you can leave an old-but-mostly-working version in place when you install the new one alongside it, and revert to it if necessary.

Though I've no reason to believe the internal update process wouldn't work, I'd expect it to be a little fragile, and probably pessimistic about it working successfully from a 2017 version of TeXLive.

The distribution page [1] says the current version requires Big Sur (ie, macOS 11) or higher, but includes a link to older versions which will run on versions between 10.3 and 10.15.

Best wishes,

Norman


[1] https://tug.org/mactex/

-- 
Norman Gray  :  https://nxg.me.uk