[FEATURE] TEST: Help Wanted — Help me keep my fabric-cli updated (upstream #71)

[ayeshurun]

📋 Copied from microsoft/fabric-cli#71 for AI triage testing.
Expected triage outcome: Help Wanted

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Use Case / Problem

I forgot to update to the latest version of the CLI

Proposed Solution

Similar to pip install, I could get a friendly reminded that there is a new version of the CLI and the command to upgrade.

To avoid annoying the user, this should only appear once per CLI session.

Alternatives Considered

No response

Impact Assessment

• This would help me personally
• This would help my team/organization
• This would help the broader fabric-cli community
• This aligns with Microsoft Fabric roadmap items

Implementation Attestation

• I understand this feature should maintain backward compatibility with existing commands
• I confirm this feature request does not introduce performance regressions for existing workflows
• I acknowledge that new features must follow fabric-cli's established patterns and conventions

Implementation Notes

No response

[github-actions]

🅰️ Approach A (Action) — prompt-only, no codebase access

AI Assessment: Help Wanted

Automatic version checking on CLI startup is a well-scoped, user-friendly enhancement commonly seen in community CLIs. It aligns with the project's path-first, stable UX and does not impact backward compatibility or performance as long as version checks are cached or rate-limited per session.

Implementation is straightforward. Add logic in the main entrypoint (likely fab/__main__.py) to compare the installed package version (ms-fabric-cli) with the latest published version on PyPI using a lightweight HTTP request. Cache the result for the session to avoid repeat prompts. On detecting an update, display a succinct message with the appropriate pip upgrade command.

Community contributors can reference similar implementations in other Python CLIs (e.g., pip, dbt, awscli). Use importlib.metadata.version and the PyPI JSON API (https://pypi.org/pypi/ms-fabric-cli/json) for version comparison.

Next Steps
✅ No action needed — This issue has been triaged. The team will prioritize accordingly.

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💡 If this issue requires the team's attention and was not escalated, you can tag @microsoft/fabric-cli-dev to notify the team.

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🏷️ Label Decisions (testing mode — not applied)

Decision	Value
AI assessment	ai:feature-triage:help wanted
Would add help wanted	✅
Would add ai:needs team attention	❌
Would request author feedback	❌
Would remove needs triage	✅
Would auto-close	❌
Would notify team	❌

[github-actions]

🅱️ Approach B (Code Agent) — code-aware triage agent that reads the actual source code

AI Assessment: Help Wanted

This feature is already implemented in the CLI under src/fabric_cli/utils/fab_version_check.py. On every login (see auth login command), the CLI checks PyPI for the latest version and prints a notification if an update is available, including the upgrade command. It respects user configuration (FAB_CHECK_UPDATES) and only displays once per session, minimizing annoyance. The approach follows established standards and is in line with the CLI's 12-Factor usability principles.

If community wants to improve this further (e.g., by expanding to other entry points or refining the notification format), implementation should start in fab_version_check.py and integrate update checks at other logical moments (startup, major commands, etc.). All config and output behavior must remain backward compatible and respect user opt-out.

Next Steps

✅ No action needed — This issue has been triaged. The team will prioritize accordingly.

---

💡 If this issue requires the team's attention and was not escalated, you can tag @microsoft/fabric-cli-dev to notify the team.

---

🏷️ Label Decisions (testing mode — not applied)

Decision	Value
AI assessment	Help Wanted
Would add help wanted	✅
Would add ai:needs team attention	❌
Would request author feedback	❌
Would remove needs triage	✅
Would auto-close	❌
Would notify team	❌