Scoop: "is held to version" and "still running"

Scoop skipped an app on purpose. It prints one of two messages:

'app' is held to version 1.2.3
The following instances of "app" are still running. Close them and try again.

What it means

Held. You (or a script) ran scoop hold <app>. Scoop’s own description is “Hold an app to disable updates”. scoop update then leaves it at its current version. scoop status shows “Held package” in its Info column.

Still running. Scoop checks whether any running process comes from the app’s folder. If one does, it stops for that app and reports “Running process detected, skip updating.” It cannot replace files that are in use.

Why it happens

You held the app on purpose to keep a working version, and forgot.
The app, or a helper of it, is open. This includes background processes and tray apps.
A terminal or an editor started a tool from Scoop’s folder for that app and is still using it.

How Devpit fixes or avoids it

In Update Everything, Devpit reads scoop status before it starts:

A held app is listed as held and is not ticked, so Devpit never tries to update it.
If Scoop still says “is held to version”, the row shows held.
If Scoop says an app “is still running”, the row shows in use, close it and retry.

Devpit does not run scoop unhold for you. Holding is your decision.

The manual fix

For a held app:

See what is held. scoop status lists apps and shows “Held package” in the Info column:

scoop status

Release the hold, then update the app:

scoop unhold <app>
scoop update <app>

Replace <app> with the name, for example git. For a globally installed app, add -g (holding a global app needs administrator rights).

For an app that is still running:

Close the app completely, including its window in the system tray.
Run scoop update <app> again.

Scoop also has a setting to ignore running processes. It prints “Scoop is configured to ignore this condition.” when that setting is on. Leave it off unless you know why you need it, because updating files in use can break the app.

Sources

Common questions

Why does scoop update exit with success when it skipped my app?

Scoop prints a warning or error message and moves on. It can exit with code 0 even when it refused to touch a held or running app. Devpit therefore reads Scoop's message text as well as the exit code.

How do I update a held Scoop app?

Run scoop unhold followed by the app name, then scoop update followed by the app name. Use scoop hold to freeze it again later.