NAME

June 4, 2026 · View on GitHub

geoipupdate - GeoIP and GeoLite Update Program

SYNOPSIS

geoipupdate [-Vvh] [-f CONFIG_FILE] [-d TARGET_DIRECTORY]

DESCRIPTION

geoipupdate automatically updates GeoIP and GeoLite databases. The program connects to the MaxMind GeoIP Update server to check for new databases. If a new database is available, the program will download and install it.

If you are using a firewall, you must have the DNS and HTTPS ports open.

OPTIONS

-d, --database-directory

: Install databases to a custom directory. This is optional. If provided, it overrides the DatabaseDirectory value from the configuration file and the GEOIPUPDATE_DB_DIR environment variable.

-f, --config-file

: The configuration file to use. See GeoIP.conf and its documentation for more information. This is optional. It defaults to the environment variable GEOIPUPDATE_CONF_FILE if it is set, or CONFFILE otherwise.

--parallelism

: Set the number of parallel database downloads.

-h, --help

: Display help and exit.

--stack-trace

: Show a stack trace on any error message. This is primarily useful for debugging.

-V, --version

: Display version information and exit.

-v, --verbose

: Enable verbose mode. Prints out the steps that geoipupdate takes. If provided, it overrides any GEOIPUPDATE_VERBOSE environment variable.

-o, --output

: Output download/update results in JSON format.

EXIT STATUS

geoipupdate returns 0 on success and 1 on error.

NOTES

Typically you should run geoipupdate at least twice a week. Consult our database release schedule for more information.

On most Unix-like systems, this can be achieved by using cron. You can find an example crontab file on our Developer Portal.

To use with a proxy server, update your GeoIP.conf file as specified in the GeoIP.conf man page. Alternatively, set the GEOIPUPDATE_PROXY or http_proxy environment variable.

BUGS

Report bugs to support@maxmind.com.

AUTHORS

Written by William Storey.

This is free software, licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 or the MIT License, at your option.

MORE INFORMATION

Visit our website to learn more about the GeoIP databases or to sign up for a subscription.