Is there a way to check softwareupdate settings in Terminal?

You could probably get it from the "defaults" command, but this particular data is really tricky. It is stored in /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist, so you could use "defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist". But most of the interesting keys are missing unless they are disabled.

For example, I have only ever configured my computers for "check for updates" and "security updates only", as displayed like so in Ventura:

Since technically I've only turned off one default option, the only interesting key in that preferences file is:

AutomaticDownload = 0;

If I had ever turned off (and maybe back on) "Check for updates", then I would look for a "AutomaticCheckEnabled" key. If I he'd disabled the security updates, I would look for the keys "ConfigDataInstall" and/or "CriticalUpdateInstall" set to 0.

But you're wasting your time. Apparently, none of this really matters.

Now this same key read from the user domain looks much more interesting:

defaults read com.apple.SoftwareUpdate

{

    MajorOSUserNotificationDate = "2024-01-19 21:21:40 +0000";

    UserNotificationDate = "2024-01-23 18:16:22 +0000";

}

Could I keep resetting this to be the current day and possibly avoid any future notification and/or unwanted upgrade?

You might consider the following:

open "x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.preferences.softwareupdate"

which opens the Software Update panel in Settings : General : Software Update on Sonoma 14.3.

MartinR wrote:

I have seen reports of people doing this to delay checking for updates. Apparently the maximum time limit is 90 days, so you would in fact have to keep resetting this.

I can do that with a launch agent.

I just need to reset these values:

defaults read com.apple.SoftwareUpdate

{

    MajorOSUserNotificationDate = "2024-01-19 21:21:40 +0000";

    UserNotificationDate = "2024-01-23 18:16:22 +0000";

}

I'm just lucky that my Ventura machine made it through. I've seen some people report Ventura machines getting force upgraded. Perhaps because this is a 2023 machine, Apple allows me some kind of grace period that I didn't get on the 2021 computer.