diff --git a/src/StaticPHP/Artifact/ArtifactDownloader.php b/src/StaticPHP/Artifact/ArtifactDownloader.php
index f52036c6..bfe7a21f 100644
--- a/src/StaticPHP/Artifact/ArtifactDownloader.php
+++ b/src/StaticPHP/Artifact/ArtifactDownloader.php
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ use StaticPHP\Exception\DownloaderException;
 use StaticPHP\Exception\ExecutionException;
 use StaticPHP\Exception\ValidationException;
 use StaticPHP\Exception\WrongUsageException;
+use StaticPHP\Package\ToolVersionRegistry;
 use StaticPHP\Registry\ArtifactLoader;
 use StaticPHP\Runtime\Shell\Shell;
 use StaticPHP\Runtime\SystemTarget;
@@ -346,12 +347,32 @@ class ArtifactDownloader
         }
     }
 
-    public function checkUpdate(string $artifact_name, bool $prefer_source = false, bool $bare = false): CheckUpdateResult
+    public function checkUpdate(string $artifact_name, bool $prefer_source = false, bool $bare = false, bool $use_installed = false): CheckUpdateResult
     {
         $artifact = ArtifactLoader::getArtifactInstance($artifact_name);
         if ($artifact === null) {
             throw new WrongUsageException("Artifact '{$artifact_name}' not found, please check the name.");
         }
+
+        // --installed: prefer the version actually installed on disk (tool packages only) as the
+        // baseline, instead of the download cache. Falls back to the normal cache/bare logic below
+        // if this artifact has no recorded installed version (not a tool package, or not installed
+        // via the package installer yet).
+        if ($use_installed) {
+            $installed_version = ToolVersionRegistry::get($artifact_name);
+            if ($installed_version !== null) {
+                [$first, $second] = $prefer_source
+                    ? [fn () => $this->probeSourceCheckUpdate($artifact, $artifact_name, $installed_version), fn () => $this->probeBinaryCheckUpdate($artifact, $artifact_name, $installed_version)]
+                    : [fn () => $this->probeBinaryCheckUpdate($artifact, $artifact_name, $installed_version), fn () => $this->probeSourceCheckUpdate($artifact, $artifact_name, $installed_version)];
+                $result = $first() ?? $second();
+                if ($result !== null) {
+                    return $result;
+                }
+                return new CheckUpdateResult(old: $installed_version, new: null, needUpdate: false, unsupported: true);
+            }
+            logger()->warning("Artifact '{$artifact_name}' has no recorded installed version (not a tool package, or not installed yet); falling back to download-cache based check.");
+        }
+
         if ($bare) {
             [$first, $second] = $prefer_source
                 ? [fn () => $this->probeSourceCheckUpdate($artifact, $artifact_name), fn () => $this->probeBinaryCheckUpdate($artifact, $artifact_name)]
@@ -403,16 +424,17 @@ class ArtifactDownloader
      * @param  bool                             $prefer_source  Whether to prefer source over binary
      * @param  bool                             $bare           Check without requiring artifact to be downloaded first
      * @param  null|callable                    $onResult       Called immediately with (string $name, CheckUpdateResult) as each result arrives
+     * @param  bool                             $use_installed  Prefer the installed (on-disk) version over the download cache (tool packages only)
      * @return array<string, CheckUpdateResult> Results keyed by artifact name
      */
-    public function checkUpdates(array $artifact_names, bool $prefer_source = false, bool $bare = false, ?callable $onResult = null): array
+    public function checkUpdates(array $artifact_names, bool $prefer_source = false, bool $bare = false, ?callable $onResult = null, bool $use_installed = false): array
     {
         if ($this->parallel > 1 && count($artifact_names) > 1) {
-            return $this->checkUpdatesWithConcurrency($artifact_names, $prefer_source, $bare, $onResult);
+            return $this->checkUpdatesWithConcurrency($artifact_names, $prefer_source, $bare, $onResult, $use_installed);
         }
         $results = [];
         foreach ($artifact_names as $name) {
-            $result = $this->checkUpdate($name, $prefer_source, $bare);
+            $result = $this->checkUpdate($name, $prefer_source, $bare, $use_installed);
             $results[$name] = $result;
             if ($onResult !== null) {
                 ($onResult)($name, $result);
@@ -436,7 +458,7 @@ class ArtifactDownloader
         return $this->options[$name] ?? $default;
     }
 
-    private function checkUpdatesWithConcurrency(array $artifact_names, bool $prefer_source, bool $bare, ?callable $onResult): array
+    private function checkUpdatesWithConcurrency(array $artifact_names, bool $prefer_source, bool $bare, ?callable $onResult, bool $use_installed = false): array
     {
         $results = [];
         $fiber_pool = [];
@@ -451,8 +473,8 @@ class ArtifactDownloader
                 // fill pool
                 while (count($fiber_pool) < $this->parallel && !empty($remaining)) {
                     $name = array_shift($remaining);
-                    $fiber = new \Fiber(function () use ($name, $prefer_source, $bare) {
-                        return [$name, $this->checkUpdate($name, $prefer_source, $bare)];
+                    $fiber = new \Fiber(function () use ($name, $prefer_source, $bare, $use_installed) {
+                        return [$name, $this->checkUpdate($name, $prefer_source, $bare, $use_installed)];
                     });
                     $fiber->start();
                     $fiber_pool[$name] = $fiber;
@@ -491,12 +513,12 @@ class ArtifactDownloader
         return $results;
     }
 
-    private function probeSourceCheckUpdate(Artifact $artifact, string $artifact_name): ?CheckUpdateResult
+    private function probeSourceCheckUpdate(Artifact $artifact, string $artifact_name, ?string $old_version = null): ?CheckUpdateResult
     {
         if (($callback = $artifact->getCustomSourceCheckUpdateCallback()) !== null) {
             return ApplicationContext::invoke($callback, [
                 ArtifactDownloader::class => $this,
-                'old_version' => null,
+                'old_version' => $old_version,
             ]);
         }
         $config = $artifact->getDownloadConfig('source');
@@ -509,16 +531,16 @@ class ArtifactDownloader
         }
         /** @var CheckUpdateInterface $dl */
         $dl = new $cls();
-        return $dl->checkUpdate($artifact_name, $config, null, $this);
+        return $dl->checkUpdate($artifact_name, $config, $old_version, $this);
     }
 
-    private function probeBinaryCheckUpdate(Artifact $artifact, string $artifact_name): ?CheckUpdateResult
+    private function probeBinaryCheckUpdate(Artifact $artifact, string $artifact_name, ?string $old_version = null): ?CheckUpdateResult
     {
         // custom binary callback takes precedence over config-based binary
         if (($callback = $artifact->getCustomBinaryCheckUpdateCallback()) !== null) {
             return ApplicationContext::invoke($callback, [
                 ArtifactDownloader::class => $this,
-                'old_version' => null,
+                'old_version' => $old_version,
             ]);
         }
         $binary_config = $artifact->getDownloadConfig('binary');
@@ -532,7 +554,7 @@ class ArtifactDownloader
         }
         /** @var CheckUpdateInterface $dl */
         $dl = new $cls();
-        return $dl->checkUpdate($artifact_name, $platform_config, null, $this);
+        return $dl->checkUpdate($artifact_name, $platform_config, $old_version, $this);
     }
 
     private function downloadWithType(Artifact $artifact, int $current, int $total, bool $parallel = false): int
diff --git a/src/StaticPHP/Command/CheckUpdateCommand.php b/src/StaticPHP/Command/CheckUpdateCommand.php
index 077da4f4..193aac7b 100644
--- a/src/StaticPHP/Command/CheckUpdateCommand.php
+++ b/src/StaticPHP/Command/CheckUpdateCommand.php
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ class CheckUpdateCommand extends BaseCommand
         $this->addArgument('artifact', InputArgument::OPTIONAL, 'The name of the artifact(s) to check for updates, comma-separated (default: all downloaded artifacts)');
         $this->addOption('json', null, null, 'Output result in JSON format');
         $this->addOption('bare', null, null, 'Check update without requiring the artifact to be downloaded first (old version will be null)');
+        $this->addOption('installed', null, null, 'Compare against the version actually installed on disk (tool packages only) instead of the download cache; falls back to normal behavior for artifacts with no recorded installed version');
         $this->addOption('parallel', 'p', InputOption::VALUE_REQUIRED, 'Number of parallel update checks (default: 10)', 10);
 
         // --with-php option for checking updates with a specific PHP version context
@@ -45,8 +46,9 @@ class CheckUpdateCommand extends BaseCommand
         try {
             $downloader = new ArtifactDownloader($this->input->getOptions());
             $bare = (bool) $this->getOption('bare');
+            $use_installed = (bool) $this->getOption('installed');
             if ($this->getOption('json')) {
-                $results = $downloader->checkUpdates($artifacts, bare: $bare);
+                $results = $downloader->checkUpdates($artifacts, bare: $bare, use_installed: $use_installed);
                 $outputs = [];
                 foreach ($results as $artifact => $result) {
                     $outputs[$artifact] = [
@@ -59,7 +61,7 @@ class CheckUpdateCommand extends BaseCommand
                 $this->output->writeln(json_encode($outputs, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT | JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE));
                 return static::OK;
             }
-            $downloader->checkUpdates($artifacts, bare: $bare, onResult: function (string $artifact, CheckUpdateResult $result) {
+            $downloader->checkUpdates($artifacts, bare: $bare, use_installed: $use_installed, onResult: function (string $artifact, CheckUpdateResult $result) {
                 if ($result->unsupported) {
                     $this->output->writeln("Artifact <info>{$artifact}</info> does not support update checking, <comment>skipped</comment>");
                 } elseif (!$result->needUpdate) {
diff --git a/src/StaticPHP/Command/DoctorCommand.php b/src/StaticPHP/Command/DoctorCommand.php
index 40303d14..ef4f0826 100644
--- a/src/StaticPHP/Command/DoctorCommand.php
+++ b/src/StaticPHP/Command/DoctorCommand.php
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ class DoctorCommand extends BaseCommand
 {
     public function configure(): void
     {
-        $this->addOption('auto-fix', null, InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL, 'Automatically fix failed items (if possible)', false);
+        $this->addOption('auto-fix', 'y', InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL, 'Automatically fix failed items (if possible)', false);
     }
 
     public function handle(): int
diff --git a/src/StaticPHP/ConsoleApplication.php b/src/StaticPHP/ConsoleApplication.php
index cf305e05..a82cbd68 100644
--- a/src/StaticPHP/ConsoleApplication.php
+++ b/src/StaticPHP/ConsoleApplication.php
@@ -32,7 +32,10 @@ use StaticPHP\Command\SPCConfigCommand;
 use StaticPHP\Package\TargetPackage;
 use StaticPHP\Registry\PackageLoader;
 use StaticPHP\Registry\Registry;
+use StaticPHP\Util\InteractiveTerm;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Application;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
 
 class ConsoleApplication extends Application
 {
@@ -104,4 +107,15 @@ class ConsoleApplication extends Application
     {
         self::$additional_commands = array_merge(self::$additional_commands, $additional_commands);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Hook Symfony's doRun() to inject the real input/output into InteractiveTerm before
+     * any command executes. From this point forward, InteractiveTerm uses the configured
+     * Console (respecting --no-ansi, --verbose, etc.) instead of the lazy STDERR fallback.
+     */
+    public function doRun(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
+    {
+        InteractiveTerm::init($input, $output);
+        return parent::doRun($input, $output);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/StaticPHP/Util/InteractiveTerm.php b/src/StaticPHP/Util/InteractiveTerm.php
index d84933cd..083d5a3e 100644
--- a/src/StaticPHP/Util/InteractiveTerm.php
+++ b/src/StaticPHP/Util/InteractiveTerm.php
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ declare(strict_types=1);
 
 namespace StaticPHP\Util;
 
-use StaticPHP\DI\ApplicationContext;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Helper\ProgressIndicator;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\ConsoleOutput;
@@ -15,10 +14,31 @@ class InteractiveTerm
 {
     private static ?ProgressIndicator $indicator = null;
 
+    private static ?OutputInterface $output = null;
+
+    private static ?bool $noAnsi = null;
+
+    /**
+     * Initialize with a real Symfony Console input/output (called from ConsoleApplication::doRun()).
+     * After this call, all output goes through the configured Console, and noAnsi reflects
+     * the user's --no-ansi flag.
+     */
+    public static function init(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): void
+    {
+        self::$output = $output;
+        try {
+            self::$noAnsi = (bool) $input->getOption('no-ansi');
+        } catch (\InvalidArgumentException) {
+            // Symfony hasn't bound the application-level input definition yet
+            // (e.g. ArgvInput passed directly to doRun() on some versions).
+            self::$noAnsi = false;
+        }
+    }
+
     public static function notice(string $message, bool $indent = false): void
     {
-        $no_ansi = (bool) ApplicationContext::get(InputInterface::class)->getOption('no-ansi');
-        $output = ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class);
+        $no_ansi = self::noAnsi();
+        $output = self::output();
         if ($output->isVerbose()) {
             logger()->notice(strip_ansi_colors($message));
         } else {
@@ -29,8 +49,8 @@ class InteractiveTerm
 
     public static function success(string $message, bool $indent = false): void
     {
-        $no_ansi = (bool) ApplicationContext::get(InputInterface::class)->getOption('no-ansi');
-        $output = ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class);
+        $no_ansi = self::noAnsi();
+        $output = self::output();
         if ($output->isVerbose()) {
             logger()->info(strip_ansi_colors($message));
         } else {
@@ -41,8 +61,8 @@ class InteractiveTerm
 
     public static function plain(string $message, string $level = 'info'): void
     {
-        $no_ansi = (bool) ApplicationContext::get(InputInterface::class)->getOption('no-ansi');
-        $output = ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class);
+        $no_ansi = self::noAnsi();
+        $output = self::output();
         if ($output->isVerbose()) {
             match ($level) {
                 'debug' => logger()->debug(strip_ansi_colors($message)),
@@ -59,8 +79,8 @@ class InteractiveTerm
 
     public static function info(string $message): void
     {
-        $no_ansi = (bool) ApplicationContext::get(InputInterface::class)->getOption('no-ansi');
-        $output = ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class);
+        $no_ansi = self::noAnsi();
+        $output = self::output();
         if (!$output->isVerbose()) {
             $output->writeln(($no_ansi ? 'strip_ansi_colors' : 'strval')(ConsoleColor::green('▶ ') . $message));
         }
@@ -69,8 +89,8 @@ class InteractiveTerm
 
     public static function error(string $message, bool $indent = true): void
     {
-        $no_ansi = (bool) ApplicationContext::get(InputInterface::class)->getOption('no-ansi');
-        $output = ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class);
+        $no_ansi = self::noAnsi();
+        $output = self::output();
         if ($output->isVerbose()) {
             logger()->error(strip_ansi_colors($message));
         } else {
@@ -86,16 +106,16 @@ class InteractiveTerm
 
     public static function setMessage(string $message): void
     {
-        $no_ansi = (bool) ApplicationContext::get(InputInterface::class)->getOption('no-ansi');
+        $no_ansi = self::noAnsi();
         self::$indicator?->setMessage(($no_ansi ? 'strip_ansi_colors' : 'strval')($message));
         logger()->debug(strip_ansi_colors($message));
     }
 
     public static function finish(string $message, bool $status = true): void
     {
-        $no_ansi = (bool) ApplicationContext::get(InputInterface::class)->getOption('no-ansi');
+        $no_ansi = self::noAnsi();
         $message = $no_ansi ? strip_ansi_colors($message) : $message;
-        $output = ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class);
+        $output = self::output();
         if ($output->isVerbose()) {
             if ($status) {
                 logger()->info($message);
@@ -116,8 +136,8 @@ class InteractiveTerm
 
     public static function indicateProgress(string $message): void
     {
-        $no_ansi = (bool) ApplicationContext::get(InputInterface::class)->getOption('no-ansi');
-        $output = ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class);
+        $no_ansi = self::noAnsi();
+        $output = self::output();
         if ($output->isVerbose()) {
             logger()->info(strip_ansi_colors($message));
             return;
@@ -131,11 +151,41 @@ class InteractiveTerm
         logger()->debug(strip_ansi_colors($message));
         // if no ansi, use a dot instead of spinner
         if ($no_ansi) {
-            self::$indicator = new ProgressIndicator(ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class), 'verbose', 100, [' •', ' •']);
+            self::$indicator = new ProgressIndicator(self::output(), 'verbose', 100, [' •', ' •']);
             self::$indicator->start(strip_ansi_colors($message));
             return;
         }
-        self::$indicator = new ProgressIndicator(ApplicationContext::get(OutputInterface::class), 'verbose', 100, [' ⠏', ' ⠛', ' ⠹', ' ⢸', ' ⣰', ' ⣤', ' ⣆', ' ⡇']);
+        self::$indicator = new ProgressIndicator(self::output(), 'verbose', 100, [' ⠏', ' ⠛', ' ⠹', ' ⢸', ' ⣰', ' ⣤', ' ⣆', ' ⡇']);
         self::$indicator->start($message);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Lazy default initialization used when init() was never called (early-boot errors,
+     * tests, programmatic usage). Creates a plain STDERR output so error messages are
+     * visible without depending on the Symfony Console lifecycle.
+     */
+    private static function initDefault(): void
+    {
+        if (self::$output !== null) {
+            return;
+        }
+        self::$output = new ConsoleOutput(ConsoleOutput::VERBOSITY_NORMAL, false);
+        self::$noAnsi = false;
+    }
+
+    private static function noAnsi(): bool
+    {
+        if (self::$output === null) {
+            self::initDefault();
+        }
+        return self::$noAnsi ?? false;
+    }
+
+    private static function output(): OutputInterface
+    {
+        if (self::$output === null) {
+            self::initDefault();
+        }
+        return self::$output;
+    }
 }