diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-semver.yaml b/.github/workflows/update-semver.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08905b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-semver.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+name: Update Semver
+
+on:  # yamllint disable-line rule:truthy
+  push:
+    branches-ignore:
+      - '**'
+    tags:
+      - 'v*.*.*'
+
+jobs:
+  update-semver:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: rickstaa/action-update-semver@v1
diff --git a/action.yaml b/action.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..965c481
--- /dev/null
+++ b/action.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+---  # allow running scwrypts in Github Actions
+name: scwrypts
+author: yage
+description: check requird dependencies and run a scwrypt
+
+inputs:
+  scwrypt:
+    description: "args / identifiers for scwrypts CLI (e.g. '--name <scwrypt-name> --group <group-name> --type <type-name>')"
+    required: true
+
+  args:
+    description: "arguments to pass to the scwrypt-to-be-run"
+    required: false
+
+  version:
+    description: "scwrypts version; defaults to latest (minimum v3.7.0)"
+    required: false
+
+  scwrypts-env:
+    description: "override value for SCWRYPTS_ENV"
+    required: false
+    default: "ci.github-actions"
+
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      with:
+        repository: wrynegade/scwrypts
+        path: ./scwrypts
+        ref: ${{ inputs.version }}
+
+    - name: check dependencies
+      shell: bash
+      env:
+        CI: true
+        SCWRYPTS_PLUGIN_ENABLED__ci: 1
+      run: |
+        [ $CI_SCWRYPTS_READY ] && [[ $CI_SCWRYPTS_READY -eq 1 ]] && echo 'setup completed previously' && exit 0
+
+        echo "updating package dependencies"
+        {
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install --yes zsh fzf ripgrep
+
+          for D in $($GITHUB_WORKSPACE/scwrypts/scwrypts -n --name check-all-dependencies --group ci --type zsh)
+          do
+            echo "--- installing $D ---"
+            ( sudo apt-get install --yes $D; exit 0; )
+          done
+        } > $HOME/.scwrypts.apt-get.log 2>&1
+
+        echo "updating virtual dependencies"
+        $GITHUB_WORKSPACE/scwrypts/scwrypts -n \
+          --name scwrypts/virtualenv/update-all \
+          --group scwrypts \
+          --type zsh \
+          > $HOME/.scwrypts.virtualenv.log 2>&1
+
+        echo "CI_SCWRYPTS_READY=1" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        exit 0
+
+    - name: run scwrypt
+      shell: bash
+      env:
+        CI: true
+        SCWRYPTS_ENV: ${{ inputs.scwrypts-env }}
+      run: $GITHUB_WORKSPACE/scwrypts/scwrypts ${{inputs.scwrypt}} -- ${{inputs.args}}
diff --git a/plugins/ci/.config/env.template b/plugins/ci/.config/env.template
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7df9c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ci/.config/env.template
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
diff --git a/plugins/ci/.config/env.template.descriptions b/plugins/ci/.config/env.template.descriptions
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/plugins/ci/README.md b/plugins/ci/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a40381
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ci/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# Kubernetes `kubectl` Helper Plugin
+
+Leverages a local `redis` application to quickly and easily set an alias `k` for `kubectl --context <some-context> --namespace <some-namespace>`.
+Much like scwrypts environments, `k` aliases are *only* shared amongst session with the same `SCWRYPTS_ENV` to prevent accidental cross-contamination.
+
+
+## Getting Started
+
+Enable the plugin in `~/.config/scwrypts/config.zsh` by adding `SCWRYPTS_PLUGIN_ENABLED__KUBECTL=1`.
+Use `k` as your new `kubectl` and checkout `k --help` and `k meta --help`.
diff --git a/plugins/ci/check-all-dependencies b/plugins/ci/check-all-dependencies
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c245ec9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ci/check-all-dependencies
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
+#####################################################################
+DEPENDENCIES+=()
+REQUIRED_ENV+=()
+#####################################################################
+
+MAIN() {
+	cd "$SCWRYPTS_ROOT__scwrypts/"
+
+	DEPENDENCIES+=()
+	for group in ${SCWRYPTS_GROUPS[@]}
+	do
+		[[ $group =~ ^ci$ ]] && continue
+
+		GROUP_HOME="$(eval 'echo $SCWRYPTS_ROOT__'$group)"
+		[ $GROUP_HOME ] && [ -d "$GROUP_HOME" ] || continue
+
+		STATUS "checking dependencies for $group"
+		DEPENDENCIES+=($(
+			for file in $(
+				{
+					cd "$GROUP_HOME"
+					rg -l '^DEPENDENCIES\+=\($'
+					rg -l '^DEPENDENCIES\+=\([^)]\+\)'
+				} | grep -v '\.md$' | grep -v 'check-all-dependencies$')
+			do
+				sed -z 's/.*DEPENDENCIES+=(\([^)]*\)).*/\1\n/; s/#.*\n//g; s/\s\+/\n/g' "$GROUP_HOME/$file"
+			done 
+		))
+	done
+
+	DEPENDENCIES=(zsh $(echo $DEPENDENCIES | sed 's/ /\n/g' | sort -u | grep '^[-_a-zA-Z]\+$'))
+
+	STATUS "discovered dependencies: ($DEPENDENCIES)"
+	echo $DEPENDENCIES | sed 's/ /\n/g'
+	CHECK_ENVIRONMENT && SUCCESS "all dependencies satisfied"
+}
+
+#####################################################################
+MAIN $@
diff --git a/plugins/ci/ci.scwrypts.zsh b/plugins/ci/ci.scwrypts.zsh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7530945
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ci/ci.scwrypts.zsh
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+SCWRYPTS_GROUPS+=(ci)
+
+export SCWRYPTS_TYPE__ci=zsh
+export SCWRYPTS_ROOT__ci="$SCWRYPTS_ROOT__scwrypts/plugins/ci"
+export SCWRYPTS_COLOR__ci='\033[0m'
diff --git a/zsh/helm/get-template b/zsh/helm/get-template
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..1467734
--- /dev/null
+++ b/zsh/helm/get-template
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
+DEPENDENCIES+=()
+REQUIRED_ENV+=()
+
+use helm
+use scwrypts
+
+CHECK_ENVIRONMENT
+#####################################################################
+
+MAIN() {
+	unset USAGE
+	HELM__TEMPLATE__GET $@
+}
+
+#####################################################################
+MAIN $@
diff --git a/zsh/helm/update-dependencies b/zsh/helm/update-dependencies
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..1aba64e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/zsh/helm/update-dependencies
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
+DEPENDENCIES+=()
+REQUIRED_ENV+=()
+
+use helm
+use scwrypts
+
+CHECK_ENVIRONMENT
+#####################################################################
+
+MAIN() {
+	unset USAGE
+	HELM__DEPENDENCY__UPDATE $@
+}
+
+#####################################################################
+MAIN $@
diff --git a/zsh/lib/config.zsh b/zsh/lib/config.zsh
index 46d39e1..d683a12 100644
--- a/zsh/lib/config.zsh
+++ b/zsh/lib/config.zsh
@@ -40,9 +40,12 @@ source "$SCWRYPTS_ROOT/zsh/lib/config.group.zsh" \
 
 #####################################################################
 
-[[ $SCWRYPTS_PLUGIN_ENABLED__kubectl -eq 1 ]] && {
-	source "$SCWRYPTS_ROOT/plugins/kubectl/kubectl.scwrypts.zsh"
-}
+for plugin in $(ls $SCWRYPTS_ROOT__scwrypts/plugins)
+do
+	[[ $(eval 'echo $SCWRYPTS_PLUGIN_ENABLED__'$plugin) -eq 1 ]] && {
+		source "$SCWRYPTS_ROOT/plugins/$plugin/$plugin.scwrypts.zsh"
+	}
+done
 
 #####################################################################
 [ $NO_EXPORT_CONFIG ] || __SCWRYPT=1 # arbitrary; indicates currently inside a scwrypt
diff --git a/zsh/lib/helm/dependency.module.zsh b/zsh/lib/helm/dependency.module.zsh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ed11a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/zsh/lib/helm/dependency.module.zsh
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#####################################################################
+
+DEPENDENCIES+=(helm kubeval)
+REQUIRED_ENV+=()
+
+use helm/validate
+
+#####################################################################
+
+HELM__DEPENDENCY__UPDATE() {
+	[ ! $USAGE ] && local USAGE="
+		usage: [...options...]
+
+		options
+		  -t, --template-filename   path to a template/*.yaml file of a helm chart
+
+		Auto-detect chart and build dependencies for any file within a helm chart.
+	"
+	local TEMPLATE_FILENAME CHART_ROOT VALUES_FILES=()
+	local COLORIZE=0 RAW=0 DEBUG=0
+
+	while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]
+	do
+		case $1 in 
+			-t | --template-filename ) TEMPLATE_FILENAME="$(SCWRYPTS__GET_REALPATH "$2")"; shift 1 ;;
+
+			* ) ERROR "unexpected argument '$1'" ;;
+		esac
+		shift 1
+	done
+
+	HELM__VALIDATE
+	CHECK_ERRORS || return 1
+
+	##########################################
+
+	STATUS "updating helm dependencies for '$CHART_ROOT'" \
+		&& cd $CHART_ROOT  \
+		&& helm dependency update \
+		&& SUCCESS "helm chart dependencies updated" \
+		|| { ERROR "unable to update helm chart dependencies (see above)"; return 1; }
+}
diff --git a/zsh/lib/helm/helm.module.zsh b/zsh/lib/helm/helm.module.zsh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1be8095
--- /dev/null
+++ b/zsh/lib/helm/helm.module.zsh
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#####################################################################
+
+DEPENDENCIES+=()
+REQUIRED_ENV+=()
+
+use helm/dependency
+use helm/template
+
+#####################################################################
diff --git a/zsh/lib/helm/template.module.zsh b/zsh/lib/helm/template.module.zsh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17dc29f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/zsh/lib/helm/template.module.zsh
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+#####################################################################
+
+DEPENDENCIES+=(helm kubeval)
+REQUIRED_ENV+=()
+
+use helm/validate
+
+#####################################################################
+
+HELM__TEMPLATE__GET() {
+	[ ! $USAGE ] && local USAGE="
+		usage: [...options...] (--) [...helm args...]
+
+		options
+		  -t, --template-filename   path to a template/*.yaml file of a helm chart
+
+		  --colorize   use 'bat' to colorize output
+		  --raw        remove scwrypts-added fluff and only output helm template details
+
+		Smart helm-template generator which auto-detects the chart
+		and sample values for testing and developing helm charts.
+	"
+	local HELM_ARGS=()
+	local TEMPLATE_FILENAME TEMPLATE_NAME CHART_ROOT CHART_NAME VALUES_FILES=()
+	local COLORIZE=0 RAW=0 DEBUG=0
+
+	while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]
+	do
+		case $1 in 
+			-t | --template-filename ) TEMPLATE_FILENAME="$(SCWRYPTS__GET_REALPATH "$2")"; shift 1 ;;
+
+			--colorize )
+				DEPENDENCIES=(bat) CHECK_ENVIRONMENT || return 1
+				COLORIZE=1
+				;;
+
+			--raw ) RAW=1 ;;
+			-- ) shift 1; break ;;
+
+			* ) HELM_ARGS+=($1) ;;
+		esac
+		shift 1
+	done
+
+	while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do HELM_ARGS+=($1); shift 1; done
+
+	HELM__VALIDATE
+	CHECK_ERRORS || return 1
+
+	##########################################
+
+	local EXIT_CODE=0
+	local TEMPLATE_OUTPUT DEBUG_OUTPUT
+	[ $USE_CHART_ROOT ] && [[ $USE_CHART_ROOT -eq 1 ]] && {
+		CAPTURE TEMPLATE_OUTPUT DEBUG_OUTPUT helm template "$CHART_ROOT" ${HELM_ARGS[@]} --debug
+		true
+	} || {
+		CAPTURE TEMPLATE_OUTPUT DEBUG_OUTPUT helm template "$CHART_ROOT" ${HELM_ARGS[@]} --debug --show-only "$(echo $TEMPLATE_FILENAME | sed "s|^$CHART_ROOT/||")"
+	}
+		
+	[ ! $TEMPLATE_OUTPUT ] && EXIT_CODE=1
+
+	[[ $RAW -eq 1 ]] && {
+		[ $USE_CHART_ROOT ] && [[ $USE_CHART_ROOT -eq 1 ]] || HELM_ARGS+=(--show-only $(echo $TEMPLATE_FILENAME | sed "s|^$CHART_ROOT/||"))
+		[[ $COLORIZE -eq 1 ]] \
+			&& helm template "$CHART_ROOT" ${HELM_ARGS[@]} 2>&1 | bat --language yaml --color always \
+			|| helm template "$CHART_ROOT" ${HELM_ARGS[@]} | grep -v '^# Source:.*$' \
+			;
+
+		return $EXIT_CODE
+	}
+
+	[ $TEMPLATE_OUTPUT ] && {
+		KUBEVAL_RAW=$(echo $TEMPLATE_OUTPUT | kubeval --schema-location https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yannh/kubernetes-json-schema/master)
+		true
+	} || {
+		TEMPLATE_OUTPUT="---\nerror: chart or '$(basename $(dirname $TEMPLATE_FILENAME))/$(basename $TEMPLATE_FILENAME)' invalid"
+		KUBEVAL_RAW="no template output; kubeval skipped"
+
+		[ $USE_CHART_ROOT ] && [[ $USE_CHART_ROOT -eq 1 ]] || {
+			DEBUG_OUTPUT="$(helm template "$CHART_ROOT" ${HELM_ARGS[@]} --debug 2>&1 >/dev/null)"
+		}
+	}
+
+	TEMPLATE_OUTPUT="$TEMPLATE_OUTPUT
+---
+debug: |
+$(echo $DEBUG_OUTPUT | sed 's/^/  /g')
+
+kubeval: |
+$(echo $KUBEVAL_RAW | sed 's/^/  /g')
+
+lint: |
+$(helm lint $CHART_ROOT ${HELM_ARGS[@]} 2>&1 | sed 's/^/  /g')
+"
+
+	[[ $COLORIZE -eq 1 ]] && {
+		echo $TEMPLATE_OUTPUT | bat --language yaml --color always
+	} || {
+		echo $TEMPLATE_OUTPUT
+	}
+
+	return $EXIT_CODE
+}
diff --git a/zsh/lib/helm/validate.module.zsh b/zsh/lib/helm/validate.module.zsh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9fc661
--- /dev/null
+++ b/zsh/lib/helm/validate.module.zsh
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+#####################################################################
+
+DEPENDENCIES+=(yq)
+REQUIRED_ENV+=()
+
+#####################################################################
+
+HELM__VALIDATE() {
+	[ ! $USAGE ] && USAGE="
+		usage:
+
+		environment
+		  TEMPLATE_FILENAME   target template filename
+
+		Smart helm-detection / validator which determines the helm
+		chart root and other details given a particular filename.
+	"
+
+	[ $TEMPLATE_FILENAME ] && [ -f "$TEMPLATE_FILENAME" ] || {
+		ERROR 'must provide a template filename'
+		return 1
+	}
+
+	_HELM__GET_CHART_ROOT
+	[ $CHART_ROOT ] && [ -d "$CHART_ROOT" ] || {
+		ERROR 'unable to determine helm root; is this a helm template file?'
+		return 1
+	}
+
+	CHART_NAME=$(yq -r .name "$CHART_ROOT/Chart.yaml")
+
+	[[ $TEMPLATE_FILENAME =~ values*.yaml$ ]] && {
+		HELM_ARGS+=(--values $TEMPLATE_FILENAME)
+		USE_CHART_ROOT=1
+	}
+
+	[[ $(dirname $TEMPLATE_FILENAME) =~ ^$CHART_ROOT$ ]] \
+		&& USE_CHART_ROOT=1
+	
+	_HELM__GET_DEFAULT_VALUES_ARGS
+
+	return 0
+}
+
+_HELM__GET_CHART_ROOT() {
+	local SEARCH_DIR=$(dirname "$TEMPLATE_FILENAME")
+	while [ ! $CHART_ROOT ] && [[ ! $SEARCH_DIR =~ ^/$ ]]
+	do
+		[ -f "$SEARCH_DIR/Chart.yaml" ] && CHART_ROOT="$SEARCH_DIR" && return 0
+		SEARCH_DIR="$(dirname "$SEARCH_DIR")"
+	done
+
+	return 1
+}
+
+_HELM__GET_DEFAULT_VALUES_ARGS() {
+	for F in \
+		"$CHART_ROOT/values.yaml" \
+		"$CHART_ROOT/values.test.yaml" \
+		"$CHART_ROOT/tests/default.yaml" \
+		;
+	do
+		[ -f "$F" ] && HELM_ARGS+=(--values "$F")
+	done
+}
diff --git a/zsh/lib/office/latex.module.zsh b/zsh/lib/office/latex.module.zsh
index d49f453..a13e4d1 100644
--- a/zsh/lib/office/latex.module.zsh
+++ b/zsh/lib/office/latex.module.zsh
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ REQUIRED_ENV+=()
 #####################################################################
 
 LATEX__GET_MAIN_FILENAME() {
-	local FILENAME=$(SCWRYPTS__GET_PATH_TO_RELATIVE_ARGUMENT "$1")
+	local FILENAME=$(SCWRYPTS__GET_REALPATH "$1")
 	local DIRNAME="$FILENAME"
 
 	for _ in {1..3}
diff --git a/zsh/lib/scwrypts/scwrypts.module.zsh b/zsh/lib/scwrypts/scwrypts.module.zsh
index e69de29..2c407f9 100644
--- a/zsh/lib/scwrypts/scwrypts.module.zsh
+++ b/zsh/lib/scwrypts/scwrypts.module.zsh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#####################################################################
+
+DEPENDENCIES+=()
+REQUIRED_ENV+=()
+
+#####################################################################
+
+SCWRYPTS__GET_REALPATH() {
+	[[ ! $1 =~ ^[/~] ]] \
+		&& echo $(readlink -f "$EXECUTION_DIR/$1") \
+		|| echo "$1" \
+		;
+
+	return 0
+}
diff --git a/zsh/lib/scwrypts/virtualenv.module.zsh b/zsh/lib/scwrypts/virtualenv.module.zsh
index 0519c84..3d8ac94 100644
--- a/zsh/lib/scwrypts/virtualenv.module.zsh
+++ b/zsh/lib/scwrypts/virtualenv.module.zsh
@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
 #####################################################################
 
-DEPENDENCIES+=(
-	virtualenv
-	nodeenv
-)
+DEPENDENCIES+=()
 REQUIRED_ENV+=()
 
 use utils
@@ -15,14 +12,14 @@ AVAILABLE_VIRTUALENVS=(py zx)
 REFRESH_VIRTUALENV() {
 	local GROUP="$1"
 	local TYPE="$2"
-	[ ! $TYPE ] && {
-		ERROR 'no virtualenv type specified'
-		return 1
-	}
-	STATUS "refreshing $GROUP/$TYPE virtual environment"
+	local VIRTUALENV_PATH="$(_VIRTUALENV__GET_PATH)"
+
+	[ ! $TYPE ] && { ERROR 'no virtualenv type specified'; return 1; }
+
+	STATUS "refreshing $GROUP/$TYPE virtualenv"
 	DELETE_VIRTUALENV $GROUP $TYPE \
 		&& UPDATE_VIRTUALENV $GROUP $TYPE \
-		&& SUCCESS 'successfully refreshed virtual environment' \
+		&& SUCCESS 'successfully refreshed virtualenv' \
 		|| { ERROR 'something went wrong during refresh (see above)'; return 1; } \
 		;
 }
@@ -30,64 +27,50 @@ REFRESH_VIRTUALENV() {
 UPDATE_VIRTUALENV() {
 	local GROUP="$1"
 	local TYPE="$2"
-	[ ! $TYPE ] && {
-		ERROR 'no virtualenv type specified'
-		return 1
-	}
-
-	local VIRTUALENV_PATH=$(GET_VIRTUALENV_PATH $GROUP $TYPE)
-
-	[ ! -d $VIRTUALENV_PATH ] && {
-		which CREATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} >/dev/null 2>&1 \
-			&& CREATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} $VIRTUALENV_PATH \
-			|| return 0
-	}
-
-	STATUS "updating $TYPE virtual environment"
-
-	source $VIRTUALENV_PATH/bin/activate || {
-		ERROR 'failed to activate virtualenv; did create fail?'
-		return 1
-	}
-
-	cd $SCWRYPTS_ROOT
-	local UPDATE_CODE=0
-	case $TYPE in
-		py ) cd py; pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt; UPDATE_CODE=$? ;;
-		zx ) cd zx; npm install ;;
-	esac
-	UPDATE_CODE=$?
-	[[ $UPDATE_CODE -eq 0 ]] \
-		&& SUCCESS "$TYPE virtual environment up-to-date" \
-		|| ERROR "failed to update $TYPE virtual environment (see errors above)" \
-		;
-
-	deactivate_node >/dev/null 2>&1
-	deactivate >/dev/null 2>&1
-	return $UPDATE_CODE
+	local VIRTUALENV_PATH="$(_VIRTUALENV__GET_PATH)"
+
+	[ ! $TYPE ] && { ERROR 'no virtualenv type specified'; return 1; }
+
+	: \
+		&& which CREATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+		&& which ACTIVATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+		&& which UPDATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+		&& which DEACTIVATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+		|| { STATUS "no virtualenv available for $GROUP/$TYPE; skipping"; return 0; }
+
+	STATUS "updating $GROUP/$TYPE virtualenv" \
+		&& CREATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} \
+		&& ACTIVATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} \
+		&& UPDATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} \
+		&& DEACTIVATE_VIRTUALENV__${GROUP}__${TYPE} \
+		&& SUCCESS "$GROUP/$TYPE virtualenv up-to-date" \
+		|| { ERROR "failed to update $GROUP/$TYPE virtualenv (see errors above)"; return 2; }
 }
 
 DELETE_VIRTUALENV() {
+	[ $CI ] && return 0
+
 	local GROUP="$1"
 	local TYPE="$2"
-	local VIRTUALENV_PATH="$(GET_VIRTUALENV_PATH $GROUP $TYPE)"
+	local VIRTUALENV_PATH="$(_VIRTUALENV__GET_PATH)"
 
-	STATUS "dropping $TYPE virtual environment artifacts"
+	[ ! $TYPE ] && { ERROR 'no virtualenv type specified'; return 1; }
+
+	STATUS "dropping $GROUP/$TYPE virtualenv artifacts"
 
 	[ ! -d $VIRTUALENV_PATH ] && {
-		SUCCESS "no $TYPE environment detected"
+		SUCCESS "no $GROUP/$TYPE environment detected"
 		return 0
 	}
 
 	rm -rf $VIRTUALENV_PATH \
-		&& SUCCESS "succesfully cleaned up $TYPE virtual environment" \
+		&& SUCCESS "succesfully cleaned up $GROUP/$TYPE virtualenv" \
 		|| { ERROR "unabled to remove '$VIRTUALENV_PATH'"; return 1; }
 }
 
-GET_VIRTUALENV_PATH() {
-	local GROUP="$1"
-	local TYPE="$2"
+#####################################################################
 
+_VIRTUALENV__GET_PATH() {
 	local ENV_PATH="$(eval echo '$SCWRYPTS_VIRTUALENV_PATH__'$GROUP 2>/dev/null)"
 	[ ! $ENV_PATH ] && ENV_PATH="$SCWRYPTS_VIRTUALENV_PATH__scwrypts"
 
@@ -97,9 +80,14 @@ GET_VIRTUALENV_PATH() {
 #####################################################################
 
 CREATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__py() {
+	[ $CI ] && return 0
+	[ -d $VIRTUALENV_PATH ] && return 0
+
+	DEPENDENCIES=(virtualenv) CHECK_ENVIRONMENT || return 1
+
 	local VIRTUALENV_PATH="$1"
 
-	STATUS 'creating python virtual environment'
+	STATUS 'creating python virtualenv'
 	local PY PYTHON
 	for PY in $(echo $SCWRYPTS_PREFERRED_PYTHON_VERSIONS__scwrypts)
 	do
@@ -122,7 +110,37 @@ CREATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__py() {
 		}
 }
 
+ACTIVATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__py() {
+	[ $CI ] && return 0
+	source $VIRTUALENV_PATH/bin/activate || {
+		ERROR "failed to activate virtualenv $GROUP/$TYPE; did create fail?"
+		return 1
+	}
+}
+
+UPDATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__py() {
+	local PIP_INSTALL_ARGS=()
+
+	PIP_INSTALL_ARGS+=(--no-cache-dir)
+	PIP_INSTALL_ARGS+=(-r requirements.txt)
+
+	cd "$SCWRYPTS_ROOT/py"
+	pip install ${PIP_INSTALL_ARGS[@]}
+}
+
+DEACTIVATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__py() {
+	deactivate >/dev/null 2>&1
+	return 0
+}
+
+##########################################
+
 CREATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__zx() {
+	[ $CI ] && return 0
+	[ -d $VIRTUALENV_PATH ] && return 0
+
+	DEPENDENCIES=(nodeenv) CHECK_ENVIRONMENT || return 1
+
 	local VIRTUALENV_PATH="$1"
 
 	STATUS 'setting up nodeenv'
@@ -133,3 +151,23 @@ CREATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__zx() {
 			return 2
 		}
 }
+
+ACTIVATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__zx() {
+	[ $CI ] && return 0
+	source $VIRTUALENV_PATH/bin/activate || {
+		ERROR "failed to activate virtualenv $GROUP/$TYPE; did create fail?"
+		return 1
+	}
+}
+
+UPDATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__zx() {
+	local NPM_INSTALL_ARGS=()
+
+	cd "$SCWRYPTS_ROOT/zx"
+	npm install ${NPM_INSTALL_ARGS[@]}
+}
+
+DEACTIVATE_VIRTUALENV__scwrypts__zx() {
+	deactivate_node >/dev/null 2>&1
+	return 0
+}
diff --git a/zsh/lib/utils/io.zsh b/zsh/lib/utils/io.zsh
index 10b74fd..d5aa19d 100644
--- a/zsh/lib/utils/io.zsh
+++ b/zsh/lib/utils/io.zsh
@@ -155,6 +155,18 @@ yN() {
 	[[ $yN =~ [yY] ]] && return 0 || return 1
 }
 
+CAPTURE() {
+	[ ! $USAGE ] && USAGE="
+	usage: stdout-varname stderr-varname [...cmd and args...]
+
+	captures stdout and stderr on separate variables for a command
+	"
+	{
+		IFS=$'\n' read -r -d '' $2;
+		IFS=$'\n' read -r -d '' $1;
+	} < <((printf '\0%s\0' "$(${@:3})" 1>&2) 2>&1)
+}
+
 #####################################################################
 
 GETSUDO() {
diff --git a/zsh/lib/utils/utils.module.zsh b/zsh/lib/utils/utils.module.zsh
index 86b1aa4..c383718 100644
--- a/zsh/lib/utils/utils.module.zsh
+++ b/zsh/lib/utils/utils.module.zsh
@@ -19,10 +19,16 @@ source ${0:a:h}/environment.zsh
 
 CHECK_ENVIRONMENT() {
 	local OPTIONAL=0
-	[[ $1 =~ --optional ]] && OPTIONAL=1
 
-	[[ $OPTIONAL -eq 1 ]] \
-		&& E=WARNING || E=ERROR
+	while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]
+	do
+		case $1 in
+			--optional ) OPTIONAL=1 ;;
+		esac
+		shift 1
+	done
+
+	[[ $OPTIONAL -eq 1 ]] && E=WARNING || E=ERROR
 
 	local ENVIRONMENT_STATUS=0
 
diff --git a/zsh/office/latex/cleanup b/zsh/office/latex/cleanup
index df40aa2..f118eed 100755
--- a/zsh/office/latex/cleanup
+++ b/zsh/office/latex/cleanup
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ CHECK_ENVIRONMENT
 #####################################################################
 
 CLEAN_LATEX_LOGFILES() {
-	local DIRECTORY=$(SCWRYPTS__GET_PATH_TO_RELATIVE_ARGUMENT ".")
+	local DIRECTORY=$(SCWRYPTS__GET_REALPATH ".")
 	[ $1 ] && DIRECTORY="$(dirname "$(LATEX__GET_MAIN_FILENAME "$1")")"
 	[ $DIRECTORY ] && [ -d $DIRECTORY ] \
 		|| FAIL 1 'unable to parse valid directory'
diff --git a/zsh/scwrypts/virtualenv/update-all b/zsh/scwrypts/virtualenv/update-all
index c4d9363..d6f7c03 100755
--- a/zsh/scwrypts/virtualenv/update-all
+++ b/zsh/scwrypts/virtualenv/update-all
@@ -22,4 +22,4 @@ done
 
 [[ $FAILED_COUNT -eq 0 ]] \
 	&& SUCCESS 'all environments up-to-date' \
-	|| FAIL $FAILED_COUNT 'failed to update one or more environments'
+	|| FAIL $FAILED_COUNT "failed to update $FAILED_COUNT more environment(s)"