diff --git a/podcheck.sh b/podcheck.sh
index 0c6c0b6..a5ee5db 100755
--- a/podcheck.sh
+++ b/podcheck.sh
@@ -375,8 +375,6 @@ distro_checker() {
   fi
 }
 
-}
-
 # Static binary downloader for dependencies
 binary_downloader() {
   BinaryName="$1"
@@ -461,25 +459,48 @@ dependency_check() {
 dependency_check "regctl" "regbin" "https://github.com/regclient/regclient/releases/latest/download/regctl-linux-TEMP"
 dependency_check "jq" "jqbin" "https://github.com/jqlang/jq/releases/latest/download/jq-linux-TEMP"
 
+# Version check & initiate self update
+if [[ "$LatestRelease" != "undefined" ]]; then
+  if [[ "$VERSION" != "$LatestRelease" ]]; then
+    printf "New version available! %b%s%b ⇒ %b%s%b \n Change Notes: %s \n" "$c_yellow" "$VERSION" "$c_reset" "$c_green" "$LatestRelease" "$c_reset" "$LatestChanges"
+    if [[ "$AutoMode" == false ]]; then
+      read -r -p "Would you like to update? y/[n]: " SelfUpdate
+      [[ "$SelfUpdate" =~ [yY] ]] && self_update
+    elif [[ "$AutoMode" == true ]] && [[ "$AutoSelfUpdate" == true ]]; then 
+      self_update;
+    else
+      [[ "$Notify" == true ]] && { exec_if_exists_or_fail podcheck_notification "$VERSION" "$LatestRelease" "$LatestChanges" || printf "Could not source notification function.\n"; }
+    fi
+  fi
+else
+  printf "ERROR: Failed to curl latest Podcheck.sh release version.\n"
+fi
+
+# Version check for notify templates
+[[ "$Notify" == true ]] && [[ ! -s "${ScriptWorkDir}/notify.sh" ]] && { exec_if_exists_or_fail notify_update_notification || printf "Could not source notify notification function.\n"; }
+
 # Check podman compose binary
-if podman compose version &>/dev/null; then
-  PodmanComposeBin="podman compose"
-elif command -v podman-compose &>/dev/null; then
-  PodmanComposeBin="podman-compose"
-elif podman version &>/dev/null; then
-  printf "%s\n" "No podman-compose binary available, using plain podman"
+podman info &>/dev/null || { printf "\n%bYour current user does not have permissions to the podman socket - may require root / podman group. Exiting.%b\n" "$c_red" "$c_reset"; exit 1; }
+if podman compose version &>/dev/null; then 
+  PodmanBin="podman compose" ;
+elif podman-compose version &>/dev/null; then 
+  PodmanBin="podman-compose" ;
+elif podman -v &>/dev/null; then
+  printf "%s\n" "No podman compose binary available, using plain podman (Not recommended!)"
+  printf "%s\n" "'podman run' will ONLY update images, not the container itself."
 else
   printf "%s\n" "No podman binaries available, exiting."
   exit 1
 fi
 
-options() {
-  num=1
-  for i in "${GotUpdates[@]}"; do
-    echo "$num) $i"
-    ((num++))
-  done
-}
+# Listing typed exclusions
+if [[ -n ${Excludes[*]:-} ]]; then
+  printf "\n%bExcluding these names:%b\n" "$c_blue" "$c_reset"
+  printf "%s\n" "${Excludes[@]}"
+  printf "\n"
+fi
+
+
 
 if [[ -n "${Excludes[*]}" ]]; then
   printf "\n%bExcluding these names:%b\n" "$c_blue" "$c_reset"
@@ -493,118 +514,245 @@ start_time=$(date +%s)
 
 printf "\n%bStarting container update check%b\n" "$c_blue" "$c_reset"
 
-process_container() {
-  local container="$1"
-  ((RegCheckQue++))
-  progress_bar "$RegCheckQue" "$ContCount"
-  
-  for e in "${Excludes[@]}"; do 
-    if [[ "$container" == "$e" ]]; then
-      return 0
+# Testing and setting timeout binary
+t_out=$(command -v timeout || echo "")
+if [[ $t_out ]]; then
+  t_out=$(realpath "$t_out" 2>/dev/null || readlink -f "$t_out")
+  if [[ $t_out =~ "busybox" ]]; then
+    t_out="timeout ${Timeout}"
+  else 
+    t_out="timeout --foreground ${Timeout}"
+  fi
+else
+  t_out=""
+fi
+
+check_image() {
+  i="$1"
+  local Excludes=($Excludes_string)
+  for e in "${Excludes[@]}"; do
+    if [[ "$i" == "$e" ]]; then
+      printf "%s\n" "Skip $i"
+      return
     fi
   done
-  
-  local ImageId RepoUrl LocalHash RegHash
-  if ! ImageId=$(podman inspect "$container" --format='{{.Image}}'); then
-    echo "Error: Failed to get image ID for container $container"
-    return 0
+
+  # Skipping non-compose containers unless option is set
+  ContLabels=$(podman inspect "$i" --format '{{json .Config.Labels}}')
+  ContPath=$($jqbin -r '."com.docker.compose.project.working_dir"' <<< "$ContLabels")
+  [[ "$ContPath" == "null" ]] && ContPath=""
+  if [[ -z "$ContPath" ]] && [[ "$DRunUp" == false ]]; then
+    printf "%s\n" "NoUpdates !$i - not checked, no compose file"
+    return
   fi
-  if ! RepoUrl=$(podman inspect "$container" --format='{{.ImageName}}'); then
-    return 0
-  fi
-  if ! LocalHash=$(podman image inspect "$ImageId" --format '{{.RepoDigests}}'); then
-    return 0
-  fi
-  
-  if RegHash=$(${t_out} $regbin -v error image digest --list "$RepoUrl" 2>/dev/null | xargs); then
-    if [[ -n "$RegHash" ]]; then
-      if [[ "$LocalHash" == *"$RegHash"* ]]; then
-        NoUpdates+=("$container")
-      else
-        # Create a separate array for notifications
-        NotifyUpdates+=("$container")
-        # Add to GotUpdates for update logic
-        GotUpdates+=("$container")
-        
-        # If it's too recent based on age check, move it to NoUpdates for display 
-        # but keep it in NotifyUpdates
-        if [[ -n "${DaysOld:-}" ]] && ! datecheck; then
-          NoUpdates+=("+$container ${ImageAge}d")
-          # Remove from GotUpdates for update logic
-          for i in "${!GotUpdates[@]}"; do
-            if [[ "${GotUpdates[i]}" = "$container" ]]; then
-              unset 'GotUpdates[i]'
-              break
-            fi
-          done
-          # Re-index array after removal
-          GotUpdates=("${GotUpdates[@]}")
-        fi
-      fi
+
+  local NoUpdates GotUpdates GotErrors
+  ImageId=$(podman inspect "$i" --format='{{.Image}}')
+  RepoUrl=$(podman inspect "$i" --format='{{.Config.Image}}')
+  LocalHash=$(podman image inspect "$ImageId" --format '{{.RepoDigests}}')
+
+  # Checking for errors while setting the variable
+  if RegHash=$($t_out "$regbin" -v error image digest --list "$RepoUrl" 2>&1); then
+    if [[ "$LocalHash" == *"$RegHash"* ]]; then
+      printf "%s\n" "NoUpdates $i"
     else
-      GotErrors+=("$container - No digest returned")
+      if [[ -n "${DaysOld:-}" ]] && ! datecheck; then
+        printf "%s\n" "NoUpdates +$i ${ImageAge}d"
+      else
+        printf "%s\n" "GotUpdates $i"
+      fi
     fi
   else
-    GotErrors+=("$container - Error checking registry") 
+    printf "%s\n" "GotErrors $i - ${RegHash}"  # Reghash contains an error code here
   fi
 }
 
-# Main loop to process all containers
-for container in $(podman ps $Stopped --filter "name=$SearchName" --format '{{.Names}}'); do
-  process_container "$container" || true
-done
+# Make required functions and variables available to subprocesses
+export -f check_image datecheck
+export Excludes_string="${Excludes[*]:-}" # Can only export scalar variables
+export t_out regbin RepoUrl DaysOld DRunUp jqbin
 
+# Check for POSIX xargs with -P option, fallback without async
+if (echo "test" | xargs -P 2 >/dev/null 2>&1) && [[ "$MaxAsync" != 0 ]]; then
+  XargsAsync="-P $MaxAsync"
+else
+  XargsAsync=""
+  [[ "$MaxAsync" != 0 ]] && printf "%bMissing POSIX xargs, consider installing 'findutils' for asynchronous lookups.%b\n" "$c_yellow" "$c_reset"
+fi
+
+# Variables for progress_bar function
+ContCount=$(podman ps $Stopped --filter "name=$SearchName" --format '{{.Names}}' | wc -l)
+RegCheckQue=0
+
+# Asynchronously check the image-hash of every running container VS the registry
+while read -r line; do
+  ((RegCheckQue+=1))
+  if [[ "$MonoMode" == false ]]; then progress_bar "$RegCheckQue" "$ContCount"; fi
+
+  Got=${line%% *}  # Extracts the first word (NoUpdates, GotUpdates, GotErrors)
+  item=${line#* }
+
+  case "$Got" in
+    NoUpdates) NoUpdates+=("$item") ;;
+    GotUpdates) GotUpdates+=("$item") ;;
+    GotErrors) GotErrors+=("$item") ;;
+    Skip) ;;
+    *) echo "Error! Unexpected output from subprocess: ${line}" ;;
+  esac
+done < <( \
+  podman ps $Stopped --filter "name=$SearchName" --format '{{.Names}}' | \
+  xargs $XargsAsync -I {} bash -c 'check_image "{}"' \
+)
+
+# Sort arrays alphabetically
 IFS=$'\n'
-NoUpdates=($(sort <<<"${NoUpdates[*]}"))
-GotUpdates=($(sort <<<"${GotUpdates[*]}"))
+NoUpdates=($(sort <<<"${NoUpdates[*]:-}"))
+GotUpdates=($(sort <<<"${GotUpdates[*]:-}"))
 unset IFS
 
-echo ""
-echo "===== Summary ====="
-if [[ -n "${NoUpdates[*]}" ]]; then
+# Run the prometheus exporter function
+if [[ -n "${CollectorTextFileDirectory:-}" ]]; then
+  exec_if_exists_or_fail prometheus_exporter ${#NoUpdates[@]} ${#GotUpdates[@]} ${#GotErrors[@]} || printf "%s\n" "Could not source prometheus exporter function."
+fi
+
+# Define how many updates are available
+UpdCount="${#GotUpdates[@]}"
+
+# List what containers got updates or not
+if [[ -n ${NoUpdates[*]:-} ]]; then
   printf "\n%bContainers on latest version:%b\n" "$c_green" "$c_reset"
   printf "%s\n" "${NoUpdates[@]}"
 fi
-if [[ -n "${GotErrors[*]}" ]]; then
-  printf "\n%bContainers with errors; won't get updated:%b\n" "$c_red" "$c_reset"
+if [[ -n ${GotErrors[*]:-} ]]; then
+  printf "\n%bContainers with errors, won't get updated:%b\n" "$c_red" "$c_reset"
   printf "%s\n" "${GotErrors[@]}"
   printf "%binfo:%b 'unauthorized' often means not found in a public registry.\n" "$c_blue" "$c_reset"
 fi
-if [[ -n "${GotUpdates[*]}" ]]; then
+if [[ -n ${GotUpdates[*]:-} ]]; then
   printf "\n%bContainers with updates available:%b\n" "$c_yellow" "$c_reset"
-  printf "%s\n" "${GotUpdates[@]}"
+  if [[ -s "$ScriptWorkDir/urls.list" ]] && [[ "$PrintReleaseURL" == true ]]; then 
+    releasenotes; 
+  else 
+    Updates=("${GotUpdates[@]}"); 
+  fi
+  [[ "$AutoMode" == false ]] && list_options || printf "%s\n" "${Updates[@]}"
+  [[ "$Notify" == true ]] && { exec_if_exists_or_fail send_notification "${GotUpdates[@]}" || printf "\nCould not source notification function.\n"; }
+else
+  [[ "$Notify" == true ]] && [[ ! -s "${ScriptWorkDir}/notify.sh" ]] && { exec_if_exists_or_fail send_notification "${GotUpdates[@]}" || printf "\nCould not source notification function.\n"; }
 fi
 
-echo "Found ${#GotUpdates[@]} containers with updates available"
-
-if [[ -n "${GotUpdates[*]}" ]]; then
-  UpdCount="${#GotUpdates[@]}"
-  
-  # Send notification if -i flag was used, regardless of other options
-  [[ "${Notify:-}" == "yes" && -n "${NotifyUpdates[*]}" ]] && send_notification "${NotifyUpdates[@]}"
-  
-  if [[ "$NoUpdateMode" == true ]]; then
-    printf "\n%bNo updates will be performed due to -n flag.%b\n" "$c_blue" "$c_reset"
-  elif [[ "$AutoUp" == "yes" ]]; then
-    SelectedUpdates=( "${GotUpdates[@]}" )
-  else
-    printf "\n%bChoose what containers to update:%b\n" "$c_teal" "$c_reset"
-    options
+# Optionally get updates if there's any
+if [[ -n "${GotUpdates:-}" ]]; then
+  if [[ "$AutoMode" == false ]]; then
+    printf "\n%bChoose what containers to update.%b\n" "$c_teal" "$c_reset"
     choosecontainers
+  else
+    SelectedUpdates=( "${GotUpdates[@]}" )
   fi
+  if [[ "$DontUpdate" == false ]]; then
+    printf "\n%bUpdating container(s):%b\n" "$c_blue" "$c_reset"
+    printf "%s\n" "${SelectedUpdates[@]}"
 
-  if [ "${#SelectedUpdates[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
     NumberofUpdates="${#SelectedUpdates[@]}"
+
+    CurrentQue=0
+    for i in "${SelectedUpdates[@]}"; do
+      ((CurrentQue+=1))
+      printf "\n%bNow updating (%s/%s): %b%s%b\n" "$c_teal" "$CurrentQue" "$NumberofUpdates" "$c_blue" "$i" "$c_reset"
+      ContLabels=$(podman inspect "$i" --format '{{json .Config.Labels}}')
+      ContImage=$(podman inspect "$i" --format='{{.Config.Image}}')
+      ContPath=$($jqbin -r '."com.docker.compose.project.working_dir"' <<< "$ContLabels")
+      [[ "$ContPath" == "null" ]] && ContPath=""
+      ContUpdateLabel=$($jqbin -r '."mag37.dockcheck.update"' <<< "$ContLabels")
+      [[ "$ContUpdateLabel" == "null" ]] && ContUpdateLabel=""
+      # Checking if Label Only -option is set, and if container got the label
+      [[ "$OnlyLabel" == true ]] && { [[ "$ContUpdateLabel" != true ]] && { echo "No update label, skipping."; continue; } }
+
+      # Checking if compose-values are empty - hence started with podman run
+      if [[ -z "$ContPath" ]]; then
+        if [[ "$DRunUp" == true ]]; then
+          podman pull "$ContImage"
+          printf "%s\n" "$i got a new image downloaded, rebuild manually with preferred 'podman run'-parameters"
+        else
+          printf "\n%b%s%b has no compose labels, probably started with podman run - %bskipping%b\n\n" "$c_yellow" "$i" "$c_reset" "$c_yellow" "$c_reset"
+        fi
+        continue
+      fi
+
+      podman pull "$ContImage" || { printf "\n%bPodman error, exiting!%b\n" "$c_red" "$c_reset" ; exit 1; }
+    done
+    printf "\n%bDone pulling updates. %bRecreating updated containers.%b\n" "$c_green" "$c_blue" "$c_reset"
+
     CurrentQue=0
     for i in "${SelectedUpdates[@]}"; do
       ((CurrentQue+=1))
       unset CompleteConfs
+      # Extract labels and metadata
       ContLabels=$(podman inspect "$i" --format '{{json .Config.Labels}}')
-      ContImage=$(podman inspect "$i" --format='{{.ImageName}}')
+      ContImage=$(podman inspect "$i" --format='{{.Config.Image}}')
       ContPath=$($jqbin -r '."com.docker.compose.project.working_dir"' <<< "$ContLabels")
-      [ "$ContPath" == "null" ] && ContPath=""
+      [[ "$ContPath" == "null" ]] && ContPath=""
       ContConfigFile=$($jqbin -r '."com.docker.compose.project.config_files"' <<< "$ContLabels")
-      [ "$ContConfigFile" == "null" ] && ContConfigFile=""
+      [[ "$ContConfigFile" == "null" ]] && ContConfigFile=""
+      ContName=$($jqbin -r '."com.docker.compose.service"' <<< "$ContLabels")
+      [[ "$ContName" == "null" ]] && ContName=""
+      ContEnv=$($jqbin -r '."com.docker.compose.project.environment_file"' <<< "$ContLabels")
+      [[ "$ContEnv" == "null" ]] && ContEnv=""
+      ContUpdateLabel=$($jqbin -r '."mag37.dockcheck.update"' <<< "$ContLabels")
+      [[ "$ContUpdateLabel" == "null" ]] && ContUpdateLabel=""
+      ContRestartStack=$($jqbin -r '."mag37.dockcheck.restart-stack"' <<< "$ContLabels")
+      [[ "$ContRestartStack" == "null" ]] && ContRestartStack=""
+      ContOnlySpecific=$($jqbin -r '."mag37.dockcheck.only-specific-container"' <<< "$ContLabels")
+      [[ "$ContOnlySpecific" == "null" ]] && ContRestartStack=""
+
+      printf "\n%bNow recreating (%s/%s): %b%s%b\n" "$c_teal" "$CurrentQue" "$NumberofUpdates" "$c_blue" "$i" "$c_reset"
+
+      # Checking if compose-values are empty - hence started with podman run
+      [[ -z "$ContPath" ]] && { echo "Not a compose container, skipping."; continue; }
+
+      # Checking if Label Only -option is set, and if container got the label
+      [[ "$OnlyLabel" == true ]] && { [[ "$ContUpdateLabel" != true ]] && { echo "No update label, skipping."; continue; } }
+
+      # cd to the compose-file directory to account for people who use relative volumes
+      cd "$ContPath" || { printf "\n%bPath error - skipping%b %s" "$c_red" "$c_reset" "$i"; continue; }
+      ## Reformatting path + multi compose
+      if [[ $ContConfigFile == '/'* ]]; then
+        CompleteConfs=$(for conf in ${ContConfigFile//,/ }; do printf -- "-f %s " "$conf"; done)
+      else
+        CompleteConfs=$(for conf in ${ContConfigFile//,/ }; do printf -- "-f %s/%s " "$ContPath" "$conf"; done)
+      fi
+      # Check if the container got an environment file set and reformat it
+      ContEnvs=""
+      if [[ -n "$ContEnv" ]]; then 
+        ContEnvs=$(for env in ${ContEnv//,/ }; do printf -- "--env-file %s " "$env"; done); 
+      fi
+      # Set variable when compose up should only target the specific container, not the stack
+      if [[ $OnlySpecific == true ]] || [[ $ContOnlySpecific == true ]]; then 
+        SpecificContainer="$ContName"; 
+      fi
+
+      # Check if the whole stack should be restarted
+      if [[ "$ContRestartStack" == true ]] || [[ "$ForceRestartStacks" == true ]]; then
+        ${PodmanBin} ${CompleteConfs} stop; ${PodmanBin} ${CompleteConfs} ${ContEnvs} up -d || { printf "\n%bPodman error, exiting!%b\n" "$c_red" "$c_reset" ; exit 1; }
+      else
+        ${PodmanBin} ${CompleteConfs} ${ContEnvs} up -d ${SpecificContainer} || { printf "\n%bPodman error, exiting!%b\n" "$c_red" "$c_reset" ; exit 1; }
+      fi
+    done
+    if [[ "$AutoPrune" == false ]] && [[ "$AutoMode" == false ]]; then 
+      printf "\n"; read -rep "Would you like to prune dangling images? y/[n]: " AutoPrune; 
+    fi
+    if [[ "$AutoPrune" == true ]] || [[ "$AutoPrune" =~ [yY] ]]; then 
+      printf "\nAuto pruning.."; podman image prune -f; 
+    fi
+    printf "\n%bAll done!%b\n" "$c_green" "$c_reset"
+  else
+    printf "\nNo updates installed, exiting.\n"
+  fi
+else
+  printf "\nNo updates available, exiting.\n"
+fi
+
+exit 0
       ContName=$($jqbin -r '."com.docker.compose.service"' <<< "$ContLabels")
       [ "$ContName" == "null" ] && ContName=""
       ContEnv=$($jqbin -r '."com.docker.compose.project.environment_file"' <<< "$ContLabels")
@@ -659,22 +807,19 @@ if [[ -n "${GotUpdates[*]}" ]]; then
         ContEnvs=$(for env in ${ContEnv//,/ }; do printf -- "--env-file %s " "$env"; done)
       fi
       if [[ "$ContRestartStack" == "true" ]] || [[ "$ForceRestartPods" == true ]]; then
-        $PodmanComposeBin ${CompleteConfs} down
-        $PodmanComposeBin ${CompleteConfs} ${ContEnvs} up -d
+        ${PodmanBin} ${CompleteConfs} down
+        ${PodmanBin} ${CompleteConfs} ${ContEnvs} up -d
       else
-        $PodmanComposeBin ${CompleteConfs} ${ContEnvs} up -d ${ContName}
+        ${PodmanBin} ${CompleteConfs} ${ContEnvs} up -d ${ContName}
       fi
     done
+    if [[ "$AutoPrune" == false ]] && [[ "$AutoMode" == false ]]; then 
+      printf "\n"; read -rep "Would you like to prune dangling images? y/[n]: " AutoPrune; 
+    fi
+    if [[ "$AutoPrune" == true ]] || [[ "$AutoPrune" =~ [yY] ]]; then 
+      printf "\nAuto pruning.."; podman image prune -f; 
+    fi
     printf "\n%bAll done!%b\n" "$c_green" "$c_reset"
-    if [[ -z "$AutoPrune" ]] && [[ "$AutoUp" == "no" ]]; then
-      read -r -p "Would you like to prune dangling images? y/[n]: " AutoPrune
-    fi
-    
-    if [[ "$AutoPrune" =~ [yY] ]] || [[ "$AutoUp" == "yes" ]]; then
-      printf "\n%bCleaning up failed update images...%b\n\n" "$c_teal" "$c_reset"
-      podman image prune -f
-      printf "\n"
-    fi
   else
     printf "\nNo updates installed, exiting.\n"
   fi
@@ -682,42 +827,4 @@ else
   printf "\nNo updates available, exiting.\n"
 fi
 
-# Export metrics if collector directory was specified
-if [[ -n "${CollectorTextFileDirectory:-}" ]]; then
-  # Calculate check duration
-  end_time=$(date +%s)
-  check_duration=$((end_time - start_time))
-  
-  # Source the prometheus collector script if it exists
-  if [[ -f "$ScriptWorkDir/addons/prometheus/prometheus_collector.sh" ]]; then
-    source "$ScriptWorkDir/addons/prometheus/prometheus_collector.sh"
-    # Call the prometheus_exporter with appropriate metrics
-    prometheus_exporter "${#NoUpdates[@]}" "${#GotUpdates[@]}" "${#GotErrors[@]}" "$ContCount" "$check_duration"
-    printf "\n%bPrometheus metrics exported to: %s/podcheck.prom%b\n" "$c_teal" "$CollectorTextFileDirectory" "$c_reset"
-  else
-    # Fallback if the collector script isn't found
-    cat > "$CollectorTextFileDirectory/podcheck.prom" <<EOF
-# HELP podcheck_no_updates Number of containers already on latest image
-# TYPE podcheck_no_updates gauge
-podcheck_no_updates ${#NoUpdates[@]}
-# HELP podcheck_updates Number of containers with updates available
-# TYPE podcheck_updates gauge
-podcheck_updates ${#GotUpdates[@]}
-# HELP podcheck_errors Number of containers with errors during update check
-# TYPE podcheck_errors gauge
-podcheck_errors ${#GotErrors[@]}
-# HELP podcheck_total Total number of containers checked
-# TYPE podcheck_total gauge
-podcheck_total ${ContCount}
-# HELP podcheck_check_duration Duration in seconds for the update check
-# TYPE podcheck_check_duration gauge
-podcheck_check_duration ${check_duration}
-# HELP podcheck_last_check_timestamp Epoch timestamp of the last update check
-# TYPE podcheck_last_check_timestamp gauge
-podcheck_last_check_timestamp $(date +%s)
-EOF
-    printf "\n%bPrometheus metrics exported to: %s/podcheck.prom%b\n" "$c_teal" "$CollectorTextFileDirectory" "$c_reset"
-  fi
-fi
-
 exit 0