diff --git a/update_projects.py b/update_projects.py
index 56312e6..4289f8e 100644
--- a/update_projects.py
+++ b/update_projects.py
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 import os
 import sys
 import json
+import time
 import requests
 from datetime import datetime
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
 
 VERBOSEPRINT = "-v" in sys.argv or "--verbose" in sys.argv
+DONTDOWNLOAD = "-dd" in sys.argv or "--dont-download" in sys.argv
+DONTUPDATEGH = "-du" in sys.argv or "--dont-update-github" in sys.argv
 
 def verboseprint(string="", end="\n"):
     if VERBOSEPRINT:
@@ -102,44 +105,60 @@ def get_languagages(repo, access_token):
 projects_json_path = os.path.expanduser("~/.cache/gh-projects/projects.json")
 # create the directory if it doesn't exist
 os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(projects_json_path), exist_ok=True)
-# fetch the projects.json file from https://cdn.jonasjones.dev/api/projects/projects.json
-projects_json_url = "https://cdn.jonasjones.dev/api/projects/projects.json"
-projects_json = requests.get(projects_json_url)
-with open(projects_json_path, "wb") as file:
-    file.write(projects_json.content)
 
-verboseprint(f"Fetched projects.json file")
+if not DONTDOWNLOAD:
+    # fetch the projects.json file from https://cdn.jonasjones.dev/api/projects/projects.json
+    projects_json_url = "https://cdn.jonasjones.dev/api/projects/projects.json"
+    projects_json = requests.get(projects_json_url)
+    with open(projects_json_path, "wb") as file:
+        file.write(projects_json.content)
+
+    verboseprint(f"Fetched projects.json file")
+elif not os.path.exists("~/.cache/gh-projects/projects.json"):
+    FileNotFoundError("File 'projects.json' not found. Cannot proceed without \
+                      downloading it. Remove '-dd' or '--dontdownload' from the launch arguments.")
+else:
+    print("Skipping download of 'projects.json'")
 
 # Load the existing projects.json file
 with open(projects_json_path, "r") as file:
     projects_data = json.load(file)
 
-print("Fetching Repo data...")
+if not DONTUPDATEGH:
+    print("Fetching Repo data...")
 
-# Update the last_update (Unix timestamp) for each project
-for project in projects_data:
-    gh_api = project.get("gh_api")
-    if gh_api:
-        last_commit_timestamp = get_last_commit_timestamp(gh_api, GITHUB_API_TOKEN)
-        last_release_version = get_last_release_version(gh_api, GITHUB_API_TOKEN)
-        if last_commit_timestamp:
-            project["last_update"] = last_commit_timestamp
-        else:
-            project["last_update"] = 0
-        if last_release_version:
-            project["version"] = last_release_version.replace("v", "")
-        languages = get_languagages(gh_api, GITHUB_API_TOKEN)
-        if languages:
-            project["languages"] = languages
+    # Update the last_update (Unix timestamp) for each project
+    for project in projects_data:
+        gh_api = project.get("gh_api")
+        if gh_api:
+            last_commit_timestamp = get_last_commit_timestamp(gh_api, GITHUB_API_TOKEN)
+            last_release_version = get_last_release_version(gh_api, GITHUB_API_TOKEN)
+            if last_commit_timestamp:
+                project["last_update"] = last_commit_timestamp
+            else:
+                project["last_update"] = 0
+            if last_release_version:
+                project["version"] = last_release_version.replace("v", "")
+            languages = get_languagages(gh_api, GITHUB_API_TOKEN)
+            if languages:
+                project["languages"] = languages
+else:
+    print("Skipping Github updates...")
+
+# remove first element
+projects_data.pop(0)
 
 # sort projects alphabetically
 projects_data = sorted(projects_data, key=lambda x: x['last_update'], reverse=True)
 
+# add a first element to the list that holds the date of the last update
+projects_data.insert(0, {"last_update": time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time.gmtime()) + " UTC"})
+
 # Save the updated data back to the projects.json file
 with open(projects_json_path, "w") as file:
     json.dump(projects_data, file, indent=2)
 
-print("Updated projects.json")
+print("Updated projects.json\nUploading to cdn...")
 
 os.system(f"rclone copy {projects_json_path} cdn:cdn/api/projects/")