1. In a computing environment, a method comprising: in response to a request to patch a running instance of a software module: automatically performing a validation to determine whether a hotpatch file that may be used to patch the running instance includes data that is appropriate for patching the running instance, the data including a patch; and if the validation indicates that the data is appropriate, automatically installing the patch, including loading the patch in memory and modifying code in the running instance to jump to the patch.