Updating from a Previous Version of ExpressionEngine
This page describes the process for updating an older version of ExpressionEngine to the most current version. In addition to the steps on this page there may be some additional steps required for specific versions. At the bottom of this page you'll see version notes for each version.
Note: If the Discussion Forum Module or Multiple Site Manager is installed, it is necessary to update them immediately after completing the ExpressionEngine update.
1. Prepare for the Update
Download ExpressionEngine
The first step is to download the most current version of the ExpressionEngine software. Once you have downloaded it, Unzip the software to your local computer.
Back-up Your Database
It is recommended that you perform a database backup before performing an update.
Back-up Your Config Files and Themes
Download the following configuration files from your server to your local computer as a safety precaution.
- path.php
- system/config.php
In addition, if you have customized any of your theme files, download them for safe keeping.
- themes/
Back-up Add-Ons
If you have installed any extra Plugins, Modules, or Extensions, then it is recommended that you back them up and their language files before performing the update. It is good practice to backup the extensions, language, modules, and plugins directories in their entirety as well in case of problems.
Take Your Site Offline
It is recommended that you take your site offline for the duration of the update so that people visiting your site won't see any PHP errors or other anomalies that may occur while you are uploading files. Here is one approach:
- Copy system/utilities/offline.html to your main directory (the same place you have your main index.php file).
- Rename index.php file to index.php.backup.
- Rename offline.html to index.php. Now your visitors will see the "offline" page while you update your site.
- After the update is finished, be sure to rename the files back to their original names.
Clear Caches
In your ExpressionEngine Control Panel, go to Admin > Utilities > Clear Cached Data Files. Select All cache files and submit the form to clear out your caches.
2. Upload the New Files
Using an FTP program such as WS_FTP, SmartFTP, Transmit, Fetch, etc. you will now upload and replace the folders listed below on your server with the new versions you downloaded. Remember to upload the files and directories in ASCII format (not Binary format).
It is recommended that you delete the files you will be replacing before uploading the new files and directories.
Do NOT overwrite the path.php or config.php files you backed up in step one.
Important: If you have installed any extra Plugins, Modules, or Extensions, then you should download those files from your server first and reupload them after updating the core ExpressionEngine files. Language files for Modules and Extensions will be located in system/language/.
- system/core/
- system/cp/
- system/db/
- system/language/
- system/lib/
- system/modules/
- system/plugins/
- system/updates/
- system/update.php
- system/utilities/
3. Verify the File Permissions
Note: If you are hosted on a Windows server you will skip this step, but you should ensure that the files and directories are writable by ExpressionEngine. You may need to contact your Host or server admin for this.
If you are using a Unix server you must set the following files to 666:
- system/config.php
- system/config_bak.php
You must set the following directories to 777:
- system/cache/ (and its contained folders)
4. Run The Update Wizard
Point your browser to the ExpressionEngine Update Wizard, located here:
system/update.php
This file will perform changes that are required in order to update you to the new version of ExpressionEngine.
Important: Make sure you are accessing the file as you would a regular webpage, using an address similar to http://www.example.com/system/update.php. DO NOT access the file locally on your desktop computer.
When you are finished delete the system/updates/ directory and system/update.php file from your server.
5. Version Specific Notes
Please view the update notes that apply to any versions that are newer than the version you have been running.
- Version Notes 1.6.4
- Version Notes 1.6.3
- Version Notes 1.6.2
- Version Notes 1.6.1
- Version Notes 1.6
- Version Notes 1.5.2
- Version Notes 1.5.1
- Version Notes 1.5
- Version Notes 1.4.1
- Version Notes 1.4
- Version Notes 1.3.2
- Version Notes 1.3.1
- Version Notes 1.3
- Version Notes 1.2.1
- Version Notes 1.2
- Version Notes 1.1
6. Update Your Documentation
If you use the local version of the documentation, then you should replace your current version. The documentation can be downloaded from the "Download Area" on the ExpressionEngine.com website. It may be best for you to delete the local version of the documentation you have on your server now and then upload the new version.
User Guide Contributions Feed
User Contributed Notes
Re: The Cheerful Coder on 14 August 2008 4:05pm, that is indicated in bullet point #4 of the section detailing the taking of your site offline:
One key step that needs to be included is to change the index.php.backup back to index.php, otherwise you still appear to be offline.
RE:supersusie on 21 July 2008 5:03pm - when themes need to be updated, those are covered in detail in the version update notes in Step 5, since not every version update will require those changes.
This page currently doesn’t mention having to update or replace the “themes” directory, just that you should back it up.
It is true that from 1.6.3 to 1.6.4 you don’t need to change themes. But if you’re going from an older version of EE, you do need to use the new theme files.
Another note about Mark Huot’s Static Pages module. I’d uninstalled it from a site well before upgrading to 1.6, and all was working well, so thought I was in the clear. But after upgrading to 1.6, the Modules page showed that Pages was installed. When I clicked on the “Pages” link, an error page indicated a certain table wasn’t found. Turns out there was a record in the exp_modules table left over from Mark’s module. (You can tell by the version number. The built-in Pages Module currently is v. 1.0, while my Modules page showed v. 3.5.9, which was shrapnel from Mark’s module.) I deleted the record in the DB via PHPMyAdmin, and then successfully installed the built-in Pages Module.
Before you are upgrading to version 1.6.0+, make sure that you’re not using the older version of the Static Pages module from Mark Huot. The new upgrade does not support this particular module, and the site’s index and control panel will be inaccessible.
Here’s the official support note: http://expressionengine.com/knowledge_base/article/pages_module_conflict/
[Moderator edit: Corrected module author’s name]
You must have an ExpressionEngine license and have attained a forum rank of "Lab Assistant" (100 posts) to contribute notes to the User Guide