ExpressionEngine Docs

Updating ExpressionEngine

Upgrading Major Versions

Important Upgrading major version (example from v5.x to v6.x) typically includes major updates and breaking changes. Do not upgrade major version manually or via 1-click without testing in a test or development environment first. Always following best pratices when Upgrading ExpressionEngine

One Click Updating

ExpressionEngine supports one-click updating as of Version 4.0 or newer. If you are running a version older than 4, then you must perform a manual update.

When an update is available, you’ll see the version number in the control panel footer turn yellow or red. Click the version number, then click “Update Now”.

In the rare case an update fails, please read Troubleshooting Automatic Updates.

Website Online Status: In some versions of ExpressionEngine the current Website Online status is not available to the updater. In this instance an alert will be displayed post-update with the current Website Online status and the option to turn the system on or off. Please make sure to review this alert and your Website Online status to ensure your website is working as expected. system status

Updating Via Command Line

You can also update ExpressionEngine via the command line on your server. This allows you to keep your installation’s files only writable by your user and not also by your web service.

To update via the command line, execute the tool located at system/ee/eecms:

php system/ee/eecms upgrade

Add a -v flag for verbose output:

./eecms upgrade -v

If you encounter a problem that requires rolling back the upgrade, you can run this command:

./eecms --rollback

If you cannot use the one-click updater or command-line updater, you can still do a manual update.

Note: If you have code in your config.php that relies on $_SERVER variables or anything else not available in a command-line environment, you can check for REQ == 'CLI' to set alternate values, e.g.:

if (REQ == 'CLI')
{
  $config['site_url'] = 'https://mysite.dev';
  // ...
}
else
{
  // Set config via environment variables
}

Updating Manually

Feature Update: As of ExpressionEngine 5.4, you may now upgrade directly from ExpressionEngine 2 to the current version.

1. Backup and Prepare

  1. Back-up your ExpressionEngine database and files.
  2. Download the latest release of ExpressionEngine and unzip the files to a folder on your computer.

Note: Check your third-party add-ons to see if you need updated versions for the latest version of ExpressionEngine. Most add-ons do not need major changes when updating from v3 or higher. Your add-on vendor(s) can let you know what, if anything, you need to do for your installed add-ons. Any add-ons not compatible with the version you are upgrading to, should be uninstalled and removed before attempting the upgrade.

2. Copy Files

Working either locally with your backed up files, or on the server (not recommended), copy the following files from the newly downloaded release to your site:

If updating from ExpressionEngine 2

Copy the following files from the backup of your current site to the new folder where you unzipped the new version of ExpressionEngine on your computer:

  1. Copy system/expressionengine/config/config.php to system/user/config/config.php
  2. Copy system/expressionengine/config/database.php to system/user/config/database.php
  3. If you have any languages other than English in your Control Panel, copy all files and directories except english from system/expressionengine/language/ to system/user/language/.
  4. If you have the forum module installed, copy the directory themes/forum_themes/ to themes/user/forum/.
  5. If you have the wiki module installed, copy the directory themes/wiki_themes/ to themes/user/wiki_themes/.
  6. If you save templates as files, copy all files and directories from system/expressionengine/templates/ to system/user/templates/.

Note: If you’ve moved your system directory, make sure to change both index.php and admin.php to point to the correct directory. And don’t forget to update all admin.php files if you’re running your control panel from multiple Sites!

Note: We recommend putting ExpressionEngine 6 compatible third-party add-ons into the system/user/addons/ directory now.

On the server, rename the following files and directories:

Then upload the following files and directories:

If updating from ExpressionEngine 3 or higher

  1. Copy admin.php to admin.php
  2. Copy index.php to index.php
  3. Copy system/ee/ to system/ee/
  4. Copy themes/ee/ to themes/ee/

Note: If you’ve moved your system directory, make sure to change both index.php and admin.php to point to the correct directory. And don’t forget to update all admin.php files if you’re running your control panel from multiple Sites!

Note: We recommend putting ExpressionEngine 6 compatible third-party add-ons into the system/user/addons/ directory now.

3. Run The Update Wizard

Go to your site’s control panel URL (typically found at https://example.com/admin.php or https://example.com/system/) and follow the on-screen instructions to update ExpressionEngine.

4. Clean up

You’re Done! ExpressionEngine is now fully updated. But before you go…

ExpressionEngine 5.4.2 Docs
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