INTRODUCTION ------------ This document describes how to: * Update your Drupal site from one minor 8.x version to another minor 8.x version; for example, from 8.8 to 8.9, or from 8.6 to 8.10. * Migrate your Drupal site to version 8.x. First steps and definitions: * If you are upgrading to Drupal version x.y, then x is known as the major version number, and y is known as the minor version number. The download file will be named drupal-x.y.tar.gz (or drupal-x.y.zip). * All directories mentioned in this document are relative to the directory of your Drupal installation. * Make a full backup of all files, directories, and your database(s) before starting, and save it outside your Drupal installation directory. Instructions may be found at https://www.drupal.org/upgrade/backing-up-the-db * It is wise to try an update or upgrade on a test copy of your site before applying it to your live site. Even minor updates can cause your site's behavior to change. * Each new release of Drupal has release notes, which explain the changes made since the previous version and any special instructions needed to update or upgrade to the new version. You can find a link to the release notes for the version you are upgrading or updating to on the Drupal project page (https://www.drupal.org/project/drupal). UPGRADE PROBLEMS ---------------- If you encounter errors during this process, * Note any error messages you see. * Restore your site to its previous state, using the file and database backups you created before you started the upgrade process. Do not attempt to do further upgrades on a site that had update problems. * Consult one of the support options listed on https://www.drupal.org/support More in-depth information on upgrading can be found at https://www.drupal.org/upgrade MINOR VERSION UPDATES --------------------- To update from one minor 8.x version of Drupal to any later 8.x version, after following the instructions in the INTRODUCTION section at the top of this file: 1. Log in as a user with the permission "Administer software updates". 2. Go to Administration > Configuration > Development > Maintenance mode. Enable the "Put site into maintenance mode" checkbox and save the configuration. 3. Remove all old core files and directories, except for the 'sites' directory and any custom files you added elsewhere. If you made modifications to files like .htaccess, composer.json, or robots.txt you will need to re-apply them from your backup, after the new files are in place. Sometimes an update includes changes to default.settings.php (this will be noted in the release notes). If that's the case, follow these steps: - Locate your settings.php file in the /sites/* directory. (Typically sites/default.) - Make a backup copy of your settings.php file, with a different file name. - Make a copy of the new default.settings.php file, and name the copy settings.php (overwriting your previous settings.php file). - Copy the custom and site-specific entries from the backup you made into the new settings.php file. You will definitely need the lines giving the database information, and you will also want to copy in any other customizations you have added. You can find the release notes for your version at https://www.drupal.org/project/drupal. At bottom of the project page under "Downloads" use the link for your version of Drupal to view the release notes. If your version is not listed, use the 'View all releases' link. From this page you can scroll down or use the filter to find your version and its release notes. 4. Download the latest Drupal 8.x release from https://www.drupal.org to a directory outside of your web root. Extract the archive and copy the files into your Drupal directory. On a typical Unix/Linux command line, use the following commands to download and extract: wget https://www.drupal.org/files/projects/drupal-x.y.tar.gz tar -zxvf drupal-x.y.tar.gz This creates a new directory drupal-x.y/ containing all Drupal files and directories. Copy the files into your Drupal installation directory: cp -R drupal-x.y/* drupal-x.y/.htaccess /path/to/your/installation If you do not have command line access to your server, download the archive from https://www.drupal.org using your web browser, extract it, and then use an FTP client to upload the files to your web root. 5. Re-apply any modifications to files such as .htaccess, composer.json, or robots.txt. 6. Run update.php by visiting http://www.example.com/update.php (replace www.example.com with your domain name). This will update the core database tables. If you are unable to access update.php do the following: - Open settings.php with a text editor. - Find the line that says: $settings['update_free_access'] = FALSE; - Change it into: $settings['update_free_access'] = TRUE; - Once the upgrade is done, $settings['update_free_access'] must be reverted to FALSE. 7. Go to Administration > Reports > Status report. Verify that everything is working as expected. 8. Ensure that $settings['update_free_access'] is FALSE in settings.php. 9. Go to Administration > Configuration > Development > Maintenance mode. Disable the "Put site into maintenance mode" checkbox and save the configuration. MAJOR VERSION MIGRATION ----------------------- Upgrading from a prior major version of Drupal to Drupal 8.x is not possible. The process now requires a migration to a Drupal 8.x site, using the Migrate module in Drupal core. Note that migration support in Drupal 8 is currently only partially implemented.