How to Upgrade Your ownCloud Server

Introduction

We recommend that you keep your ownCloud server up to date. When an update or upgrade is available for your ownCloud server, you will see a notification at the top of your ownCloud Web interface. When you click the notification, it will bring you here.

Before beginning an upgrade, please keep the following points in mind:

  • Review the release notes for important information about the needed migration steps during that upgrade to help ensure a smooth upgrade process.

  • Check ownCloud’s mandatory requirements (such as PHP versions and extensions), which can change from one version to the next. Ensure that you review them and update or upgrade your server, if required, before upgrading ownCloud.

  • Upgrading is disruptive, as your ownCloud server will be put into maintenance mode.

  • Large installations may take several hours to complete the upgrade.

  • Review any installed third-party apps for compatibility with the new ownCloud release.

  • Downgrading is not supported as it risks corrupting your data. If you want to revert to an older ownCloud version, make a new, fresh installation and then restore your data from backup. Before attempting this, file a support ticket (if you have paid support) or ask for help in the ownCloud forums to resolve your issue without downgrading.

When upgrading, also check the minimum and maximum supported PHP version of the ownCloud target release. An ownCloud release may require a particular minimum and/or maximum PHP version. Check that the PHP version provided by the Operating System meets the requirements. For details see the Server Release Notes and the System Requirements for the latest Release.

If required, you can skip major releases when upgrading your ownCloud installation. However, we recommend that you first upgrade to the latest point release of your respective minor version, e.g., 10.9.1. See Upgrading Across Skipped Releases for more information.

If you are on ownCloud 8.2.11, 9.0.9, 9.1.X, or 10.X.Y you can go directly to the latest server version.

Here are some examples:

Version Can Upgrade to 10.15.0 ? Requirements (always check the System Requirements too)

10.X.Y

Yes

PHP 7.2 to 7.4

9.1.8

Yes

PHP 7.0

9.1.0

Yes

PHP 7.0

9.0.9

Yes

PHP 7.0

9.0.8

No

PHP 7.0, must upgrade to 9.0.9 first

8.2.11

Yes

PHP 5.6 or 7.0

8.2.10

No

PHP 5.6, must upgrade to 8.2.11 first

7.0.15

No

PHP 5.6, must upgrade to 8.0.16, then to 8.1.12, and then to 8.2.11 first.

7.0.10

No

PHP 5.6, must upgrade to 7.0.15, then to 8.0.16, then to 8.1.12, and then to 8.2.11 first.

Prerequisites

We strongly recommend that you always maintain regular backups as well as make a fresh backup before every upgrade. We also recommend that you review any installed third-party apps for compatibility with the new ownCloud release. Ensure that they are all disabled before beginning the upgrade. After the upgrade is complete, enable all those that are compatible with the new release again.

Unsupported apps may disrupt your upgrade.

Upgrade Options

There are three ways to upgrade your ownCloud server:

  1. (Recommended) Perform a manual upgrade, using the latest ownCloud release.

  2. (Alternative for simple installations) Click the [Open Updater] button in the Admin General page. This button is available, when the online updater has detected a new version available. This is not the recommended upgrade procedure, as builtin core upgrade scripts are error prone. If you see e.g. 'Internal Server Error' during the process, then the command occ upgrade is most likely able run the proper repair steps to fix that.

  3. (Discouraged) Use your distribution’s package manager, in conjunction with our official ownCloud repositories. Note: This approach should not be used unattended nor in clustered setups. We discourage upgrades with Linux Package Manager because you might encounter unwanted side effects.

Enterprise customers: refer to Installing & Upgrading ownCloud Enterprise Edition for more information.