How I Update Craft CMS 3.5.x and Craft CMS Plugins

Published Dec 6, 2020

This article describes the steps I follow to update Craft 3.5.x and plugins in a stress-free and reliable manner. 🧘

Update apnea: the temporary cessation of breath when updating Craft and Craft plugins.

Assumptions

• Craft 3.5.x is installed in local development and production environments.
• Composer 1.3.0 or later is installed in local development and production environments.
• Access to a command line interface (CLI) in local development and production environments.
• The exact versions of Craft and all plugin packages are specified in composer.json. This prevents unintended updates when running composer update in your local development environment. However, I make an exception for the vlucas/phpdotenv package.

In Local Development Environment

Updating Craft

1. Confirm the latest version of Craft by visiting the Update utility in the Craft control panel at http://example.test/admin/utilities/updates.
2. Edit the craftcms/cms line in the composer.json file to change the Craft Composer package to the latest version.
3. From the command line in the Craft project root, run:
   1. ./craft backup to backup the Craft database.
   2. composer update to update the Craft Composer package to the version specified in composer.json. See step 2.
   3. ./craft migrate/all to run Craft database migrations.
   4. ./craft project-config/apply to apply Craft project config file changes.
   5. ./craft clear-caches/all to clear all the caches.
4. Verify that Craft has been updated to the specified version and is still working as expected.

Updating a Craft Plugin

1. Confirm the latest version of the plugin by visiting the Update utility in the Craft control panel at http://example.test/admin/utilities/updates.
2. Edit the vendor/package-name line in the composer.json file to change the plugin Composer package to the latest version.
3. From the command line in the Craft project root, run:
   1. ./craft backup to backup the Craft database.
   2. composer update to update the plugin Composer package to the version specified in composer.json. See step 2.
   3. ./craft migrate/all to run plugin database migrations.
   4. ./craft project-config/apply to apply project config file changes.
   5. ./craft clear-caches/all to clear all the caches.
4. Verify that the plugin has been updated to the specified version and is still working as expected.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for all other plugins that I want to update.

In Production Environment

Installing Updated Craft CMS and/or Plugins

1. From the command line in the Craft project root, run:
   1. ./craft backup to backup the Craft database.
   2. composer install to install the Craft and/or plugin Composer packages that I previously updated in my local development environment.
   3. ./craft migrate/all to run all database migrations.
   4. ./craft project-config/apply to apply project config file changes.
   5. ./craft clear-caches/all to clear all the caches.
2. Verify that Craft and/or plugins have been updated to the specified versions and are still working as expected.

Automating the Craft CLI Commands

To avoid running the above Craft CLI commands manually, I’ve added the following Composer command events with the relevant Craft CLI commands to the scripts section of my Craft project’s composer.json file.

"pre-update-cmd": [
    "@php craft backup/db"
],
"post-update-cmd": [
    "@php craft migrate/all",
    "@php craft project-config/apply",
    "@php craft clear-caches/all"
],
"pre-install-cmd": [
    "@php craft backup/db"
],
"post-install-cmd": [
    "@php craft migrate/all",
    "@php craft project-config/apply",
    "@php craft clear-caches/all"
]

By following the steps described above, I can calmly and confidently update Craft and plugins in my local development and production environments.

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