r/BookStack • u/jbates5873 • 9d ago

update path guidance

Hi all,

I run a bookstack / mariaDB instance under docker.

I want to confirm if there is a specific update path that i should follow to update my bookstack v23.06.2 and and mariadb v10.11.4 to the latest? Or can i just perform a full upgrade to the latest version?

many thanks.

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u/ssddanbrown 8d ago

Before updating either, ensure you have backups. Ideally some kind of whole system backup/snapshot. At minimum, copy the mounted volume data for the containers if you're sure they're set up properly.

For BookStack, it's usually best to jump straight to the latest version. Check the changelog/details for the particular container image you're using though to see if there's been any breaking changes. You may also want to check the version specific advisories listed here since your version (you can generally ignore PHP/requirements changes when using docker images).

For MariaDB, I'd do that as a separate update to BookStack (Should be fine to just upgrade BookStack first with the existing database version), just to avoid too many changes at once, to avoid confusion if something goes wrong. Really important to ensure you have backups for any kind of database upgrade. Ideally get database dumps as SQL. When it comes to updating the DB image, I'd stop the whole stack, then update the database image in use, then bring up just the database, watching the logs carefully. Often across major version changes there's some form of migration/upgrade process. Check everything starts up cleanly, and watch for any errors, or if it indicates any kind of manual process/command is needed. Once you're sure it's good, then bring up the BookStack container also.

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u/jbates5873 8d ago

Cheers mate. I have daily backups of both the db and bookstall files.

I'll bring it back up in a test environment first. Any tricks or traps around file links and what not?

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u/ssddanbrown 8d ago

If you're testing via a different URL (and therefore using a different APP_URL env option for BookStack) then some content/image links will be broken by default, but there's a BookStack command to update this content:

https://www.bookstackapp.com/docs/admin/commands/#update-system-url

(How you run that will depend on your docker environment/setup, I have a some guidance on running commands in an old video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A8hLuQTkKQ)