Updates

For: owners and admins. Where: Settings > Update, or /update. What you need: the release ZIP from your purchase or support channel, and a Made with Pepper database that holds no tables of other applications.

Install a new release from the Update page. You do not need the command line. Made with Pepper checks the package, makes a backup, replaces the application files and updates the database. If a step fails, it puts back the previous version and its data.

Add the ZIP through this page or upload it with SFTP. Both methods finish with Check package and Install update here.

1. Add the release ZIP

Download the release ZIP from your purchase or support channel. Do not unzip it. Then add it in one of two ways.

Upload it in the browser. On Settings > Update, click Choose a ZIP file, or drop the file on the upload area. Click Upload package. The page shows the largest file that your server accepts. Your hosting provider sets this limit with the PHP settings upload_max_filesize and post_max_size. On a VPS you can raise them yourself.

Upload it with SFTP. Use this way when the file is larger than the limit.

1. Open Settings > Update to create the update folder.
2. Connect to your server with SFTP, or open your hosting file manager.
3. Upload the ZIP to this folder of your Made with Pepper installation: storage/app/private/updates.
4. On Settings > Update, click Refresh list.

Opening the Update page creates the folder if it does not exist. Keep the downloaded file name. Names with letters, numbers, dots, dashes, underscores, spaces and brackets show in the list. The folder is private. Visitors cannot download files from it.

2. Check the package

1. Open Settings > Update. The ZIP shows under Uploaded packages.
2. Click Check package next to it.

Made with Pepper reads the package. The checks change nothing. Each check shows a green or a red mark:

The page also shows the number of database changes in the package.

If a check fails, fix the cause and click Check package again. Ask your hosting provider when a check needs a server setting.

3. Install the update

1. Click Install update.
2. Read the confirmation.
3. Click Install update to confirm.
4. Keep the page open until it shows the result.

The page shows each step: maintenance mode, backup, checking the new files, replacing the application files, updating the database and finishing.

During the update, the site is in maintenance mode. Other users see a maintenance page. Scheduled tasks and the email queue wait. Your browser can open only the Update page until the update ends. Other pages show the maintenance page, also in other tabs, so no record changes after the backup.

If the connection drops, reload the page. The update continues from its last finished step, or it undoes the unfinished step.

The result

The audit log records each installed update and each failed update.

If the site stays in maintenance mode

Open the Update page in the same browser that started the update. Other browsers and devices see only the maintenance page.

If the Update page does not open, do not delete anything. Cleared cookies or a server interruption during file replacement can cause this. Contact support, or restore the site yourself:

1. Find the backup from the start of the update in storage/backups. Its name starts with backup_ and the date of the update.
2. Find the previous application files in storage/updates. Each update has its own folder with a previous folder inside.
3. Follow the backup recovery procedure with that backup, the original .env and the previous release ZIP.

What the update keeps

• Your .env file and your application key.
• Everything under storage: uploaded logos, issued originals, private files, logs and backups.
• The public media link public/storage.
• All records in the database. The update only adds the database changes of the new release.

The update replaces the application code, including vendor and public/build. Changes that you made to the code are lost. Keep custom code in version control and apply it again after the update.

The backup from the start of the update shows in Backups and follows its retention setting. The previous application files stay in storage/updates until the next update starts. Made with Pepper deletes the ZIP after a successful update. To delete a package yourself, click the trash icon next to it.

Update access

Your first year includes access to the release ZIPs on Gumroad. Your licence does not expire when download access ends. You can keep using your installed copy.

Your updates membership renews each year. Cancel through your Gumroad receipt or Library to stop future charges. Download access continues until the end of the paid period. See current prices and update terms. Renewing update access does not extend your support period.

Update access does not change the checks. A package that fails a check is not installed.

Other ways to update

Use replacement recovery when the Update page is unavailable. Use it also when backup tools cannot run or the web server cannot write to the installation folder. The package must list your installed version as a supported starting point. An installation with an Update page can use it when all checks pass.

Release downloads use your purchase or support channel. The file checks find damaged or changed files. They do not prove who supplied the package.

Related pages

• Updating
• Backups
• Common issues