Update

• Before You Update
• Update Steps
• Post-Update Verification
• Troubleshooting
• Recovering from a Failed Update

With each new PanelAlpha release, check whether changes require a manual Engine update. If so, you can find details in the latest PanelAlpha release changelog (opens new window).

Before You Update

1. Create a complete backup of your server and data before starting the update process. See backup documentation for details.
2. Review the changelog (opens new window) to verify compatibility and check for breaking changes.
3. Have your PanelAlpha license key ready.

Update Steps

1. Access your server via SSH with root privileges:

   ssh root@your-server-ip
   

2. Download the updater:

   wget -N -P /opt/panelalpha https://license.panelalpha.com/engine-updater.sh
   

Note: The update may restart services and cause brief downtime. Schedule outside peak hours.

3. Execute the update script:

   bash /opt/panelalpha/engine-updater.sh --key 'YOUR_LICENSE_KEY'
   

   Important: Replace YOUR_LICENSE_KEY with your actual license key from the client area.

Post-Update Verification

After the update completes:

1. Verify the server status in PanelAlpha at Configuration → Servers → Hosting Services.
2. Test instance creation — create a test instance to confirm everything is working correctly.
3. Monitor logs — check for errors or warnings in the system logs, for example with docker compose -f /opt/panelalpha/shared-hosting/docker-compose.yml logs core.
4. Review performance — monitor server resources and container performance.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues during the update process, refer to our Troubleshooting Center for detailed solutions.

Recovering from a Failed Update

PanelAlpha Engine does not perform an automatic rollback. The updater applies files destructively and aborts on error, which can leave the server in a partially updated state.

If an update fails:

1. Review the update logs at /opt/panelalpha/log/engine-updates/ (newest subdirectory) and /opt/panelalpha/log/engine-updater_*.log.

2. Resolve the root cause reported in the logs.

3. Re-run the updater to complete the update:

   bash /opt/panelalpha/engine-updater.sh
   

4. To return to a previous version, run the updater with --version:

   bash /opt/panelalpha/engine-updater.sh --version <previous-version>
   

This reinstalls the target version from scratch — it is not a restore from backup. Always create your own backup (configuration, databases) before updating.