headscale/docs/setup/upgrade.md

Upgrade an existing installation

!!! tip "Required update path"

It's required to update from one stable version to the next (e.g. 0.26.0 → 0.27.1 → 0.28.0) without skipping minor
versions in between. You should always pick the latest available patch release.

Update an existing Headscale installation to a new version:

• Read the announcement on the GitHub releases page for the new version. It lists the changes of the release along with possible breaking changes and version-specific upgrade instructions.
• Stop Headscale
• Create a backup of your installation
• Update Headscale to the new version, preferably by following the same installation method.
• Compare and update the configuration file.
• Start Headscale

Backup

Headscale applies database migrations during upgrades and we highly recommend to create a backup of your database before upgrading. A full backup of Headscale depends on your individual setup, but below are some typical setup scenarios.

=== "Standard installation"

An installation that follows our [official releases](install/official.md) setup guide uses the following paths:

- [Configuration file](../ref/configuration.md): `/etc/headscale/config.yaml`
- Data directory: `/var/lib/headscale`
- SQLite as database: `/var/lib/headscale/db.sqlite`

```console
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)
cp -aR /etc/headscale /etc/headscale.backup-$TIMESTAMP
cp -aR /var/lib/headscale /var/lib/headscale.backup-$TIMESTAMP
```

=== "Container"

An installation that follows our [container](install/container.md) setup guide uses a single source volume directory
that contains the configuration file, data directory and the SQLite database.

```console
cp -aR /path/to/headscale /path/to/headscale.backup-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)
```

=== "PostgreSQL"

Please follow PostgreSQL's [Backup and Restore](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/backup.html) documentation
to create a backup of your PostgreSQL database.