If only we had a simpler update process... :)

Jeffin

Well-known member
I think updates to xenforo and it's plugins need to be made simpler and easier like needing to only visit the admin panel to start an update and not requiring us to download the software from xenforo website. It makes our jobs easier and keeps our site secure always. Even simple features such as notifications in the admin panel when a plugin or theme has released an update would be very useful. I don't think any forum software has this feature yet and so this can be a huge thing for xenforo webmasters especially when you have more than one license.

I have seven wordpress websites and they are updated daily. I have one xenforo site and it takes me days/weeks to get it updated after a new release has been announced. Just my honest suggestion. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
I have one xenforo site and it takes me days/weeks to get it updated after a new release has been announced.
You're doing it wrong if it takes that long.

A typical XF minor version update should take 5 minutes via cPanel or shell (not including any third party add-on or style related issues).

Even fia FTP it should be less than an hour.
 
You're doing it wrong if it takes that long.

A typical XF minor version update should take 5 minutes via cPanel or shell (not including any third party add-on or style related issues).

Even fia FTP it should be less than an hour.

I usually do it via FTP. Sometimes it takes me longer than that. And I have to visit xenforo forums to see which of my plugins have released an update. Things like that could have been made easier. With wordpress, I just hit 'update all' via my multi-site software and there's no need to wait in front of the computer. This is not criticism at all. Just a suggestion. I feel if everything can be done with a simple click, webmasters should keep their softwares updated (and so xenforo sites remain modern and secure) and it may also encourage them to keep their licences active. It's win-win situation. ;)
 
I think updates to xenforo and it's plugins need to be made simpler and easier like needing to only visit the admin panel to start an update and not requiring us to download the software from xenforo website. It makes our jobs easier and keeps our site secure always. Even simple features such as notifications in the admin panel when a plugin or theme has released an update would be very useful. I don't think any forum software has this feature yet and so this can be a huge thing for xenforo webmasters especially when you have more than one license.

I have seven wordpress websites and they are updated daily. I have one xenforo site and it takes me days/weeks to get it updated after a new release has been announced. Just my honest suggestion. :rolleyes:
Agreed. It should have a Wordpress-like upgrade button in the admin cp, making it far more user-friendly. I have suggested this several times. As I see it, it is just a matter of time before this function will be implemented, it just remains to be seen when. Probably not next year, but in a 5 year frame this will probably be part of the standard setup. The needs changes, and with them the forum software - regarding user friendliness. Imo.
 
As a developer, I would never advocate blindly updating any software from the ACP without first checking what the new release entails.

I understand that people like one-click updates, but updating without understanding the implications can cause (big) problems.
 
I suggest you 'watch' all installed addon resources. This way you can either receive emails in realtime or view 'watched resources' when you find the time to update.
 
You're doing it wrong if it takes that long.

A typical XF minor version update should take 5 minutes via cPanel or shell (not including any third party add-on or style related issues).

Even fia FTP it should be less than an hour.

Been meaning to ask you about shell updating. I believe I followed a guide from you on this awhile ago and for some reason the ownership of the XF files got screwed up during the process. Ever hear of that happening?
 
I have ownership/permission problems on a couple of servers I manage, but it isn't a XenForo problem. Sometimes the permissions get changed (during an OS upgrade) or they retrograde as a security precaution. I then need to reapply them to how I want them whenever I get a server error in XenForo.

I have the same problems with WordPress when I update that.
 
Been meaning to ask you about shell updating. I believe I followed a guide from you on this awhile ago and for some reason the ownership of the XF files got screwed up during the process. Ever hear of that happening?
If the process isn't done under the user that owns the files in the first place then the ownership of the files replacing them will not be the same. You can't login to root and unzip an update on top of files that belong to a user or even worse, lets say apache.
 
As a developer, I would never advocate blindly updating any software from the ACP without first checking what the new release entails.

I understand that people like one-click updates, but updating without understanding the implications can cause (big) problems.
This is meant only for the third-point releases. For second-point versions the manual uploading should still be used.
 
IWith wordpress
Why did I know that was what it was being compared against.
If the process isn't done under the user that owns the files in the first place then the ownership of the files replacing them will not be the same. You can't login to root and unzip an update on top of files that belong to a user or even worse, lets say apache.
Yeah you can... as long as you remember to do a chown -R www-data:www-data (or whatever the owner:group is) /path/to/files/* :p
 
This is an excellent idea. I believe lots of other software already does this.

I remember using prestashop(online store script) I could do everything from the admin panel from a click of a button.

Update the script, download add-ons, Even with the add-ons. I just clicked on "check for updates" and clicked on "update" or "update all"

It a pain downloading all the add-ons and then uploading it via ftp then updating it. Sure it takes only 5 minutes per add-on. But if i can update it with just a "click" then that's definetly simpler!


Because of this I didn't go on their website as often. I did everything from the admin panel. (y)
 
Because of this I didn't go on their website as often. I did everything from the admin panel. (y)
And this in and of itself is the biggest argument AGAINST it.
How do you know if there are problems/fixes with certain add-ons. You don't until you do the "handy dandy, super duper, auto-update routine" and it craters your site because the update is incompatible with certain add-ons you have running.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bob
Top Bottom