Railbase
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Updating

Update plugins and Railbase itself in one click, and how version compatibility is enforced.

Updated

Video guide —watch on YouTube ↗

Railbase updates two things independently: the plugins you've installed and the core binary itself. Both are driven from the Marketplace in your admin: when something newer is available, an "Updates available" banner appears there with one-click actions. Both respect a version-compatibility gate.

Updating a plugin

When a newer version of an installed plugin is published, the Marketplace flags it (a badge on the plugin, plus the banner up top). Updating:

  1. fetches the new build and verifies it's authentic and unmodified (the same check as a fresh install — see How plugins work),
  2. stops the running version, and
  3. starts the new one — reusing your existing license, so there's no second checkout.

If the new version needs a newer core than you're running, the update is blocked until you update the core (below).

Updating Railbase

Railbase can update itself in place. When a newer core is published, the banner shows Update Railbase — one click and your instance:

  • fetches the new build and verifies it's authentic,
  • installs it, and
  • restarts into the new version (a few seconds of downtime).

You can also do it the manual way described in Installation: download the latest build and restart. Either way, your data is forward-compatible and schema migrations apply automatically on the next boot.

Tip

Take a snapshot before a core update so you can roll back instantly if needed: ./railbase backup. See Backups & restore.

Compatibility

Every plugin declares a minimum core version (min_core). The core enforces it:

  • A plugin whose min_core is newer than your core won't install or run — the Marketplace tells you to update the core first.
  • The Marketplace also flags when a core update is available (comparing your running version to the catalogue), so the banner tells you when it's worthwhile.

This is why you occasionally update the core before a plugin: the plugin needs a capability the older core doesn't have.

  1. Snapshot./railbase backup.
  2. Update Railbase if a plugin needs it (or to pick up fixes), then let it restart.
  3. Update plugins — they pick up the newer core's capabilities.

Because licenses are reused across updates, none of this re-charges you — updates are purely fetch, verify, and install.