Updating FOSSBilling

Danger

Always back up first. Before any update, make full backups of your database and all FOSSBilling files. If something goes wrong, you'll need these to restore your data.

Automatic Updates (Recommended)

For most installations, the built-in updater is the easiest option:

1. Log in to your admin panel
2. Go to System → Update
3. Click to apply the update

FOSSBilling downloads and applies the update automatically. It follows the configured update branch, usually release or preview, which you can change in your configuration file.

Manual Updates

If you prefer to manage files yourself:

1. Back up your database and files
2. Download the latest release
3. Extract the files over your existing installation (overwrite existing files)
4. Delete the install folder that came with the new files
5. Log in to the admin panel and go to System → Update
6. Click Apply Patches & Update Configuration

Emergency Recovery

If you cannot access the admin panel after updating, use the fallback patcher:

1. Visit example.com/run-patcher in your browser
2. This runs database migrations and configuration updates automatically
3. Once complete, try logging in again

Tip

If the patcher doesn't fix the issue, restore from your backup and try the update again. Check the changelog for any breaking changes that might require manual steps.

What Gets Updated

• Automatic updates: Core files, database schema, configuration
• Patches (manual step): Database migrations, config updates

Always run the patches after copying in new files so the database schema and configuration stay in sync with the codebase.