This documentation is currently being worked on. Until the stable version of PrestaShop 1.5 is released, it should not be seen as definitive.

Table of content

Automatic upgrade (recommended)

PrestaShop introduced automatic upgrade in version 1.4.4 and 1.4.4.1, which was then turned into a free module for earlier versions (starting with PS 1.3) and later versions (including 1.5.x).

It enables shop owners to backup and update their site in a few clicks and no technical knowledge.

Downloading and installing the 1-Click Upgrade module

Simply follow the normal path to installing a module on PrestaShop:

  1. Download the 1-Click Upgrade module from PrestaShop Addons: http://addons.prestashop.com/en/administration-tools/5496-autoupgrade.html. Save the Zip file to your desktop.
  2. In your PrestaShop administration panel, go to the main "Modules" tab.
  3. Click on the "Add a module" button, located at the top right of the list of available modules.

    If updating from version 1.4, click on the "Add a module from my computer" link, located at the top left.

  4. In the form that opens, click on the "Browse..." button, then find and select the module's Zip file that you just downloaded.
  5. Click the "Upload this Module" button. PrestaShop will put the module on your server, unzip it, and place the files in the /modules folder.

The module is now available in your list of modules, but you still have to install it:

  1. In the "Modules" tab, find the 1-Click Upgrade module: type "1-click upgrade" or "autoupgrade" in the module search box (not the global search at the top). A direct link to the module should appear as you type. Click it.
  2. PrestaShop then displays the module you just installed in the main list.
  3. Click the module's "Install" button.

The module is now ready to configure and use.

The Configuration Screen

The module's configuration screen is available from the "Modules" list, by clicking on the module's "Configure" link;

In PrestaShop 1.4, the configuration screen is also available under the "Tools" tab, in the "Upgrade" sub-tab.

The configuration screen presents you with a series of sections, providing information, tools and settings.

Update

This section compares your version of PrestaShop with the latest stable one. You can quickly see whether you need to update or not. If you know that there is a newer version available than the one presented, you can trigger a version check by clicking the "Check if new version available" button.

If you want to check for a version other than a stable one (for instance, beta, RC or any other unstable version), click on the "More options (Expert mode)" button. This will open a new section, named "Advanced mode", where you can choose the distribution channel to which you want to update.

Advanced mode

This section enables you to pinpoint exactly which version you want to upgrade your current PrestaShop installation to.

The options are:

Checks

The "Checks" section gives you useful information on your current PrestaShop installation, and how it might interact with the automatic upgrade. You must make sure that all the checks are validated before you can launch the upgrade.

All these indicators must be green for the upgrade to work. Otherwise, the upgrade button will not appear.

Version comparison

For the curious, the numbered differences between your current version and the latest version in the chosen channel.

In case you have make changes directly to the core files instead of using the overriding possibilities of PrestaShop, these lists can help you know if your changes are safe or not.
Nevertheless, you can improve the lifespan of your custom code by turning it into overriding files. See the developer documentation for more information.

Rollback

See below.

Backup options

These options enable you to have some control on the backup process:

Upgrade Options

These options enable you to have some control on the upgrade process:

The Upgrade process

Once all the indicators are green, the update button appears in the "Upgrade" section, along with an indication of which Smarty version you are currently using, and the URL from which the new version will be downloaded.

Click the "Upgrade PrestaShop now !" triggers the whole process.

Once the upgrade process is launched, the whole configuration is replaced by two sections: "Activity Log" and "Rollback".

The activity log gives you a detailed journal of what the updater is doing, in a screen you can scroll through:

A lot of files are mentioned during the whole process. You do not need to read all the notifications, it's only there for you to peruse in case of error.

You'll know the upgrade is over when the message "upgrade complete. Please check your front-office theme is functional (try to make an order, check theme)" appears in green, along with the following final log entry: "End of process".
The upgrader also indicates that you should re-enable your shop, but before you do that, you should first check that everything is working in your back-office: no errors, all products and categories are in place with their images and attached files, etc. Until you have checked that everything is okay in your shop, it is better to keep it from the public eye.

On first load, pages might look wonky: because your web browser caches files, it is probably using the old CSS files instead of the new ones. Do not hesitate to reload the page several times, or even empty your browser's cache, in order to get the correct interface.

Once you have made sure your PrestaShop installation is up and running, you can re-enable your shop using the option in the "Preferences" menu, then make tests on your front-office: browse products, sort them, try to order one, etc. In short, go through the entire buying process in order to make sure that you won't miss a sale.

Is everything working fine? Congratulations, you know have successfully upgraded your PrestaShop install!

Rollbacks

Sadly, not all upgrades are successful – which is the very reason why you should always back-up all your files and data, and why PrestaShop performs an additional backup of said files and data by itself (which you should not always count on, obviously. Make your own backup first).

PrestaShop's own backup files are saved on your server, and if it turns out your update has gone badly, you can find them in the "Rollback" section of the "Upgrade" sub-tab.
Backup files are created as soon as the upgrade process is started, and are available immediately in the "Choose your backup" drop-down list.

The "Rollback" button triggers two actions:

Select the backup archive to which you want to roll back to, and click the "Rollback" button. As with the upgrade process, the whole interface disappears to only leave the "Activity Log" section and the "Rollback" section. You can follow the rollback process in the scrolling journal, and once it is finished, reload the page in order to check that everything is indeed back in place.