This guide explains how to upgrade Wikibase Suite (WBS) from version 6 to 7 while preserving the existing installation and Docker volumes. It updates MediaWiki and the bundled extensions within the MediaWiki 1.45 release line.
[!WARNING] On startup, the Wikibase Docker Image automatically applies the MediaWiki database schema updates. Do not remove
config/LocalSettings.phpor any Docker volumes as part of this upgrade.
If you have not already, log in to your server and change to your WBS directory.
Read the CHANGELOG entries for the target WBS release and images changed by this upgrade:
If you modified tracked files such as deploy/docker-compose.yml or deploy/config/Extensions.php, commit those changes before switching versions.
Back up your data and configuration. See Backing Up and Restoring. The backup procedure stops WBS; continue directly with the migration.
While still in your WBS directory, ensure the services are stopped by running.
docker compose down
Move to the repository root, fetch and check out WBS 7.0.0.
cd ..
git remote update
git checkout deploy@7.0.0
cd deploy
Reapply any tracked customizations you still need. Keep the WBS 7 files as the base rather than restoring the old files wholesale.
This upgrade requires no new .env values. Preserve deploy/.env unchanged.
WBS 7 disables anonymous writes and self-service account creation by default for new installations. Existing installations retain their current anonymous-access behavior during an upgrade.
To adopt the new defaults, add the following immediately after # Add configuration values below which should be set after extensions are loaded in deploy/config/LocalSettings.php:
$wgGroupPermissions['*']['edit'] = false;
$wgGroupPermissions['*']['createpage'] = false;
$wgGroupPermissions['*']['createtalk'] = false;
$wgGroupPermissions['*']['writeapi'] = false;
$wgGroupPermissions['*']['createaccount'] = false;
Skip this step to retain the existing anonymous-access behavior.
WikibaseEdtf remains bundled but is no longer loaded by default. If the wiki uses the EDTF data type, uncomment this line in deploy/config/Extensions.php:
wfLoadExtension( 'WikibaseEdtf' );
If you installed extensions specifically for this instance, follow Updating Extensions.
Pull the new images and start WBS.
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
docker compose ps
If the wiki uses mul values, wait for the upgraded services to become healthy, then recreate and repopulate the Elasticsearch index.
WBS 7 enables the mul language code. Existing content will not appear in typeahead results for mul values until the index is recreated and repopulated.
docker compose exec wikibase php extensions/CirrusSearch/maintenance/UpdateSearchIndexConfig.php --startOver
docker compose exec wikibase php extensions/CirrusSearch/maintenance/ForceSearchIndex.php --skipLinks --indexOnSkip
docker compose exec wikibase php extensions/CirrusSearch/maintenance/ForceSearchIndex.php --skipParse
Reindexing may take a significant amount of time on a large wiki. If the wiki does not use mul values, this step can be deferred until that functionality is needed.