.. |SCYLLA_NAME| replace:: ScyllaDB

.. |SRC_VERSION| replace:: 2025.x
.. |NEW_VERSION| replace:: 2025.4

.. |ROLLBACK| replace:: rollback
.. _ROLLBACK: ./#rollback-procedure

.. |SCYLLA_METRICS| replace:: ScyllaDB Metrics Update - ScyllaDB 2025.x to 2025.4
.. _SCYLLA_METRICS: ../metric-update-2025.x-to-2025.4

=======================================================================================
Upgrade from |SCYLLA_NAME| |SRC_VERSION| to |SCYLLA_NAME| |NEW_VERSION|
=======================================================================================

This document describes a step-by-step procedure for upgrading from |SCYLLA_NAME| |SRC_VERSION| 
to |SCYLLA_NAME| |NEW_VERSION| and rollback to version |SRC_VERSION| if necessary.

This guide covers upgrading ScyllaDB on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, Debian, 
and Ubuntu. See :doc:`OS Support by Platform and Version </getting-started/os-support>` 
for information about supported versions.

It also applies when using the ScyllaDB official image on EC2, GCP, or Azure.

Before You Upgrade ScyllaDB
==============================

**Upgrade Your Driver**

If you're using a `ScyllaDB driver <https://docs.scylladb.com/stable/drivers/index.html>`_, 
upgrade the driver before upgrading ScyllaDB. The latest two versions of each driver 
are supported. See `Driver Support <https://docs.scylladb.com/stable/versioning/driver-support.html>`_.

**Upgrade ScyllaDB Monitoring Stack**

If you're using the ScyllaDB Monitoring Stack, verify that your Monitoring Stack 
version supports the ScyllaDB version to which you want to upgrade. See 
`ScyllaDB Monitoring Stack Support Matrix <https://monitoring.docs.scylladb.com/stable/reference/matrix.html>`_.
  
We recommend upgrading the Monitoring Stack to the latest version.

**Check Feature Updates**

See the ScyllaDB Release Notes for the latest updates. The Release Notes are published 
at the `ScyllaDB Community Forum <https://forum.scylladb.com/c/scylladb-release-notes/>`_.

Upgrade Procedure
=================

A ScyllaDB upgrade is a rolling procedure that does **not** require full cluster shutdown.
For each of the nodes in the cluster, serially (i.e., one node at a time), you will:

* Check that the cluster's schema is synchronized
* Drain the node and backup the data
* Backup the configuration file
* Stop ScyllaDB
* Download and install new ScyllaDB packages
* Start ScyllaDB
* Validate that the upgrade was successful

.. caution:: 

   Apply the procedure **serially** on each node. Do not move to the next node before 
   validating that the node you upgraded is up and running the new version.

**During** the rolling upgrade, it is highly recommended:

* Not to use the new |NEW_VERSION| features.
* Not to run administration functions, such as repairs, refresh, rebuild, or add 
  or remove nodes. See `sctool <https://manager.docs.scylladb.com/stable/sctool/>`_ for suspending 
  ScyllaDB Manager's scheduled or running repairs.
* Not to apply schema changes.

Upgrade Steps
=============

Check the cluster schema
-------------------------

Make sure that all nodes have the schema synchronized before the upgrade. The upgrade 
procedure will fail if there is a schema disagreement between nodes.

.. code:: sh

   nodetool describecluster

Backup the data
-----------------------------------

Before any major procedure, like an upgrade, it is recommended to backup all the data 
to an external device. 
We recommend using `ScyllaDB Manager <https://manager.docs.scylladb.com/stable/backup/index.html>`_
to create backups.

Alternatively, you can use the ``nodetool snapshot`` command.
For **each** node in the cluster, run the following:

.. code:: sh

   nodetool drain
   nodetool snapshot

Take note of the directory name that nodetool gives you, and copy all the directories 
having that name under ``/var/lib/scylla`` to an external backup device.

When the upgrade is completed on all nodes, remove the snapshot with the 
``nodetool clearsnapshot -t <snapshot>`` command to prevent running out of space.

Backup the configuration file
------------------------------

Back up the ``scylla.yaml`` configuration file and the ScyllaDB packages
in case you need to rollback the upgrade.

.. tabs::

   .. group-tab:: Debian/Ubuntu

      .. code:: sh
         
         sudo cp -a /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml.backup
         sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list ~/scylla.list-backup

   .. group-tab:: RHEL/CentOS

      .. code:: sh
         
         sudo cp -a /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml.backup
         sudo cp /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo ~/scylla.repo-backup


Gracefully stop the node
------------------------

.. code:: sh

   sudo service scylla-server stop

Download and install the new release
------------------------------------

Before upgrading, check what version you are running now using ``scylla --version``. 
You should take note of the current version in case you want to |ROLLBACK|_ the upgrade.

.. tabs::

   .. group-tab:: Debian/Ubuntu

        #. Update the ScyllaDB deb repo to |NEW_VERSION|.

            .. code-block:: console

               sudo wget -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list https://downloads.scylladb.com/deb/debian/scylla-2025.4.list

        #. Install the new ScyllaDB version:

            .. code-block:: console

               sudo apt-get clean all
               sudo apt-get update
               sudo apt-get dist-upgrade scylla

        Answer ‘y’ to the first two questions.

   .. group-tab:: RHEL/CentOS

        #. Update the ScyllaDB rpm repo to |NEW_VERSION|.

            .. code-block:: console

               sudo curl -o /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo -L https://downloads.scylladb.com/rpm/centos/scylla-2025.4.repo

        #. Install the new ScyllaDB version:

            .. code:: sh

               sudo yum clean all
               sudo yum update scylla\* -y

   .. group-tab:: EC2/GCP/Azure Ubuntu Image

      If you’re using the ScyllaDB official image (recommended), see the **Debian/Ubuntu** 
      tab for upgrade instructions.

      If you’re using your own image and installed ScyllaDB packages for Ubuntu or Debian, 
      you need to apply an extended upgrade procedure:

      #. Update the ScyllaDB deb repo (see the **Debian/Ubuntu** tab).
      #. Install the new ScyllaDB version with the additional ``scylla-machine-image`` package:

            .. code-block:: console

               sudo apt-get clean all
               sudo apt-get update
               sudo apt-get dist-upgrade scylla
               sudo apt-get dist-upgrade scylla-machine-image

      #. Run ``scylla_setup`` without ``running io_setup``.
      #. Run ``sudo /opt/scylladb/scylla-machine-image/scylla_cloud_io_setup``.


If you need JMX server, see
:doc:`Install scylla-jmx Package </getting-started/installation-common/install-jmx>`
and get new version. 

Start the node
--------------

.. code:: sh

   sudo service scylla-server start

Validate
--------

#. Check cluster status with ``nodetool status`` and make sure **all** nodes, including 
   the one you just upgraded, are in ``UN`` status.
#. Use ``curl -X GET "http://localhost:10000/storage_service/scylla_release_version"`` 
   to check the ScyllaDB version. Validate that the version matches the one you upgraded to.
#. Check scylla-server log (by ``journalctl _COMM=scylla``) and ``/var/log/syslog`` to 
   validate there are no new errors in the log.
#. Check again after two minutes to validate no new issues are introduced.

Once you are sure the node upgrade was successful, move to the next node in the cluster.

Rollback Procedure
==================

.. warning::

   The rollback procedure can be applied **only** if some nodes have not been 
   upgraded to |NEW_VERSION| yet. As soon as the last node in the rolling upgrade 
   procedure is started with |NEW_VERSION|, rollback becomes impossible. At that 
   point, the only way to restore a cluster to |SRC_VERSION| is by restoring it 
   from backup.

The following procedure describes a rollback from |SCYLLA_NAME| |NEW_VERSION| to 
|SRC_VERSION|. Apply this procedure if an upgrade from |SRC_VERSION| to 
|NEW_VERSION| fails before completing on all nodes. 

* Use this procedure only on the nodes you upgraded to |NEW_VERSION|.
* Execute the following commands one node at a time, moving to the next node 
  only after the rollback procedure is completed successfully.

ScyllaDB rollback is a rolling procedure that does **not** require full cluster shutdown.
For each of the nodes you rollback to |SRC_VERSION|, serially (i.e., one node 
at a time), you will:

* Drain the node and stop ScyllaDB
* Retrieve the old ScyllaDB packages
* Restore the configuration file
* Reload systemd configuration
* Restart ScyllaDB
* Validate the rollback success

Apply the procedure **serially** on each node. Do not move to the next node 
before validating that the rollback was successful and the node is up and 
running the old version.

Rollback Steps
==============

Drain and gracefully stop the node
----------------------------------

.. code:: sh

   nodetool drain
   sudo service scylla-server stop

Restore and install the old release
------------------------------------

.. tabs::

   .. group-tab:: Debian/Ubuntu

        #. Remove the old repo file.

            .. code:: sh

               sudo rm -rf /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list

        #. Restore the |SRC_VERSION| packages backed up during the upgrade.

            .. code:: sh

               sudo cp ~/scylla.list-backup /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list
               sudo chown root.root /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list
               sudo chmod 644 /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list

        #. Install:

            .. code-block::

               sudo apt-get update
               sudo apt-get remove scylla\* -y
               sudo apt-get install scylla

        Answer ‘y’ to the first two questions.

   .. group-tab:: RHEL/CentOS

        #. Remove the old repo file.

            .. code:: sh

               sudo rm -rf /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo

        #. Restore the |SRC_VERSION| packages backed up during the upgrade procedure.

            .. code:: sh

               sudo cp ~/scylla.repo-backup /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo
               sudo chown root.root /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo
               sudo chmod 644 /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo

        #. Install:

            .. code:: console

               sudo yum clean all
               sudo yum remove scylla\*
               sudo yum install scylla

   .. group-tab:: EC2/GCP/Azure Ubuntu Image

      If you’re using the ScyllaDB official image (recommended), see the **Debian/Ubuntu** 
      tab for upgrade instructions.

      If you’re using your own image and installed ScyllaDB packages for Ubuntu or Debian, 
      you need to additionally restore the ``scylla-machine-image`` package.


      #. Restore the |SRC_VERSION| packages backed up during the upgrade
         (see the **Debian/Ubuntu** tab).
      #. Install:

            .. code-block::

               sudo apt-get update
               sudo apt-get remove scylla\* -y
               sudo apt-get install scylla
               sudo apt-get install scylla-machine-image

        Answer ‘y’ to the first two questions.

Restore the configuration file
------------------------------
.. code:: sh

   sudo rm -rf /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml
   sudo cp /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml-backup /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml

Reload systemd configuration
----------------------------

You must reload the unit file if the systemd unit file is changed.

.. code:: sh

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Start the node
--------------

.. code:: sh

   sudo service scylla-server start

Validate
--------
Check the upgrade instructions above for validation. Once you are sure the node 
rollback is successful, move to the next node in the cluster.
