Upgrade with a JAR Distribution
If you run YouTrack as a standalone Java process with the JAR distribution, the upgrade procedure is quite straightforward.
Prerequisites
Before you upgrade, perform the following prerequisite tasks:
Create a backup of your current database. YouTrack does not provide forward database compatibility. Your database is migrated to the format that is compatible with the latest version during the upgrade procedure. This means that you cannot revert to a previous version and continue to use the database that was processed during the upgrade.
Copy the backup of your current database to a secure location just in case you encounter problems with the upgrade and need to roll back to the previous version.
Verify that your YouTrack license supports the upgrade. To view the license limitations, click the Global Settings link in the Administration menu. If the free update period has expired, you need to extend your subscription.
Verify that your current YouTrack installation is not a year older than the new version. The current version of your installation is shown at the bottom of any page in the application. We guaranty upgrade from a version that is not a year older than the new version. That is, if you want to upgrade to the version 2018.2, then you need to preliminary upgrade to the version 2017.2, at least.
Upgrade Procedure
To upgrade YouTrack with the JAR distribution:
- Run the new JAR file from the command line. If you run YouTrack jar with a script, then deploy the new JAR and start the server.
Make sure to run the new JAR file with the same user account that you used for the previous version.
If you experience a problem during the upgrade, please create an issue. Describe the problem and attach your logs to the issue. Restore the previous YouTrack version with the pre-upgrade database backup.