Update the server

This page updates the API, Worker, Studio and app store of your server to a newer release. Services can be briefly unavailable. Apps keep running on their Runners.

Prerequisites

• You are a system administrator, and the CLI is signed in to the server: automaton login --server https://api.example.com.
• A server installed with the current installer. An older one needs the SSH fallback below once.
• Servers still on MySQL cannot take this update; move them first with the migration guide.

Steps

1. Update and wait.

   automaton server update --wait

   Pin a release with --version server-vX.Y.Z. The API restarts during the update; --wait follows it, then checks /health and the installed version, and exits nonzero on failure, printing the cause (the last line of update.log), the log tail and the recovery backup. The full log is on the server at /var/lib/automaton/update/status/update.log. --timeout SECONDS defaults to 1800.

2. In Studio instead: Admin → Installation → Update (the Update to the latest release button).

3. Upgrade the Runners. A server update does not change installed Runners; each keeps its old image until upgraded. From the CLI, automaton server update --runners waits for the update, names every Runner with its state and upgrades the ones on an old image (with only --wait, it lists them with the command to upgrade each; automaton runners upgrade RUNNER --wait needs a Developer API key).

   In Studio, open Runners: a Runner on an old image shows Update available; select Upgrade → Upgrade now, and Studio says whether it reconnected or rolled back. An offline Runner, or one busy with a deploy or an Action, cannot upgrade; retry when idle, or use Run it manually (shown there) for a Runner too old to upgrade itself.

4. Check the last run any time.

   automaton server update-status

A release older than the installed one is refused unless you pass --allow-downgrade (Studio does not offer it).

Fallback over SSH

sudo bash /opt/automaton-server/update.sh            # latest
sudo bash /opt/automaton-server/update.sh --version server-vX.Y.Z

Verify it worked

curl -fsS https://api.example.com/health
automaton installation-status

Expected: ok, and Version: shows the new release.

Common errors

• Not picked up within two minutes. On the server run systemctl status automaton-update.path.
• HTTP 409. Another update is running; wait for it.
• Update failed. Read /var/lib/automaton/update/status/update.log (also shown by automaton server update-status). The previous release and a recovery backup are kept; the log names the backup. Do not rerun blindly. Restore with Back up and restore if a migration already ran.

How the trigger works (the API never runs as root), adopted installs and recovery: operator reference.