MediaWiki Upgrade Procedure — 1.43.8 → 1.46 LTS

Document version: 2025‑04‑04 Author: Martin Purpose: Clean, reproducible, successor‑friendly upgrade to MediaWiki 1.46 LTS using a parallel installation in /var/www/mw146 and a reverse‑proxy switch.

This procedure ensures:

Zero downtime
Instant rollback
No leftover files from old versions
Clean, maintainable, successor‑friendly architecture

The upgrade is executed on the web VM with a final switch on the reverse‑proxy VM.

Preconditions

Working MediaWiki 1.43.8 LTS installation
Database VM reachable and healthy
PHP 8.1 or 8.2
Reverse proxy currently pointing to /var/www/mw143
VM snapshot taken before starting
SSH access to web VM and reverse‑proxy VM

Step 1: Prepare new directory

On the web VM:

cd /var/www
mkdir mw146

Download and extract MediaWiki 1.46 LTS:

wget https://releases.wikimedia.org/mediawiki/1.46/mediawiki-1.46.0.tar.gz
tar -xzf mediawiki-1.46.0.tar.gz --strip-components=1 -C mw146

Resulting structure:

/var/www/mw146

Step 2: Copy required files from old installation

From the existing 1.43 installation (example path /var/www/mw143):

Copy LocalSettings.php

cp /var/www/mw143/LocalSettings.php /var/www/mw146/

Copy images directory

cp -R /var/www/mw143/images /var/www/mw146/

Copy custom logos (if stored outside images)

cp /var/www/mw143/resources/assets/*logo* /var/www/mw146/resources/assets/

Do not copy extensions yet.

Step 3: Install or update extensions

MediaWiki 1.46 requires updated extensions.

For each extension used in 1.43:

Download the 1.46‑compatible version
Place it in /var/www/mw146/extensions/
Keep the same configuration lines in LocalSettings.php

Vector‑2022 is bundled in 1.46 → no action needed.

Step 4: Run the database upgrade

On the web VM:

cd /var/www/mw146
php maintenance/update.php

This upgrades the schema in place. No data is lost. No new database is created.

Step 5: Local testing before switching reverse proxy

Access the new installation directly via the web VM’s IP:

http://<web-vm-ip>/mw146/

Verify:

Login
Namespaces and subpages
Uploads
SMTP
Dark mode
Vector‑2022 behaviour
Special pages (filter box present)
Search
Logo

Proceed only when everything is correct.

Step 6: Switch reverse proxy

On the reverse‑proxy VM, update the root path.

Example (Nginx):

root /var/www/mw146;

Reload:

systemctl reload nginx

The wiki now runs on 1.46 LTS.

Rollback is instant: point back to /var/www/mw143.

Step 7: Post‑upgrade checks

Check error logs on web VM
Check reverse‑proxy logs
Verify job queue
Verify uploads
Verify Special pages
Verify dark mode
Verify email notifications

Step 8: Cleanup

After several days of stable operation:

rm -rf /var/www/mw143

Or archive it for long‑term reference.

Rollback Procedure

If any issue occurs after switching:

Edit reverse‑proxy config
Point root back to /var/www/mw143
Reload proxy
Wiki is instantly restored

Database remains compatible.

Notes

MediaWiki 1.46 includes native dark mode
Vector‑2022 settings may be simplified
The Special pages filter box is available in 1.46
No database recreation is required for upgrades