Nuit Blanche
· 2 min read

Upgrade from Ghost 5 to Ghost 6

Upgrade from Ghost 5 to Ghost 6

TL;DR

How the Ghost 5 to 6 upgrade went on a Docker setup: what to back up first, the upgrade steps, and how to roll back if something breaks.

A new version of Ghost went out a few months ago, and it was finally time to update! While browsing the Ghost GitHub repository, I noticed that the compose file had been updated. Since I’m self-hosting Ghost and running it on Docker, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to upgrade.

Step 1: Backup Everything

Since I’m using Docker volumes for persistence, I simply backed up the entire Ghost directory on my s which contains all the volumes:

Terminal window
# Create a timestamped backup of the entire Ghost directory with volumes
tar -czf ghost-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /path/to/ghost/

This approach captures:

  • The database volume with all MySQL/MariaDB data
  • The content volume with images, themes, and configuration
  • The docker-compose.yml file itself
  • Any environment files or additional configurations

Simple, effective, and ensures everything needed for a full restore is in one archive.

Step 2: Update the Compose File

The update itself was remarkably simple. In my docker-compose.yml file, I just needed to change the image tag:

# Before
image: ghost:5-alpine


# After
image: ghost:6-alpine

Step 3: Deploy with GitOps

Since I’m using a GitOps workflow with my infrastructure:

Terminal window
git add docker-compose.yml
git commit -m "feat: upgrade Ghost from v5 to v6"
git push

My CI/CD runner picks up the changes automatically and handles the deployment. The magic happens in the shadows, and within minutes…

Step 4: Verification

After the deployment completed, I checked:

  • The Ghost admin panel showed version 6.x ✓
  • All posts and content intact ✓
  • Theme compatibility working ✓

Ghost admin panel showing the upgrade to version 6 Ghost update to version 6

What If Something Goes Wrong?

While my upgrade was smooth, always be prepared for rollback:

Terminal window
# Stop the containers
docker-compose down


# Restore from backup if needed
tar -xzf ghost-backup-YYYYMMDD.tar.gz -C /


# Revert the image tag in docker-compose.yml
image: ghost:5-alpine


# Bring everything back up
docker-compose up -d

Conclusion

Upgrading Ghost from 5 to 6 when self-hosting with Docker is refreshingly simple. If you’re still on Ghost 5 and running Docker, there’s really no reason to wait. Just remember: backup your volumes, update the image tag, deploy, and enjoy !

See you next time !
Yacine

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