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Manual TYPO3 update – tutorial

If you want to perform a major release change or update an older TYPO3 system, a manual TYPO3 update is often advisable. Here, I explain how to do this.

In any case, it is recommended to back up the site, including the database, before updating and save it to a secure data carrier. You should also take a look at the list of extensions.

All TYPO3 extensions that are not installed or not used should be uninstalled in the extension manager and, ideally, deleted immediately. For the remaining ones, you should take a look at the file “ext_emconf.php.” There, under “constraints/depends/typo3,” you will find the TYPO3 versions with which this extension is compatible. Some will say something like “11.5.0-12.99.99,” in which case you should be able to update your system from version 11 to 12 without any problems. If it says “only” “11.5.0-11.5.99,” you will probably get errors after the update and should update it as well. To do this, it is sometimes sufficient to replace the sources with a compatible version. All approved extensions can be found in the repository and can be downloaded there as a ZIP archive. 

Everything checked? Then let's get started with the TYPO3 update!

  1. Under “DB Check/Manage Reference Index,” click “Update Now.” This process may take a while. If it stops with an “internal server error” (500), it may be because your PHP execution time (max_execution_time) is set too low. For reasonably up-to-date TYPO3 versions, this should be set to 240 (seconds). Depending on the server, this can be adjusted with
    php_value max_execution_time 240
    in the .htaccess file in the root directory of your TYPO3 installation.
  2. Download the correct version and unzip the archive. First, check whether you need the zip version or the tar.gz version. You can find this out by looking at the TYPO3 directory on the server:
TYPO3 version with symlinks = *.tar.gz
Here I have a version with symlinks = *.tar.gz
A TYPO3 version without = *.zip
This is a version without symlinks = *.zip

In the symlink version, the directories “typo3” and “typo3_src” and the file “index.php” are only linked to the source directory, whereas in the right version, the directory ‘typo3’ and the file “index.php” are actually physically present.

  1. Upload the files from the unzipped archive to your TYPO3 directory on the web space.
  2. For both the zip and tar.gz versions, the sources are located in a directory called “typo3_src-<version number>”. If you can move directories directly on the server using your FTP program (e.g., Filezilla), upload the entire directory.
  3. Create a directory for the old TYPO3 version, e.g., “typo3_src-old” or similar. Move the following directories into it:
    typo3, vendor
    and all files except .htaccess, if present favicon.ico and any other files you need for any web directories, e.g., Google.
  4. Now move everything under the uploaded new TYPO3 directory to the root directory.
  5. Delete everything under typo3temp. Since version 6.2, the Installtool has included a check and correction function under “Folder structure”: clicking “Try to fix...” will create all the necessary directories and files.
  6. Reload the TYPO3 backend completely and check the browser title bar to see if the correct new TYPO3 version is displayed there.
  7. Run the Update Wizard under “Administration Tools/Update/Update Wizard” (since TYPO3 9) and follow the instructions there. At the end, you should see “Progress of upgrade wizards: ... 100%.”
  8. Run “Analyze Database Structure” under “Administration Tools/Maintenance.” Pay attention to the extensions you have installed in the specified SQL statements. These should remain unchanged. If tables are to be renamed to “zzz_deleted_[table name]” that you clearly recognize as belonging to an installed extension, then this extension is not currently installed. Therefore, reinstall the TYPO3 extension in the Extension Manager if you know that you are using this extension.
  9. Repeat step 5.
  10. After the TYPO3 update, you should check in the Extension Manager whether any extensions need to be updated.
  11. To speed up the rebuilding of the cache, you can load the entire site once with the LINUX command “wget -r -Dwww.ihre-domaine.tld www.ihre-domaine.tld”.
  12. Test your site (in the backend and frontend).
  13. If everything is working correctly, you can delete the old TYPO3 version, which you have saved under “typo3_src-alt” or similar, and the now empty directory of the new version “typo3_src-<version number>”.

A few experiences I had when updating to TYPO3 13.4:

  • TYPO3 may complain about the backend cache settings (invalid cache backend option “compression” for backend of type “TYPO3\CMS\Core\Cache\Backend\SimpleFileBackend”). In my case, it helped to delete everything under SYS => caching in the file typo3conf/system/settings.php.
  • For a customer, I had set up additional file storage outside the TYPO3 directory. After the update, the directories could not be displayed in the file list (error message: “Error loading navigation”). I found a note on this TYPO3 page stating that you have to enter the path under [BE][lockRootPath] in the configuration.

Update extensions

The installed extensions should not be neglected either. Especially when switching to TYPO3 9.X, 10.X, or 11.X, some old extensions will no longer run without further ado. When updating to 6.2, it still helped to comment out or delete a few lines, but from version 7 onwards, this is no longer so easy. If you are lucky, there will be an update, but in the worst case, an extension will have to be deleted without replacement. It is very helpful to clean up all extensions first. Recently, this reduced the number of extensions to be updated for one of my customers from 11 to 3.

If you are dealing with older TYPO3 versions, you may also have to proceed step by step with these. For example, after updating to TYPO3 9.5, only update the extensions that also run up to this TYPO3 version.

TYPO3 extension list: Add extension
Update extension list

Download it by clicking “Update now.”

Then, under “Manage extensions,” you can sort the list at the top by “updatable” extensions.

TYPO3-Update: Erweiterungen aktualisieren
TYPO3-Update: Erweiterung aktualisieren

Clicking on the update icon will first show you everything that has changed in the latest versions. This list can sometimes be very long. However, it is still worth reading everything carefully, as urgent changes often need to be made to the templates used, or in TypoScript, etc. after the update. After that, you should of course test the extension thoroughly.