Upgrade from 2.4.8-3 to 3.1.1-4

I am looking for simple, straight forward instructions on how to upgrade from OJS 2.4.8-3 to OJS 3.1.1-4

Up until now we have been using the patches which have been very straight forward to use. However it seems our only two options to upgrade now are to either do a full replacement manually - or to switch to using git.

However I cannot seem to find anything that tells me how to do that from the standpoint of having done previous upgrades using the patch method as compared to having done the initial installation using git from the outset.

I’m not interested in contributing to the code base - I just want something clean and straight forward that will keep the software current.

I have my github account set-up - what I want to know is

How do I get git to recognize that I have an existing installation (2.4.8-3) without having to replace the existing files or set-up I have currently? This documentation is useless as it doesn’t describe how to make that connection so that we can start using git from that point forward.

The documentation in the upgrade document also notes “Upgrading from OJS 3.x” and doesn’t indicate if the instructions below that point also apply to OJS 2.x upgrades or whether there is something else you need to look after.

Hi @imit-urockcliffe,

OJS 3 is significantly different from OJS 2 and so it is not possible to migrate your site’s settings and appearance when you do the upgrade. You will have to go through those setup steps again on the new site. However, in the upgrade process your data will be moved from your current OJS site to your new one.

You should do a full backup of your files and database before upgrading, in case there are issues and you need to restore the old site and perform the upgrade again. You may also want to do a test upgrade first to see what OJS 3 is like.

The documentation you referred to states at the end of the “Upgrading from OJS 2.4.x” section, “With that noted, follow the OJS 3.0 process described below,” so yes, the instructions are the same. If you’re not comfortable using Git, you can use the Full Package upgrade method.

You may find this video helpful: Upgrading to OJS 3 - YouTube

If you have any other specific questions, please let us know.

Best,
Amanda Stevens
Public Knowledge Project Team