[MASTODON 4.2.10] How to update Mastodon to a new version

Updated on 26-08-2024. For the old version, click here.

Contents:
1. UPDATE
2. RUBY VERSION ISSUES
3. RUBY GEM ISSUES
4. CHARLOC_HOLMES GEM ISSUES

So a new release came out and it is important to get this update as soon as possible! This manual is a transcript of the way that I have updated my Mastodon instance. Please make sure you make proper backups and use your brain while updating things.

A guide to making a Mastodon backup can be found here.

Linux flavour: Debian
Update from: 4.2.xx

  1. Log into your server
  2. su - mastodon
  3. cd /home/mastodon/live
  4. git fetch --tags
  5. git checkout [type the most recent version here, starting with the letter v. For example; v4.2.5
    git checkout v4.2.10
  6. If you get a ruby version error, please see bottom of this article for a fix! bundle install
  7. yarn install
  8. RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
    
    #NOTE: You might get a ruby error which then suggests you to enter the command "bundle install". Do that and then run the RAILS command again.
  9. RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
  10. exit

OPTIONAL:
After updating, you might get a notification to update the browserlist database. You can do that with the following command:

npx update-browserslist-db@latest

Okay, you can now choose to either reboot or restart the services.

REBOOT:

  1. This command may vary, depending on your Linux flavour.
    systemctl reboot

RESTART:

  1. This command may vary, depending on your Linux flavour.
    systemctl restart mastodon-sidekiq
    systemctl reload mastodon-web
    
    

    Optional:

    systemctl restart mastodon-streaming

RUBY VERSION ISSUES

My system was unable to find the required v3.2.3 of Ruby and I have fixed this by doing the following steps:

  1. Please make sure that your path is correct.
    git -C ~/.rbenv/plugins/ruby-build pull
  2. rbenv install 3.2.3
    
    

    *WAIT TILL DONE* (it may take a little while)

  3. To check all the installed versions type:
    rbenv versions
  4. To set v3.2.3 as the global version, type:
    rbenv global 3.2.3
  5. To double-check the active, installed version, type:
    rbenv versions
  6. Done!

This manual is a transcript of the way that I have updated my Mastodon instance. Please make sure you make proper backups and use your brain while updating things.

Sources: https://richstone.io/where-is-ruby-3-0-0-on-rbenv/

RUBY GEM ISSUES

After entering…

RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate

…you might get a ruby gem error like:

Could not find rexml-3.3.5, strscan-3.1.0 in locally installed gems
Run `bundle install` to install missing gems.

Enter the command “bundle install” and after that run the RAILS command again.

CHARLOCK_HOLMES ISSUES

The charlock_holmes gem may fail to build on some systems with recent versions of gcc. If you run into such an issue, try

BUNDLE_BUILD__CHARLOCK_HOLMES="--with-cxxflags=-std=c++17" bundle install.

Loading