qb update - QuickBox Updates

The qb update function offers you a convenient and flexible way to manage updates for your QuickBox installation. With this feature, you have full control over the update process, allowing you to manually check for updates and choose when to apply them.

Quick Reference

Check for Updates

Check if a new version of QuickBox is available:

qb update check

What you’ll see:

• Current installed version
• Latest available version
• Whether an update is available
• Release notes for new version
• What’s changed since your version

Output example:

Current version: v1.0.210
Latest version:  v1.0.215
Status: Update available

Changes:
- Added new application support
- Fixed database backup issue
- Improved performance
- Security updates

Update QuickBox

Update the QuickBox CLI and the dashboard together:

qb update quickbox

Update process:

1. Downloads the latest QuickBox CLI version
2. Applies updates to core system files and libraries
3. Downloads and installs the latest dashboard
4. Streams live output continuously throughout all steps
5. Restarts the dashboard service and waits for it to come back online
6. Resumes streaming post-dashboard steps (database sync, autocomplete, manpage, etc.)
7. Confirms update complete when all steps finish

What gets updated:

• QuickBox core system
• CLI tools (qb command)
• Dashboard
• System libraries
• Configuration files (preserved with migration)
• Documentation

What is NOT affected:

• User data
• Installed applications
• User configurations
• Database content

qb manage db -o backup

Update Dashboard Only

Update only the dashboard, leaving the QuickBox CLI unchanged:

qb update dashboard

Use this when a dashboard update is available but you do not want to run the full qb update quickbox pipeline. The dashboard streams live progress output during the update and restarts automatically when the new version is ready.

Before Updating

Pre-Update Checklist

Follow these steps for a smooth update:

1. Check for updates and read release notes:

   qb update check
   qb news

2. Backup your database:

   qb manage db -o backup

3. Check disk space:

   df -h

   Ensure you have at least 1GB free space.

4. Notify users (if multi-user server):

   • Inform users of planned maintenance
   • Choose low-traffic time for update

5. Review running applications:

   qb status

Update Workflow

Standard Update Process

Complete update workflow:

# 1. Check what's new
qb update check
qb news
 
# 2. Backup database
qb manage db -o backup
 
# 3. Perform update
qb update quickbox
 
# 4. Verify update was successful
qb --version
 
# 5. Check all services are running
qb status
 
# 6. Test dashboard access
# Visit your dashboard URL in a browser

Troubleshooting Updates

If the update fails or causes issues:

# 1. Check system logs
journalctl -xe
 
# 2. Restore from backup if needed
qb manage db -o restore
 
# 3. Try fixing common issues
qb fix permissions
qb fix nginx
qb fix login
 
# 4. Restart services
qb restart
 
# 5. If issues persist, contact support

Update Frequency

How Often to Update

Recommended update schedule:

Version Information

Check Current Version

View your installed QuickBox version:

qb --version

Example output:

QuickBox Pro v1.0.215

You can also view version information in the dashboard footer.

Update Types

Understanding Update Releases

QuickBox uses semantic versioning:

• Major Updates (v1.x.x → v2.x.x)

  • Significant new features
  • Major architectural changes
  • May require manual intervention
  • Breaking changes possible

• Minor Updates (v1.1.x → v1.2.x)

  • New features and improvements
  • Backward compatible
  • Safe to install with minimal risk

• Patch Updates (v1.0.1 → v1.0.2)

  • Bug fixes
  • Security patches
  • Performance improvements
  • Should be installed promptly

Common Issues

Update Check Fails

# Check internet connectivity
ping -c 3 quickbox.io
 
# Check DNS resolution
nslookup quickbox.io
 
# Try again
qb update check

Update Stalls or Takes Unexpectedly Long

The update pipeline streams live output throughout. If the terminal goes silent for more than a couple of minutes, the most common causes are network issues, low disk space, or a failed download from the release proxy.

# Check available disk space
df -h
 
# Free up log files if needed (admin only)
qb clean system_logs -o 7 -u yourusername
 
# Retry the update
qb update quickbox

If the stall occurs during the dashboard restart phase, the dashboard will automatically come back online once the new binary is ready — you do not need to intervene unless the terminal has been idle for several minutes with no output at all.

Services Not Starting After Update

# Check service status
systemctl status quickbox-*
 
# Fix permissions
qb fix permissions
 
# Restart services
qb restart
 
# If still failing, restore from backup
qb manage db -o restore

”Packages kept back” After Running apt upgrade

If apt upgrade or apt-get upgrade reports that PHP packages are kept back or held — for example php8.1-cli, php8.1-fpm, php8.1-bcmath, php8.1-common, or libboost-dev — this is expected behavior on a QuickBox server. QuickBox places apt holds on PHP packages to protect your per-application PHP stack from being broken by an uncontrolled system upgrade.

The following packages have been kept back:
  php8.1-bcmath php8.1-cli php8.1-common php8.1-fpm php8.1-opcache libboost-dev

You do not need to take action unless a PHP-based application (ruTorrent, phpMyAdmin, Nextcloud) is actually broken. In that case, run:

qb fix php

For full details on held packages and how to upgrade PHP safely, see Fix PHP — packages kept back.

Best Practices

Rollback Updates

If an update causes issues, you can rollback:

# Restore previous database backup
qb manage db -o restore
 
# Select the backup from before the update
 
# Restart services
qb restart

Related Commands

Need Help?

Having trouble with updates? Get help from our support team and community: