--- layout: docs page_title: Upgrading Plugins - Guides description: These are general upgrade instructions for Vault plugins. --- # Upgrading Vault plugins ## Plugin upgrade procedure The following procedures detail steps for upgrading a plugin that has been mounted at a path on a running server. The steps are the same whether the plugin being upgraded is built-in or external. ~> [Plugin versioning](/vault/docs/plugins#plugin-versioning) was introduced with Vault 1.12.0, so if your Vault server is on 1.11.x or earlier, see the [1.11.x version of this page](/vault/docs/v1.11.x/upgrading/plugins) for plugin upgrade instructions. ### Upgrading auth and secrets plugins The process is nearly identical for auth and secret plugins. If you are upgrading an auth plugin, just replace all usages of `secrets` or `secret` with `auth`. 1. [Register][plugin_registration] the first version of your plugin to the catalog. Skip this step if your initial plugin is built-in or already registered. ```shell-session $ vault plugin register \ -sha256= \ secret \ my-secret-plugin Success! Registered plugin: my-secret-plugin ``` 1. [Mount][plugin_management] the plugin. Skip this step if your initial plugin is already mounted. ```shell-session $ vault secrets enable my-secret-plugin Success! Enabled the my-secret-plugin secrets engine at: my-secret-plugin/ ``` 1. Register a second version of your plugin. You **must** use the same plugin type and name (the last two arguments) as the plugin being upgraded. This is true regardless of whether the plugin being upgraded is built-in or external. ```shell-session $ vault plugin register \ -sha256= \ -command=my-secret-plugin-1.0.1 \ -version=v1.0.1 \ secret \ my-secret-plugin Success! Registered plugin: my-secret-plugin ``` 1. Set the new version as the cluster's pinned version. ```shell-session $ vault write sys/plugins/pins/secret/my-secret-plugin version=v1.0.1 ``` 1. Trigger a global [plugin reload](/vault/docs/commands/plugin/reload) to reload all instances of the plugin. ```shell-session $ vault plugin reload -type=secret -plugin=my-secret-plugin -scope=global Success! Reloading plugin: my-secret-plugin, reload_id: 98b1e875-4217-745d-07f2-93d14219fb3c ``` 1. **Optional:** Check the "Running Version" field to verify the new version is running: ```shell-session $ vault secrets list -detailed ``` Until the reload step, the mount will still run the first version of `my-secret-plugin`. When the reload is triggered, Vault will kill `my-secret-plugin`’s process and start the new plugin process for `my-secret-plugin` version 1.0.1. ### Upgrading database plugins 1. [Register][plugin_registration] the first version of your plugin to the catalog. Skip this step if your initial plugin is built-in or already registered. ```shell-session $ vault plugin register -sha256= \ database \ my-db-plugin Success! Registered plugin: my-db-plugin ``` 1. [Mount][plugin_management] the plugin. Skip this step if your initial plugin is already mounted. ```shell-session $ vault secrets enable database $ vault write database/config/my-db \ plugin_name=my-db-plugin \ # ... Success! Data written to: database/config/my-db ``` 1. Register a second version of your plugin. You **must** use the same plugin type and name (the last two arguments) as the plugin being upgraded. This is true regardless of whether the plugin being upgraded is built-in or external. ```shell-session $ vault plugin register \ -sha256= \ -command=my-db-plugin-1.0.1 \ -version=v1.0.1 \ database \ my-db-plugin Success! Registered plugin: my-db-plugin ``` 1. Set the new version as the cluster's pinned version. ```shell-session $ vault write sys/plugins/pins/database/my-db-plugin version=v1.0.1 ``` 1. Trigger a global [plugin reload](/vault/docs/commands/plugin/reload) to reload all instances of the plugin. ```shell-session $ vault plugin reload -type=database -plugin=my-db-plugin -scope=global Success! Reloading plugin: my-db-plugin, reload_id: 98b1e875-4217-745d-07f2-93d14219fb3c ``` 1. **Optional:** Verify the current version of the running plugin: ```shell-session $ vault read database/config/my-db ``` Until the reload step, the mount will still run the first version of `my-db-plugin`. When the reload is triggered, Vault will kill `my-db-plugin`’s process and start the new plugin process for `my-db-plugin` version 1.0.1. ### Downgrading plugins Plugin downgrades follow the same procedure as upgrades. You can use the Vault plugin list command to check what plugin versions are available to downgrade to: ```shell-session $ vault plugin list secret Name Version ---- ------- ad v0.14.0+builtin alicloud v0.13.0+builtin aws v1.12.0+builtin.vault azure v0.14.0+builtin cassandra v1.12.0+builtin.vault consul v1.12.0+builtin.vault gcp v0.14.0+builtin gcpkms v0.13.0+builtin kv v0.13.3+builtin ldap v1.12.0+builtin.vault mongodb v1.12.0+builtin.vault mongodbatlas v0.8.0+builtin mssql v1.12.0+builtin.vault mysql v1.12.0+builtin.vault nomad v1.12.0+builtin.vault openldap v0.9.0+builtin pki v1.12.0+builtin.vault postgresql v1.12.0+builtin.vault rabbitmq v1.12.0+builtin.vault ssh v1.12.0+builtin.vault terraform v0.6.0+builtin totp v1.12.0+builtin.vault transit v1.12.0+builtin.vault ``` ### Additional upgrade notes * As mentioned earlier, disabling existing mounts will wipe the existing data. * Overwriting an existing version in the catalog will affect all uses of that plugin version. So if you have 5 different Azure Secrets mounts using v1.0.0, they'll all start using the new binary if you overwrite it. We recommend treating plugin versions in the catalog as immutable, much like version control tags. * Each plugin has its own data within Vault storage. While it is rare for HashiCorp maintained plugins to update their storage schema, it is up to plugin authors to manage schema upgrades and downgrades. Check the plugin release notes for any unsupported upgrade or downgrade transitions, especially before moving to a new major version or downgrading. * Existing Vault [leases](/vault/docs/concepts/lease) and [tokens](/vault/docs/concepts/tokens) are generally unaffected by plugin upgrades and reloads. This is because the lifecycle of leases and tokens is handled by core systems within Vault. The plugin itself only handles renewal and revocation of them when it’s requested by those core systems. [plugin_reload_api]: /vault/api-docs/system/plugins-reload [plugin_registration]: /vault/docs/plugins/plugin-architecture#plugin-registration [plugin_management]: /vault/docs/plugins/plugin-management#enabling-disabling-external-plugins