Upgrades and backups

Upgrade

cd /var/www/lekalao
php artisan down --render="errors::503"

git pull
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
npm ci
npm run build
php artisan migrate --force

php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache

php artisan horizon:terminate
sudo systemctl restart lekalao-smtp   # when the relay runs

php artisan up

While the site is down, tracked links and open pixels answer 503: those clicks are lost. Pick a moment with no campaign going out, and keep the window short.

Before a major upgrade, read the release notes and take a backup.

What the migrations do on their own

Some versions repair existing data. For example, an installation with no platform administrator is given one, its oldest account, so that Horizon stays reachable.

Back up

What	Why
The PostgreSQL database	Everything: lists, subscribers, content, statistics, settings.
`storage/app`	Media, imports in progress, exports.
`.env`	`APP_KEY` above all.

# Every night
pg_dump --format=custom --file=/backups/lekalao-$(date +%F).dump lekalao
tar czf /backups/lekalao-storage-$(date +%F).tar.gz -C /var/www/lekalao storage/app

Redis needs no backup: it only holds queues and cache. A lost job is picked up again: sends that got stuck are queued again every ten minutes.

Without APP_KEY, a restored database still works, but the providers’ credentials, the webhook secrets and the accounts’ two-factor secrets are unreadable. Keep the key apart from the backups, in a vault.

Restore

php artisan down
sudo -u postgres dropdb lekalao && sudo -u postgres createdb --owner=lekalao lekalao
pg_restore --dbname=lekalao /backups/lekalao-2026-09-17.dump
tar xzf /backups/lekalao-storage-2026-09-17.tar.gz -C /var/www/lekalao
php artisan migrate --force
php artisan horizon:terminate
php artisan up

Then check with php artisan lekalao:diagnose.

Move to another server

Install Lekalao on the new server, with the same APP_KEY.
Restore the database and the files.
Point the DNS at it.
The providers’ feedback addresses and the links already sent keep working, as long as the public address does not change.

Install

Operate

Selling it

Upgrades and backups

Upgrade

What the migrations do on their own

Back up

Restore

Move to another server

​Upgrade

​What the migrations do on their own

​Back up

​Restore

​Move to another server

Upgrade

What the migrations do on their own

Back up

Restore

Move to another server