Upgrading from earlier Seq versions

Seq 2021 is an in-place update, highly compatible with previous Seq versions.

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No client application changes are required in order to start using Seq 2021.

To upgrade from:

• Seq 202x - use the instructions on this page and upgrade directly
• Seq 5.1 - use the instructions on this page and upgrade directly; review Upgrading from Seq 5.1 for additional information
• Seq 5.0 - use the instructions on this page to upgrade directly; review the Upgrading from Seq 5.0 guide for some additional change notes
• Seq 3.0-4.2 - upgrade to Seq 5.1 first, and run the server for 24 hours, before returning to these instructions to complete the upgrade to Seq 2021
• Seq 1.0-2.4 - upgrade to Seq 3.3 first, then 5.1, and finally to 2021 using the instructions on this page

Browser and platform prerequisites

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Internet Explorer 11 and Edge Legacy support

From 1st January, 2021, Internet Explorer 11 and Microsoft Edge Legacy are no longer actively supported.

Seq 2021 targets the same platform targets as earlier Seq 202x versions. See System Requirements for more information.

Before upgrading...

It's best to check that you have access to a recent Seq backup filefrom before the upgrade. These are created nightly and saved to Backups/ under the Seq storage path, and can be downloaded from Settings > Backup in the Seq web interface. You'll need a copy of the Seq master encryption key if you want to restore from backup, so if you don't have it saved securely, run seq show-key from the server command-line to retrieve it.

Compatibility with existing Seq App plug-ins

Before upgrading, we recommend updating any installed Seq apps to their latest versions. This can be done from the Settings > Apps screen, by selecting Manage next to each app name, then Update.

Server upgrade process

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Storage migration

Seq 202x uses a new storage layout; when the server first starts up, data will be moved on disk into the new layout. This happens automatically, and for Seq 202x or 5.x upgrades, should not cause any significant delay.

For upgrades from Seq 4.2 and earlier, start-up may take a few minutes while recent data is migrated to the new format, and a further service restart may be requested once background migration completes.

Upgrading Seq on Windows

Existing Seq (Windows) servers can be upgraded in-place by running the latest MSI package. The server will be restarted during the upgrade process.

Upgrading Seq on Docker

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These instructions assume that you have deployed Seq on Docker following the Deployment with Docker guide. In particular, it is important that docker is configured to mount Seq's data directory /data on the host file system as a docker volume.

The preferred approach to upgrading Seq deployed with docker is to:

1. Stop the existing Seq docker container

Use:

docker container stop <seq container name or id>

If you don't know the name or id of the docker container hosting seq you can list your docker containers with:

docker container ls

2. Install a new docker container with the latest version of Seq, mounting the docker volume /data at the same host location that the previous Seq docker container used. You will need to give the new container a different name to the old one.

The Seq HTTP API and versioned media types

Enhanced backwards-compatibility is provided for clients that specify an earlier Seq API media type in the Accept header of requests. This applies automatically to clients using the Seq.Api package.

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If you encounter any problems...

Seq upgrades are expected to be smooth and seamless. If you do encounter any problems during or after the upgrade, avoid a downgrade if possible: contact the Seq Support Team and let us know what's gone wrong, and we'll have you back up and running in a flash.