themis docs guides guides_update_check

Automatic Update Check

ThemisDB supports automatic version checking to notify administrators when new updates are available.

Overview

ThemisDB instances can periodically check for updates by querying the version manifest hosted on GitHub. This allows you to:

• Be notified when new versions are released
• Check for security updates
• View download links for the latest version
• Compare your current version with the latest stable release

Version Manifest Location

The version manifest is hosted at:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/main/docs/VERSION.json

Manual Version Check

You can manually check the current version of your ThemisDB instance:

# Using the version endpoint
curl http://localhost:8765/version

# Response:
{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "build_date": "2025-12-02",
  "commit": "abc1234",
  "update_available": false
}

Automatic Update Checking

Enable Update Checks

ThemisDB can be configured to automatically check for updates:

Via Environment Variable:

export THEMIS_UPDATE_CHECK_ENABLED=true
export THEMIS_UPDATE_CHECK_INTERVAL=86400  # Check once per day (in seconds)

Via Configuration File (config/config.json):

{
  "features": {
    "update_check": {
      "enabled": true,
      "interval_seconds": 86400,
      "notify_on_security_updates": true,
      "notify_on_breaking_changes": true,
      "channel": "stable"
    }
  }
}

Configuration Options

Option	Default	Description
enabled	false	Enable automatic update checking
interval_seconds	86400	How often to check for updates (24 hours)
notify_on_security_updates	true	Log warnings for security updates
notify_on_breaking_changes	true	Log warnings for breaking changes
channel	stable	Update channel: stable, beta, nightly
check_url	(default)	Custom URL for version manifest

Update Check Behavior

When update checking is enabled:

1. On Startup: ThemisDB checks for updates when the server starts
2. Periodic Checks: Checks occur at the configured interval
3. Logging: Update information is logged to the server logs
4. No Auto-Update: ThemisDB never automatically updates itself - it only notifies

Log Output Examples

No Update Available:

[themis] [info] Update check: Running version 1.0.0 (latest stable)

Update Available:

[themis] [warning] Update available: v1.1.0 is now available (current: 1.0.0)
[themis] [info] Download: https://github.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/releases/tag/v1.1.0
[themis] [info] Changelog: https://github.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

Security Update:

[themis] [warning] SECURITY UPDATE AVAILABLE: v1.0.1 contains security fixes
[themis] [warning] Please update as soon as possible
[themis] [info] Security advisory: https://github.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/security/advisories/...

API Endpoint

GET /version

Returns the current version and update information.

Request:

curl http://localhost:8765/version

Response:

{
  "current": {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "build_date": "2025-12-02",
    "commit": "abc1234",
    "platform": "linux-x64"
  },
  "latest": {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "release_date": "2025-12-02",
    "channel": "stable",
    "update_available": false,
    "breaking_changes": false,
    "security_updates": [],
    "announcement": "ThemisDB v1.0.0 - First stable release"
  },
  "downloads": {
    "linux_x64_zip": {
      "url": "https://github.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/releases/download/v1.0.0/themisdb-1.0.0-linux-x64.zip",
      "sha256": "8B075931270487B493F9244738829CF84752D33FF7381B624044C988A00FCC80"
    },
    "debian_amd64": {
      "url": "https://github.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/releases/download/v1.0.0/themisdb_1.0.0_amd64.deb",
      "sha256": "D922D21C4D7EAAD2FF18F784E4C447BF8411925B14F582883E4BE22369D4B5C3"
    }
  }
}

Manual Update Process

ThemisDB does not support in-place updates. To update:

Docker

# Pull latest image
docker pull themisdb/themisdb:latest

# Restart container
docker restart themisdb

Debian/Ubuntu

# Download new .deb
wget https://github.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/releases/download/v1.1.0/themisdb_1.1.0_amd64.deb

# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop themisdb

# Backup data (optional but recommended)
sudo cp -r /var/lib/themisdb/data /var/lib/themisdb/data.backup

# Install update
sudo dpkg -i themisdb_1.1.0_amd64.deb

# Start service
sudo systemctl start themisdb

RHEL/CentOS/Fedora

# Download new .rpm
wget https://github.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/releases/download/v1.1.0/themisdb-1.1.0-1.x86_64.rpm

# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop themisdb

# Backup data
sudo cp -r /var/lib/themisdb/data /var/lib/themisdb/data.backup

# Install update
sudo rpm -Uvh themisdb-1.1.0-1.x86_64.rpm

# Start service
sudo systemctl start themisdb

Binary Installation

# Download new version
wget https://github.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/releases/download/v1.1.0/themisdb-1.1.0-linux-x64.zip
unzip themisdb-1.1.0-linux-x64.zip

# Stop current instance
pkill themis_server

# Backup data
cp -r data data.backup

# Replace binary
cp themisdb-1.1.0-linux-x64/themis_server ./themis_server

# Start new version
./themis_server

Security Considerations

• Update checks are read-only and do not modify your installation
• No sensitive data is transmitted during update checks
• Only version information is requested from GitHub
• Update checks can be disabled if you prefer manual version management

Troubleshooting

Update Check Fails

If update checks fail, check:

1. Network connectivity: Can the server reach GitHub?

   curl -I https://raw.githubusercontent.com/makr-code/ThemisDB/main/docs/VERSION.json

2. Firewall rules: Ensure outbound HTTPS traffic is allowed

3. Server logs: Check for error messages

   sudo journalctl -u themisdb -n 100 | grep -i update

Disable Update Checks

To completely disable update checking:

Environment Variable:

export THEMIS_UPDATE_CHECK_ENABLED=false

Configuration File:

{
  "features": {
    "update_check": {
      "enabled": false
    }
  }
}

Version Comparison Algorithm

ThemisDB uses semantic versioning (semver) for version comparison:

• Major version (1.x.x): Breaking changes
• Minor version (x.1.x): New features, backwards compatible
• Patch version (x.x.1): Bug fixes, backwards compatible

Update priority is determined by:

• Critical: Security updates
• High: Major version updates with breaking changes
• Normal: Minor/patch updates
• Low: Beta/preview releases

Privacy

Update checks send minimal information to GitHub:

• No user data or database contents
• No server identification or hostname
• Only a HTTP GET request for the VERSION.json file

The request appears as a standard HTTP request to GitHub's raw content CDN.

Related Documentation

• Configuration Guide
• Deployment Guide
• Changelog
• Security Policy