# Upgrading from 1.6.x to 1.7.0: do I need to run migrations?

**URL:** <https://community.getzonerails.com/t/upgrading-from-1-6-x-to-1-7-0-do-i-need-to-run-migrations/20>\
**Category:** Help: Server\
**Tags:** upgrade\
**Created:** [October 10, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://community.getzonerails.com/t/upgrading-from-1-6-x-to-1-7-0-do-i-need-to-run-migrations/20 "2026-10-10T21:30:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LanPow](https://community.getzonerails.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e5b9ba/32.png) [@LanPow](https://community.getzonerails.com/u/LanPow)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://community.getzonerails.com/t/upgrading-from-1-6-x-to-1-7-0-do-i-need-to-run-migrations/20/1 "2026-10-10T21:30:40Z")

</div>

We’re on 1.6.1 installed from the DEB package and want to move to 1.7.0. Do I uninstall first? Do I need to run database migrations manually, and will I lose users or connections? We also have a Docker test box to upgrade.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LanPow](https://community.getzonerails.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e5b9ba/32.png) [@LanPow](https://community.getzonerails.com/u/LanPow)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://community.getzonerails.com/t/upgrading-from-1-6-x-to-1-7-0-do-i-need-to-run-migrations/20/3 "2026-10-10T21:41:50Z")

</div>

No uninstall needed. Each installer keeps `config.json`, the database, the logs and the licence cache in a data directory apart from the program, so an upgrade replaces the program and leaves your data alone. Every installer and the Docker image are tested by installing over the previous release and must keep its users, settings and sign-in keys.

The server migrates its own schema on every start, so an upgrade is installing the new package over the old one (or replacing the container) and starting the service. If you’d rather migrate at a moment you choose, for example before a rolling restart, run `node server.js --migrate-only` with the server’s own environment. It migrates, seeds and exits without opening a port. Don’t use plain `--migrate` for this; that one doesn’t seed.

For Docker, replace the container with one on the new tag and keep the `zonerails-data` volume, since it holds `config.json` and the encryption key:

```bash
docker run -d --name zonerails-server -p 3000:3000 \
  -v zonerails-data:/var/lib/zonerails \
  -v zonerails-logs:/var/log/zonerails \
  cr.getzonerails.com/zonerails-server:1.7.0

```

Read the [changelog](https://getzonerails.com/changelog.html) before upgrading. 1.7.0 has a long list of Active Directory DNS fixes.

Docs: [Documentation — ZoneRails](https://getzonerails.com/docs.html#server-install)