CMS Update is only available to Site Owners who also own it core.updates.manage. Pages can check remote endpoints, receive manual ZIPs containing manifests, apply updates, or reinstall Core.
Before the change
database backups, cfg/.env, cfg/var, private files, dated uploads, plugins and third party themes. Make sure the web process can write to the Core target. Updater's automatic backup of changed files helps with file rollback, but is not a replacement for full deployment backups.
Update and reinstall
Remote check retrieves version metadata, then the package is verified against the manifest before deployment. Manual upload required cms-manifest.json in the ZIP root. Reinstall overwrites the Core files with the original package version while retaining data excluded by updater policies.
Hard reset
The hard reset option is only available with reinstall. This option returns the system theme, auth paths, plugin status, slots, sidebar, and menu to default. Content, users, media, database configurations, and uploads are not deleted by this flow, but backup is still required. There is no separate soft reset button.
Verification
After update, match the version, open frontend/login/dashboard, test write content, check plugin/theme, and read logs. Do not overwrite deployment with git pull without understanding the preserve policy. If the update fails, preserve log evidence and restore from a tested backup.